THE    WORKS 


OF 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT. 


VOLUME  VI. 


HISTORY  OF  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

VOL.   I.     1501-1530. 


SAN  FRANCISCO  : 
A.  L.  BANCROFT  &  CO  Mr  ANY,  PUBLISHERS. 

1882. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  Year  1882,  by 

HUBERT  H.  BANCROFT. 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


'All  Rights  Reserved. 


PREFACE. 


DURING  the  year  1875  I  published  under  title  of 
The  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States  what  purports 
to  be  an  exhaustive  research  into  the  character  and 
customs  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  western 
portion  of  North  America  at  the  time  they  were  first 
seen  by  their  subduers.  The  present  work  is  a  history 
of  the  same  territory  from  the  coming  of  the  Euro 
peans. 

The  plan  is  extensive  and  can  be  here  but  briefly  ex 
plained.  The  territory  covered  embraces  the  whole  of 
Central  America  and  Mexico,  and  all  Anglo-American 
domains  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  First  given 
is  a  glance  at  European  society,  particularly  Spanish 
civilization  at  about  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
This  is  followed  by  a  summary  of  maritime  explora 
tion  from  the  fourth  century  to  the  year  1540,  with 
some  notices  of  the  earliest  American  books.  Then, 
beginning  with  the  discoveries  of  Columbus,  the 
men  from  Europe  are  closely  followed  as  one  after 
another  they  find  and  take  possession  of  the  coun 
try  in  its  several  parts,  and  the  doings  of  their 
successors  are  chronicled.  The  result  is  a  HISTORY 
OF  THE  PACIFIC  STATES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA,  under 
the  following  general  divisions: — History  of  Central 
America;  History  of  Mexico;  History  of  the  North 
Mexican  States;  History  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona; 


vi  PREFACE. 

History  of  California;  History  of  Nevada;  History 
of  Utah;  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast;  History 
of  Oregon;  History  of  Washington,  Idaho,  and  Mon 
tana;  History  of  British  Columbia,  and  History  of 
Alaska. 

Broadly  stated,  my  plan  as  to  order  of  publica 
tion  proceeds  geographically  from  south  to  north,  as 
indicated  in  the  list  above  given,  which  for  the  most 
part  is  likewise  the  chronological  order  of  conquest 
and  occupation.  In  respect  of  detail,  to  some  extent 
I  reverse  this  order,  proceeding  from  the  more  gen 
eral  to  the  more  minute  as  I  advance  northward. 
The  difference,  though  considerable,  is  however  less 
in  reality  than  in  appearance.  And  the  reason  I  hold 
sufficient.  To  give  to  each  of  the  Spanish- American 
provinces,  and  later  to  each  of  the  federal  and  inde 
pendent  states,  covering  as  they  do  with  dead  mo 
notony  centuries  of  unchanging  action  and  ideas,  time 
and  space  equal  to  that  which  may  be  well  employed 
in  narrating  north-western  occupation  and  empire- 
building  would  be  no  less  impracticable  than  profit 
less.  It  is  my  aim  to  present  complete  and  accurate 
histories  of  all  the  countries  whose  events  I  attempt 
to  chronicle,  but  the  annals  of  the  several  Central 
American  and  Mexican  provinces  and  states,  both 
before  and  after  the  Revolution,  run  in  grooves  too 
nearly  parallel  long  to  command  the  attention  of  the 
general  reader. 

In  all  the  territorial  subdivisions,  southern  as  well 
as  northern,  I  treat  the  beginnings  and  earliest  de 
velopment  more  exhaustively  than  later  events.  After 
the  Conquest,  the  histories  of  Central  America  and 
Mexico  are  presented  on  a  scale  sufficiently  compre 
hensive,  but  national  rather  than  local.  The  northern 


PREFACE,  vii 

Mexican  states,  having  had  a  more  varied  experi 
ence,  arising  from  nearer  contact  with  progressional 
events,  receive  somewhat  more  attention  in  regard  to 
detail  than  other  parts  of  the  republic.  To  the 
Pacific  United  States  is  devoted  more  space  com 
paratively  than  to  southern  regions,  California  being 
regarded  as  the  centre  and  culminating  point  of  this 
historical  field. 

For  the  History  of  Central  America,  to  which  this 
must  serve  as  special  as  well  as  general  introduction, 
I  would  say  that,  besides  the  standard  chroniclers  and 
the  many  documents  of  late  printed  in  Spain  and  else 
where,  I  have  been  able  to  secure  a  number  of  valu 
able  manuscripts  nowhere  else  existing;  some  from  the 
Maximilian,  Ramirez,  and  other  collections,  and  all  of 
Mr  E.  G.  Squier's  manuscripts  relating  to  the  sub 
ject  fell  into  my  hands.  Much  of  the  material  used 
by  me  in  writing  of  this  very  interesting  part  of  the 
world  has  been  drawn  from  obscure  sources,  from 
local  and  unknown  Spanish  works,  and  from  the 
somewhat  confused  archives  of  Costa  Rica,  Hon 
duras,  Nicaragua,  Salvador,  and  Guatemala. 

Material  for  the  history  of  western  North  America 
has  greatly  increased  of  late.  Ancient  manuscripts 
of  whose  existence  historians  have  never  known,  or 
which  were  supposed  to  be  forever  lost,  have  been 
brought  to  light  and  printed  by  patriotic  men  and 
intelligent  governments.  These  fragments  supply 
many  missing  links  in  the  chain  of  early  events,  and 
illuminate  a  multitude  of  otherwise  obscure  parts. 

My  efforts  in  gathering  material  have  been  con 
tinued,  and  since  the  publication  of  The  Native  Races 
fifteen  thousand  volumes  have  been  added  to  my  col- 


viii  PREFACE. 

lection.  Among  these  additions  are  bound  volumes 
of  original  documents,  copies  from  public  and  private 
archives,  and  about  eight  hundred  manuscript  dicta 
tions  by  men  who  played  their  part  in  creating  the 
history.  Most  of  those  who  thus  gave  me  their  testi 
mony  in  person  are  now  dead;  and  the  narratives  of 
their  observations  and  experiences,  as  they  stand  re 
corded  in  these  manuscript  volumes,  constitute  no 
unimportant  element  in  the  foundation  upon  which 
the  structure  of  this  western  history  in  its  several 
parts  must  forever  rest. 

To  the  experienced  writer,  who  might  otherwise 
regard  the  completion  of  so  vast  an  undertaking  within 
so  apparently  limited  a  period  as  indicative  of  work 
superficially  done,  I  would  say  that  this  History  was 
begun  in  1869,  six  years  before  the  publication  of  The 
Native  Races;  and  although  the  earlier  volumes  of  the 
several  divisions  I  was  obliged  for  the  most  part  not 
only  to  plan  and  write,  but  to  extract  and  arrange  my 
own  material,  later  I  was  able  to  utilize  the  labors  of 
others.  Among  these  as  the  most  faithful  and  efficient 
I  take  pleasure  in  mentioning  Mr  Henry  L.  Oak,  Mr 
William  Nemos,  Mr  Thomas  Savage,  Mrs  Frances 
Fuller  Victor,  and  Mr  Ivan  Petroif,  of  whom,  and 
of  others,  I  speak  at  length  elsewhere. 

Of  my  methods  of  working  I  need  say  but  little 
here,  since  I  describe  them  more  fully  in  another  place. 
Their  peculiarity,  if  they  have  any,  consists  in  the 
employment  of  assistants,  as  before  mentioned,  to 
bring  together  by  indices,  references,  and  other  de 
vices,  all  existing  testimony  on  each  topic  to  be  treated. 
I  thus  obtain  important  information,  which  otherwise, 
with  but  one  lifetime  at  my  disposal,  would  have  been 


PREFACE,  ix 

beyond  control.  Completeness  of  evidence  by  no 
means  insures  a  wise  decision  from  an  incompetent 
judge;  yet  the  wise  judge  gladly  avails  himself  of  all 
attainable  testimony.  It  has  been  my  purpose  to  give 
in  every  instance  due  credit  to  sources  of  information, 
and  cite  freely  such  conclusions  of  other  writers  as 
differ  from  my  own.  I  am  more  and  more  convinced 
of  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of  such  a  course,  by  which, 
moreover,  I  aim  to  impart  a  certain  bibliographic 
value  to  my  work.  The  detail  to  be  encompassed  ap 
peared  absolutely  unlimited,  and  more  than  once  I 
despaired  of  ever  completing  my  task.  Preparatory 
investigation  occupied  tenfold  more  time  than  the 
writing. 

I  deem  it  proper  to  express  briefly  my  idea  of  what 
history  should  be,  and  to  indicate  the  general  line  of 
thought  that  has  guided  me  in  this  task.  From  the 
mere  chronicle  of  happenings,  petty  and  momentous, 
to  the  historico-philosophical  essay,  illustrated  with 
here  and  there  a  fact  supporting  the  writer's  theories, 
the  range  is  wide.  Neither  extreme  meets  the  re 
quirements  of  history,  however  accurate  the  one  or 
brilliant  the  other.  Not  to  a  million  minute  photo 
graphs  do  we  look  for  practical  information  respecting 
a  mountain  range,  nor  yet  to  an  artistic  painting  of 
some  one  striking  feature  for  a  correct  description. 
From  the  two  extremes,  equally  to  be  avoided,  the 
true  historian  will,  whatever  his  inclination,  be  im 
pelled  by  prudence,  judgment,  and  duty  from  theory 
toward  fact,  from  vivid  coloring  toward  photographic 
exactness.  Not  that  there  is  too  much  brilliancy  in 
current  history,  but  too  little  fact.  An  accurate  record 
of  events  must  form  the  foundation,  and  largely  the 

VOL.1'    2 


x  PREFACE. 

superstructure.  Yet  events  pure  and  simple  are  by 
no  means  more  important  than  the  institutionary  de 
velopment  which  they  cause  or  accompany.  Men, 
institutions,  industries,  must  be  studied  equally.  A 
man's  character  and  influence  no  less  than  his  actions 
demand  attention.  Cause  and  effect  are  more  essen 
tial  than  mere  occurrence;  achievements  of  peace 
should  take  precedence  of  warlike  conquest;  the  con 
dition  of  the  people  is  a  more  profitable  and  interesting 
subject  of  investigation  than  the  acts  of  governors, 
the  valor  of  generals,  or  the  doctrines  of  priests. 
The  historian  must  classify,  and  digest,  and  teach  as 
well  as  record;  he  should  not,  however,  confound  his 
conclusions  with  the  facts  on  which  they  rest.  Sym 
metry  of  plan  and  execution  as  well  as  rigid  conden 
sation,  always  desirable,  become  an  absolute  necessity 
in  a  work  like  that  which  I  have  undertaken.  In 
respect  to  time  and  territory  my  field  is  immense. 
The  matter  to  be  presented  is  an  intricate  complica 
tion  of  annals,  national  and  sectional,  local  and  per 
sonal.  That  my  plan  is  in  every  respect  the  best 
possible,  I  do  not  say;  but  it  is  the  best  that  my 
judgment  suggests  after  long  deliberation.  The  ex 
tent  of  this  work  is  chargeable  to  the  magnitude  of 
the  subject  and  the  immense  mass  of  information 
gathered  rather  than  to  any  tendency  to  verbosity. 
f  .  There  is  scarcely  a  page  but  has  been  twice  or  thrice 
rewritten  with  a  view  to  condensation;  and  instead 
of  faithfully  discharging  this  irksome  duty,  it  would 
have  been  far  easier  and  cheaper  to  have  sent  a  hun 
dred  volumes  through  the  press.  The  plan  once 
formed,  I  sought  to  make  the  treatment  exhaustive 
and  symmetrical.  Not  all  regions  nor  all  periods  are 
portrayed  on  the  same  scale:  but  though  the  camera 


PREFACE.  xi 

of  investigation  is  set  up  before  each  successive  topic 
at  varying  distances,  the  picture,  large  or  small,  is 
finished  with  equal  care.  I  may  add  that  I  have  at 
tached  more  than  ordinary  importance  to  the  matter 
of  mechanical  arrangement,  by  which  through  title- 
pages,  chapter-headings,  and  indices  the  reader  may 
expeditiously  refer  to  any  desired  topic,  and  find  all 
that  the  work  contains  about  any  event,  period,  place, 
institution,  man,  or  book;  and  above  all  I  have  aimed 
at  exactness. 

We  hear  much  of  the  philosophy  of  history,  of  the 
science  and  signification  of  history;  but  there  is  only 
one  way  to  write  anything,  which  is  to  tell  the  truth, 
plainly  and  concisely.  As  for  the  writer,  I  will  only 
say  that  while  he  should  lay  aside  for  the  time  his 
own  religion  and  patriotism,  he  should  be  always  ready 
to  recognize  the  influence  and  weigh  the  value  of  the 
religion  and  patriotism  of  others.  The  exact  histo 
rian  will  lend  himself  neither  to  idolatry  nor  to  de 
traction,  and  will  positively  decline  to  act  either  as 
the  champion  or  assailant  of  any  party  or  power. 
Friendships  and  enmities,  loves  and  hates,  he  will 
throw  into  the  crucible  of  evidence  to  be  refined  and 
cast  into  forms  of  unalloyed  truth.  He  must  be  just 
and  humble.  To  clear  judgment  he  must  add  strict 
integrity  and  catholicity  of  opinion.  Ever  in  mind 
should  be  the  occult  forces  that  move  mankind,  and 
the  laws  by  which  are  formulated  belief,  conscience, 
and  character.  The  actions  of  men  are  governed  by 
proximate  states  of  mind,  and  these  are  generated 
both  from  antecedent  states  of  mind  and  antecedent 
states  of  body,  influenced  by  social  and  natural  envi 
ronment.  The  right  of  every  generation  should  be 


xii  PREFACE. 

determined,  not  by  the  ethics  of  any  society,  sect,  or 
age,  but  by  the  broad,  inexorable  teachings  of  nature ; 
nor  should  he  forget  that  standards  of  morality  are  a. 
freak  of  fashion,  and  that  from  wrongs  begotten  of 
necessity  in  the  womb  of  progress  has  been  brought 
forth  right,  and  likewise  right  has  engendered  wrongs. 
He  should  remember  that  in  the  worst  men  there  is 
much  that  is  gopd,  and  in  the  best  much  that  is  bad; 
that  constructed  upon  the  present  skeleton  of  human 
nature  a  perfect  man  would  be  a  monster;  nor  should 
he  forget  how  much  the  world  owes  its  bad  men.  But 
alas!  who  of  us  are  wholly  free  from  the  effects  of 
early  training  and  later  social  atmospheres  !  Who 
of  us  has  not  in  some  degree  faith,  hope,  and  charity ! 
Who  of  us  does  not  not  hug  some  ancestral  tradition, 
or  rock  some  pet  theory! 

As  to  the  relative  importance  of  early  history,  here 
and  elsewhere,  it  is  premature  for  any  now  living  to 
judge.  Beside  the  bloody  battles  of  antiquity,  the 
sieges,  crusades,  and  wild  convulsions  of  unfolding 
civilization,  this  transplanting  of  ours  may  seem  tame. 
Yet  the  great  gathering  of  the  enlightened  from  all 
nations  upon  these  shores,  the  subjugation  of  the 
wilderness  with  its  wild  humanity,  and  the  new  empire- 
modelling  that  followed,  may  disclose  as  deep  a  sig 
nificance  in  the  world's  future  as  any  display  of  army 
movements,  or  dainty  morsels  of  court  scandal,  or  the 
idiosyncrasies  of  monarchs  and  ministers.  It  need 
not  be  recited  to  possessors  of  our  latter-day  liberties 
that  the  people  are  the  state,  and  rulers  the  servants. 
It  is  historical  barbarism,  of  which  the  Homeric  poems 
and  Carlo vingian  tales  not  alone  are  guilty,  to  throw 
the  masses  into  the  background,  or  wholly  to  ignore 


PREFACE.  xiii 

them.  "Heureux  le  peuple  dont  1'histoire  ennuie," 
is  an  oft  repeated  aphorism;  as  if  deeds  diabolical 
were  the  only  actions  worthy  of  record.  But  we  of 
this  new  western  development  are  not  disposed  to 
exalt  brute  battling  overmuch;  as  for  rulers  and  gen 
erals,  we  discover  in  them  the  creatures,  not  the  cre 
ators,  of  civilization.  We  would  rather  see  how  nations 
originate,  organize,  and  unfold;  we  would  rather  ex 
amine  the  structure  and  operations  of  religions,  society 
refinements  and  tyrannies,  class  affinities  and  antago 
nisms,  wealth  economies,  the  evolutions  of  arts  and 
industries,  intellectual  and  moral  as  well  as  aesthetic 
culture,  and  all  domestic  phenomena  with  their 
homely  joys  and  cares.  For  these  last  named,  even 
down  to  dress,  or  the  lack  of  it,  are  in  part  the  man, 
and  the  man  is  the  nation.  With  past  history  we  may 
become  tolerably  familiar;  but  present  developments 
are  so  strange,  their  anomalies  are  so  startling  to  him 
who  attempts  to  reduce  them  to  form,  that  he  is  well 
content  to  leave  for  the  moment  the  grosser  extrava 
gances  of  antiquity,  howsoever  much  superior  in  in 
terest  they  may  be  to  the  average  mind.  Yet  in  the  old 
and  the  new  we  may  alike  from  the  abstract  to  the 
concrete  note  the  genesis  of  history,  and  from  the 
concrete  to  the  abstract  regard  the  analysis  of  history. 
The  historian  should  be  able  to  analyze  and  to  general 
ize  ;  yet  his  path  leads  not  alone  through  the  enticing 
fields  of  speculation,  nor  is  it  his  only  province  to 
pluck  the  fruits  and  flowers  of  philosophy,  or  to  blow 
brain  bubbles  and  weave  theorems.  He  must  plod 
along  the  rough  highways  of  time  and  development, 
and  out  of  many  entanglements  bring  the  vital  facts 
of  history.  And  therein  lies  the  richest  reward. 
"  Shakspere's  capital  discovery  was  this,"  says  Ed- 


xiv  PREFACE. 

ward  Dowden,  "that  the  facts  of  the  world  are  worthy 
to  command  our  highest  ardour,  our  most  resolute 
action,  our  most  solemn  awe;  and  that  the  more  we 
penetrate  into  fact,  the  more  will  our  nature  be  quick 
ened,  enriched,  and  exalted." 

That  the  success  of  this  work  should  be  propor 
tionate  to  the  labor  bestowed  upon  it  is  scarcely  to 
be  expected;  but  I  do  believe  that  in  due  time  it  will 
be  generally  recognized  as  a  work  worth  doing,  and 
let  me  dare  to  hope  fairly  well  done.  If  I  read  life's 
lesson  aright,  truth  alone  is  omnipotent  and  immortal. 
Therefore,  of  all  I  wrongfully  offend  I  crave  before 
hand  pardon;  from  those  I  rightfully  offend  I  ask  no 
mercy;  their  censure  is  dearer  to  me  than  would  be 
their  praise. 


CONTENTS  OF  THIS  VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTION. 

SPAIN  AND  CIVILIZATION  AT  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

PAGE. 

General  View — Transition  from  the  Old  to  the  New  Civilization — His 
torical  Sketch  of  Spain — Spanish  Character — Spanish  Society — 
Prominent  Features  of  the  Age  —  Domestic  Matters  —  The  New 
World  —  Comparative  Civilizations  and  Savagisms  —  Earliest  Voy 
ages  of  Discovery 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

COLUMBUS  AND   HIS   DISCOVERIES. 

1492-1500. 

Early  Experiences — The  Compact — Embarkation  at  Palos — The  Voy 
age — Discovery  of  Land — Unfavorable  Comparison  with  the  Paradise 
of  Marco  Polo — Cruise  among  the  Islands — One  Nature  Everywhere — 
Desertion  of  Pinzon — Wreck  of  the  Santa  Maria — The  Fortress  of 
La  Navidad  Erected — Return  to  Spain— Rights  of  Civilization — The 
Papal  Bull  of  Partition — Fonseca  Appointed  Superintendent  of  the 
Indies — Second  Voyage — Navidad  in  Ruins — Isabela  Established — 
Discontent  of  the  Colonists — Explorations  of  the  Interior — Coasting 
Cuba,  and  Discovery  of  Jamaica — Failure  of  Columbus  as  Governor — 
Intercourse  with  Spain — Destruction  of  the  Indians — Government 
of  the  Indies — Diego  and  Bartolome'  Colon — Charges  against  the 
Admiral — Commission  of  Inquiry  Appointed — Second  Return  to 
Spain  —  Third  Voyage  —  Trinidad  Discovered  —  Santo  Domingo 
Founded — The  Roldan  Rebellion — Francisco  de  Bobadilla  Appointed 
to  Supersede  Columbus — Arbitrary  and  Iniquitous  Conduct  of 
Bobadilla — Columbus  Sent  in  Chains  to  Spain 155 

CHAPTER  III. 

DISCOVERY    OF    DARIEN. 
1500-1502. 

Rodrigo  de  Bastidas — Extension  of  New  World  Privileges— The  Royal 
Share — Juan  de  la  Cosa — Ships  of  the  Early  Discoverers— Coasting 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Darien  —  The  Terrible  Teredo — Wrecked  on  Espanola —  Spanish 
Money — Treatment  of  Bastidas  by  Ovando— Accused,  and  Sent  to 
Spain  for  Trial — He  is  Immediately  Acquitted — Future  Career  and 
Character  of  Bastidas — The  Archives  of  the  Indies — The  Several 
Collections  of  Public  Documents  in  Spain — The  Labors  of  Muiioz 
and  Navarrete — Bibliographical  Notices  of  the  Printed  Collections 
of  Navarrete,  Ternaux-Compans,  Salva  and  Baranda,  and  Pacheco 
and  Cardenas 183 

CHAPTER  IV. 

COLUMBUS  ON  THE  COASTS  OF  HONDURAS,  NICARAGUA,  AND   COSTA  RICA. 

1502-1506. 

The  Sovereigns  Decline  either  to  Restore  to  the  Admiral  his  Government, 
or  to  Capture  for  him  the  Holy  Sepulchre — So  he  Sails  on  a  Fourth 
Voyage  of  Discovery — Fernando  Colon  and  his  History — Ovando 
Denies  the  Expedition  Entrance  to  Santo  Domingo  Harbor — Colum 
bus  Sails  Westward — Strikes  the  Shore  of  Honduras  near  Guanaja 
Island — Early  American  Cartography — Columbus  Coasts  Southward, 
to  the  Darien  Isthmus — Then  Returns  and  Attempts  Settlement  at 
Veragua — Driven  thence,  his  Vessels  are  Wrecked  at  Jamaica — 
There  midst  Starvation  and  Mutiny  he  Remains  a  Year — Then  he 
Reaches  Espanola,  and  finally  Spain,  where  he  shortly  afterward 
Dies — Character  of  Columbus — His  Biographers 202 

CHAPTER  V. 

ADMINISTRATION   OF  THE  INDIES. 

1492-1526. 

Columbus  the  Rightful  Ruler — Juan  Aguado — Francisco  de  Bobadilla — 
Nicolds  de  Ovando — Santo  Domingo  the  Capital  of  the  Indies — 
Extension  of  Organized  Government  to  Adjacent  Islands  and  Main 
land — Residencias — Gold  Mining  at  Espanola — Race  and  Caste  in 
Government — Indian  and  Negro  Slavery — Cruelty  to  the  Natives — 
Spanish  Sentimentalism — Pacification,  not  Conquest — The  Spanish 
Monarchs  always  the  Indian's  Friends — Bad  Treatment  due  to  Dis 
tance  and  Evil-minded  Agents — Infamous  Doings  of  Ovando— 
Repartimientos  and  Encomiendas — The  Sovereigns  Intend  them  as 
Protection  to  the  Natives — Settlers  Make  them  the  Means  of  Indian 
Enslavement — Las  Casas  Appears  and  Protests  against  Inhumani 
ties — The  Defaulting  Treasurer — Diego  Colon  Supersedes  Ovando  as 
Governor — And  Makes  Matters  Worse  —  The  Jeronimite  Fathers 
Sent  Out — Audiencias — A  Sovereign  Tribunal  is  Established  at 
Santo  Domingo  which  Gradually  Assumes  all  the  Functions  of  an 
Audiencia,  and  as  such  Finally  Governs  the  Indies — Las  Casas  in 
Spain — The  Consejo  de  Indias,  and  Casa  de  Contratacion — Legislation 
for  the  Indies..  .  247 


CONTENTS.  xvii 

CHAPTEE  VI. 

THE  GOVERNMENTS  OF  NUEVA  ANDALUCIA  AND  CASTILLA  DEL  OBO. 

1506-1510.  PAGE. 

Tierra  Firme  Thrown  Open  to  Colonization — Rival  Applications — Alonso 
de  Ojeda  Appointed  Governor  of  Nueva  Andalucia,  and  Diego  de 
Nicuesa  of  Castilla  del  Oro — Hostile  Attitudes  of  the  Rivals  at  Santo 
Domingo — Ojeda  Embarks  for  Cartagena — Builds  the  Fortress  of  San 
Sebastian — Failure  and  Death — Nicuesa  Sails  from  Veragua — Parts 
Company  with  his  Fleet — His  Vessel  is  Wrecked — Passes  Veragua — 
Confined  with  his  Starving  Crew  on  an  Island — Succor — Failure  at 
Veragua — Attempts  Settlement  at  Nombre  de  Dios — Loss  of  Ship 
Sent  to  Espanola  for  Relief — Horrible  Sufferings — Bibliographical 
Notices  of  Las  Casas,  Oviedo,  Peter  Martyr,  Gomara,  and  Herrera — 
Character  of  the  Early  Chroniclers  for  Veracity 289 

CHAPTER  VII. 

SETTLEMENT   OF  SANTA  MARIA  DE   LA  ANTIGUA  DEL  DARIEN. 
1510-1511. 

Francisco  Pizarro  Abandons  San  Sebastian — Meets  Enciso  at  Cartagena — 
He  and  his  Crew  Look  like  Pirates — They  are  Taken  back  to  San 
Sebastian — Vasco  Nufiez  de  Balboa — Boards  Enciso 's  Ship  in  a  Cask — 
Arrives  at  San  Sebastian — The  Spaniards  Cross  to  Darien — The  River 
and  the  Name — Cemaco,  Cacique  of  Darien,  Defeated — Founding  of 
the  Metropolitan  City — Presto,  Change !  The  Hombre  del  Casco  Up, 
the  Bachiller  Down— Vasco  Nunez,  Alcalde — Nature  of  the  Office — 
Regidor — Colmenares,  in  Search  of  Nicuesa,  Arrives  at  Antigua — He 
Finds  Him  in  a  Pitiable  Plight — Antigua  Makes  Overtures  to 
Nicuesa — Then  Rejects  Him — And  Finally  Drives  Him  Forth  to 
Die— Sad  End  of  Nicuesa 321 

CHAPTEE  VHI. 

FACTIONS  AND   FORAGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

1511-1513. 

The  Garrison  at  Nombre  de  Dios — Subtle  Diplomacies — Vasco  Nunez 
Assumes  Command — Enciso,  his  Life  and  Writings — The  Town 
and  the  Jail — Rights  of  Sanctuary — Valdivia's  Voyage— Zamudio's 
Mission — Expedition  to  Coiba — Careta  Gives  Vasco  Nunez  his 
Daughter — Ponca  Punished — Jura,  the  Savage  Statesman— Visit  of 
the  Spaniards  to  Comagre — Panciaco  Tells  Them  of  a  Southern 
Sea — The  Story  of  Valdivia,  Who  is  Shipwrecked  and  Eaten  by 
Cannibals — Vasco  Nunez  Undertakes  an  Impious  Pilgrimage  to  the 
Golden  Temple  of  Dabaiba — Conspiracy  Formed  by  the  Natives  to 
Destroy  Antigua — Fulvia  Divulges  the  Plot — Darien  Quieted — 
Vasco  Nunez  Receives  a  Royal  Commission — Serious  Charges — 
Vasco  Nunez  Resolves  to  Discover  the  Southern  Sea  before  He  is 
Prevented  by  Arrest 337 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

/ 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

1513.  PAGE. 

Departure  of  Vasco  Nunez  from  Antigua — Careta's  Welcome — Difficulties 
to  be  Encountered — Treacherous  Character  of  the  Country — His 
torical  Bloodhounds — Ponca  Reconciled — Capture  of  Quarequd — 
First  View  of  the  Pacific  from  the  Heights  of  Quarequd — The 
Spaniards  Descend  to  Chiapes — Take  Formal  Possession  of  the  South 
Sea — Form  of  Taking  Possession — The  Names  South  Sea  and  Pacific 
Ocean — Further  Discoveries — Perilous  Canoe  Voyage — Gold  and 
Pearls  in  Profusion — Tumaco  Pacified — The  Pearl  Islands — The 
Return — Teoca's  Kindness — Ponca  Murdered — Pocorosa  Pacified — 
Tubanamd  Vanquished — Gold,  Gold,  Gold — Panciaco's  Congratula 
tions — Arrival  at  Antigua 358 

CHAPTER  X. 

PEDRARIAS  DA  VILA  ASSUMES  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  DARIEN. 
1514-1515. 

How  the  Discovery  of  a  South  Sea  was  Regarded  in  Spain — The  Ene 
mies  of  Vasco  Nunez  at  Court — Pedrarias  Davila  Appointed  Gov 
ernor — Departure  from  Spain  and  Arrival  at  Antigua — Arbolancha 
in  Spain — Pedrarias  Persecutes  Balboa — The  King's  Requirement 
of  the  Indians — Juan  de  Ayora  Sent  to  Plant  a  Line  of  Fortresses 
between  the  Two  Seas — Which  Work  He  Leaves  for  Wholesale 
Robbery — Bartolome  Hurtado  Sent  to  Bring  in  the  Plunder — Dis 
astrous  Attempts  to  Violate  the  Sepulchres  of  Cenu — Expedition 
of  Tello  de  Guzman  to  the  South  Sea — The  Site  of  Panamd  Discov 
ered — The  Golden  Temple  of  Dabaiba  Once  More — Gaspar  de  Moralea 
and  Francisco  Pizarro  Visit  the  South  Sea.  .^. 386 

CHAPTER  XI. 

DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 
1515-1517. 

Gonzalo  de  Badajoz  Visits  the  South  Sea — What  He  Sees  at  Nombre  de 
Dios — His  Dealings  with  Totonagua — And  with  Tataracherubi — 
Arrives  at  Natd — The  Spaniards  Gather  much  Gold — They  Encoun 
ter  the  Redoubtable  Paris — A  Desperate  Fight — Badajoz  Loses  his 
Gold  and  Returns  to  Darien — Pedrarias  on  the  War-path — He  Strikes 
Cenu  a  Blow  of  Revenge — Acla  Founded — The  Governor  Returns  111 
to  Antigua — Expedition  of  Gaspar  de  Espinosa  to  the  South  Sea — 
The  Licentiate's  Ass — Robbery  by  Law — Espinosa 's  Relation — A 
Bloody-handed  Priest — Espinosa  at  Natd — He  Courts  the  Acquaint 
ance  of  Paris — Who  Kills  the  Ambassadors — Hurtado  Surveys  the 
Southern  Seaboard  to  Nicoya — Panamd  Founded — An  Aboriginal 
Tartarus — Return  of  Espinosa's  Expedition 412 


CONTENTS.  xlx 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NUNEZ  DE  BALBOA. 

1516-1517.  PAGE. 

Affairs  at  Antigua — Different  Qualities  of  Pacification — Complaints  of 
Vasco  Nunez  to  the  King — A  New  Expedition  Planned — Vasco  Nunez 
Made  Adelantado  and  Captain-general  of  the  South  Sea — Pedrarias 
Keeps  Secret  the  Appointment — Reconciliation  of  Balboa  and  Pe 
drarias — Betrothal  of  Dona  Maria — Vasco  Nunez  Goes  to  Acla — 
Massacre  of  Olano — The  Municipality  of  Acla  Established — Mate 
rials  for  Ships  Carried  across  the  Mountains — Difficulties,  Perils, 
and  Mortality — Balboa  at  the  Pearl  Islands — Prediction  of  Micer 
Codro,  the  Astrologer — Rumored  Arrival  of  a  New  Governor  at 
Antigua — Meditated  Evasion  of  New  Authority — The  Infamy  of 
Garabito — Vasco  Nunez  Summoned  by  Pedrarias  to  Acla — His 
Journey  thither — Trial  and  Execution 432 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

DECLINE  OF  SPANISH  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

1517-1523. 

Dishonesty  the  Best  Policy — Pedrarias  Stigmatized — His  Authority  Cur 
tailed — Quevedo  in  Spain — He  Encounters  Las  Casas — The  Battle  of 
the  Priests — Oviedo  Enters  the  Arena — Business  in  Darien — The 
Interoceanic  Road  Again — Its  Termini — Pedrarias  and  Espinosa  at 
Panamd  —  The  Licentiate  Makes  another  Raid — The  Friars  of  St 
Jerome  have  their  Eye  on  Pedrarias — The  Cabildo  of  Antigua  Shakes 
its  Finger  at  Him — Continued  Attempts  to  Depopulate  the  North 
Coast — Albites  Builds  Nombre  de  Dios — Lucky  Licentiate — Arrival 
and  Death  of  Lope  de  Sosa — Oviedo  Returns  and  Does  Battle  with 
the  Dragon — And  is  Beaten  from  the  Field 460 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

1519-1523. 

Andre's  Nino  and  his  Spice  Islands — Fails  to  Obtain  Authority  to  Dis 
cover — Applies  to  Gil  Gonzalez  Ddvila — Agreement  with  the  King — 
Royal  Order  for  the  Ships  of  Vasco  Nunez — Pedrarias  Refuses  to 
Deliver  Them — Gil  Gonzalez  Transports  Ships  across  the  Moun 
tains — Embarks  from  the  Pearl  Islands — Gil  Gonzalez  Proceeds  by 
Land  and  Niiio  by  Sea — Visit  to  Nicoya — And  to  Nicaragua — The 
Captain-general  Convertsv^nany  Souls — And  Gathers  much  Gold — 
Fight  with  Diriangen — Nicaragua  Apostatizes — The  Spaniards  Ter 
minate  the  Discovery  and  Hasten  to  their  Ships — Nino's  Voyage  to 
Fonseca  Bay — Return  to  Panama 478 


xx  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK  XV. 

SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  BOUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

1521-1526.  PAGE. 

European  Settlement  on  the  West  Coast  of  America — Progress  of  Pan 
ama —  Laws  Respecting  Spanish  Settlements  in  America  —  Final 
Abandonment  of  Antigua — Administration  of  the  South  Sea  Govern 
ment — Piracy  upon  Principle — Pascual  de  Andagoya  Explores  South 
ward — Conquers  Biru — Return  to  Panamd, — Colonies  of  Veragua  and 
Chiriqui — The  Chieftain  Urraca  Takes  up  his  Abode  in  the  Moun 
tains  and  Defies  the  Spaniards — Pizarro,  Espinosa,  Pedrarias,  and 
Companon  in  vain  Attempt  his  Overthrow — Building  of  Natd — 
Companon  as  Governor — Hurtado  Colonizes  Chiriqui — Conspiracy — 
Capture  and  Escape  of  Urracd — Several  Years  more  of  War 495 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    WARS     OF     THE     SPANIARDS-. 

1523-1524. 

Oviedo  in  Spain — He  Secures  the  Appointment  of  Pedro  de  los  Rios  as 
Governor  of  Castilla  del  Oro  —  Pedrarias  Determines  to  Possess 
Nicaragua — He  Sends  thither  Cordoba,  who  Founds  Bruselas,  Gra 
nada,  and  Leon — And  Carries  a  Ship  across  the  Land  from  the 
Pacific  to  Lake  Nicaragua — He  Makes  a  Survey  of  the  Lake — 
Informed  of  Spaniards  Lurking  thereabout — Development  of  the 
Spanish  Colonial  System — Gil  Gonzalez  Escapes  with  his  Treasure 
to  Espafiola — Despatches  Cereceda  to  Spain  with  Intelligence  of  his 
Discovery — Sails  from  Santo  Domingo  to  the  Coast  of  Honduras — 
Arrives  at  Puerto  Caballos — Founds  San  Gil  de  Buenavista — En 
counters  Hernando  de  Soto — Battle — Cristobal  de  Olid  Appears — 
Founds  Triunfo  de  la,  Cruz 511 

CHAPTER  XVH. 

COLONIZATION     IN     HONDURAS. 

1524-1525. 

Cortes  in  Mexico — Extension  of  his  Conquests — Fears  of  Encroachments 
on  the  Part  of  Spaniards  in  Central  America — Cristobal  de  Olid  Sent 
to  Honduras — Touching  at  Habana,  He  is  Won  from  Allegiance  to 
Cortes — Triunfo  de  la  Cruz  Founded — Olid  as  Traitor — Meeting  with 
Gil  Gonzalez— The  Wrath  of  Cortes— Casas  Sent  after  Olid— Naval 
Engagement  in  Triunfo  Harbor — Casas  Falls  into  the  Hands  of  Olid, 
Who  is  soon  Captured  by  the  Captive — Death  of  Olid — Return  of 
Casas  to  Mexico — Trujillo  Founded — Interference  of  the  Audiencia 
of  Santo  Domingo 522 


CONTENTS.  xxl 

CHAPTEE   XVIII. 

MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

1524-1525.  PAGE. 

Doubts  concerning  Casas — Cortes  Tired  of  Inaction — Determines  to  Go 
in  Person  to  Honduras — Sets  out  with  a  Large  Party — Arrives  at 
Goazacoalco — The  Gay  Army  soon  Comes  to  Grief — The  Way  Barred 
by  Large  Rivers  and  Deep  Morasses — Scarcity  of  Provisions — Suffer 
ings  of  the  Soldiers — The  Trick  of  the  Merchant-cacique — Killing 
of  the  Captive  Kings — Apotheosis  of  a  Charger — Fears  of  Rebellious 
Spaniards  Dissipated  on  Nearing  Nito 537 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

CORTES     IN     HONDURAS. 

1525-1526. 

He  is  Master  of  all  the  Miseries  there — Miasma  and  Deep  Distress — 
Exertions  of  Corte"s  in  Behalf  of  the  Colonists — A  Vessel  Appears 
with  Provisions — Cortes  Sends  out  Foragers — He  Seeks  a  Better 
Locality — Sandoval  at  Naco — Others  Settle  at  Caballos — Corte"s  at 
Trujillo — Vessels  Sent  to  Mexico,  Cuba,  and  Jamaica — Troubles  in 
Mexico — Cortes  Irresolute — Starts  for  Mexico — Is  Driven  back  by  a 
Storm — Pacification  of  Adjacent  Pueblos — Cortes  Sends  Presents  to 
C6rdoba — Shall  Cortes  Make  himself  Master  of  Nicaragua? — Arrival 
of  Altamirano — Return  of  Cortes  to  Mexico 566 

CHAPTER  XX. 

PEDRARIAS  REMOVES  TO  NICARAGUA. 

1525-1527. 

Cordoba  Meditates  Revolt— Soto  and  Companon  Object— Their  Flight— 
Pedrarias  Nurses  his  Wrath — Secret  Motives  for  his  Departure  for 
Nicaragua — Cordoba  Loses  his  Head — The  Governor  Covets  Hon 
duras,  and  Comes  to  Blows — The  Indians  Follow  the  Example — 
Bloody  Scenes — Pedrarias  Interrupted  in  his  Reverie — Pedro  de  los 
Rios  Succeeds  as  Governor  at  Panam£  —  His  Instructions  and 
Policy — Residencia  of  Pedrarias — Triumphant  Result 584 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

RIVAL  GOVERNORS  IN   HONDURAS  AND  NICARAGUA. 

1526-1530. 

Colonial  Policy — Salcedo  Displaces  Saavedra  in  the  Government  of  Hon 
duras — Saavedra's  Escape — Pedrarias'  Envoys  Trapped — Salcedo 
Invades  Nicaragua — His  Cruelty  and  Extortion — Distress  among  the 
Colonists— Rios  also  Presents  Claims,  but  is  Discomfited — Pedrarias 
Follows  Triumphant— Salcedo's  Ignominious  Fate — Estete's  Expedi 
tion — Slave-hunting  Profits  and  Horrors — Gladiatorial  Punishment  of 
Revolted  Natives — Pedrarias'  Schemes  for  Aggrandizement — He 
Grasps  at  Salvador  and  Longs  for  Peru — Both  Elude  Him — Further 
Mortification,  and  Death — Character  of  the  Conquerors 597 


xxii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 

1522-1524.  PAGE. 

Rumors  in  Mexico  concerning  the  Country  to  the  South-eastward — Pacifi 
cation  in  that  Quarter — The  Chiefs  of  Tehuantepec  and  Tututepec — 
At  the  Gate  of  Guatemala — Summary  of  Aboriginal  History — Alle 
giance  and  Revolt — Preparing  of  an  Expedition — Delayed  by  the 
Troubles  at  Panuco — A  Second  Army  Organized — The  March — Sub 
jugation  of  Soconusco — The  Taking  of  Zapotitlan 617 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CONQUEST  OF  GUATEMALA  BEGUN. 

February-March,  1524. 

Overtures  of  Kicab  Tanub  to  the  Lords  of  the  Zutugils  and  Cakchiquels — 
Death  of  the  Quiche  King — Tecum  Umam  his  Successor — Gathers  a 
Great  Army — Intrenches  Himself  at  Zacaha — Passage  of  Palahunoh 
by  the  Spaniards — A  Skirmish — A  Bloody  Engagement — Quezal- 
tenango  Established — The  Army  Advances  on  Xelahuh — The  City 
Deserted — Battle  of  Xelahuh — Tecum  Umam  Slain — Forcible  Prose 
lyting 632 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

DOWNFALL   OF  THE    QUICHE  NATION. 

April,  1524. 

Utatlan,  Capital  of  the  Quiche's — Its  Magnificence — The  Royal  Palace 
and  Pyramidal  Fortifications — Private  Apartments  and  Gardens — 
Plan  to  Entrap  the  Spaniards — A  Feast  Prepared — The  Enemy 
Invited — The  Treachery  Discovered — Masterly  Retreat  of  Alva- 
rado — The  Quichd  King  and  Nobles  Entrapped — They  are  Made  to 
Gather  Gold — And  are  then  Destroyed — Utatlan  Burned  and  the 
Country  Devastated — Subjugation  of  the  Quiche's  Complete 643 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE   CAKCHIQUELS  AND   ZUTUGILS  MADE  SUBJECTS   OF  SPAIN. 

April-May,  1524. 

March  to  the  Cakchiquel  Capital — With  a  Brilliant  Retinue  King  Sina- 
cam  Comes  forth  to  Meet  the  Spaniards — Description  of  Patinamit — 
Occupation  of  the  Cakchiquel  Capital — Expedition  against  Tepepul, 
King  of  the  Zutugils— The  Cliff  City  of  Atitlan— A  Warm  Battle- 
Entry  into  the  Stronghold — Reconciliation  and  Return  to  Patina 
mit — Love  Episode  of  Alvarado 652 


CONTENTS.  xxiii 


CHAPTEK  XXVI. 

EXPEDITION    TO    SALVADOR. 

1524. 

Campaign  against  Itzcuintlan — A  Rough  March — The  Town  Surprised — 
Desperate  Defence — Alvarado  Determines  to  Explore  still  farther 
South — Crossing  the  River  Michatoyat — The  Spaniards  Come  to 
Atiquipac,  Tacuylula,  Taxisco,  Nancintlan,  and  Pazaco — The  Towns 
Deserted — Poisoned  Stakes  and  Canine  Sacrifice — Enter  Salvador — 
Moquizalco  and  Acatapec — Battles  of  Acajutla  and  Tacuxcalco — 
Blood-thirstiness  of  this  Conqueror — Entry  into  Cuzcatlan — Flight 
of  the  Inhabitants— Return  to  Patinamit 663 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

REVOLT    OF    THE    CAKCHIQUELS. 

1524-1525. 

Return  of  the  Allies  to  Mexico — Founding  of  the  City  of  Santiago — The 
Cakchiquels  Oppressed  beyond  Endurance — They  Flee  from  the 
City — Difficulty  in  again  Reducing  Them  to  Subjection — Reinforce 
ments  from  Mexico — Campaign  against  Mixco — Capture  of  that 
Stronghold — Fight  with  the  Chignautecs — Superhuman  Valor  of  a 
Cavalryman — Conquest  of  the  Zacatepec  Valley — Expedition  against 
the  Mames — Defeat  of  Can  Ilocab — Entry  into  Huehuetenango — 
Siege  of  Zakuleu — Surrender  of  Caibil  Balam 678 


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Allen  (Bird),  Sketch  of  the  Eastern  Coast  of  Central  America.    In  Lond.  Geog. 

Soc.,  Jour.,  1841.  vol.  xi. 

Almagro,  Informacion.     In  Col.  Doc.  Indd.,  torn.  xxvi. 
Almy  (John  J.),  Report  on  Chiriqui.     [New  York],  1859. 
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folio. 

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Alvarado  (Gonzalo  de),  Memoria.     MS. 

Alvarado  (Hernando  de),  and  Joan  de  Padilla,  Relacion  del  descubrimiento 

del  mar  del  sur.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  iii. 
Alvarado  (Pedro  de),  Asiento  y  Capitulacion,  in  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col. 

Doc.,  torn.  xvi. 

Alvarado  (Pedro  de),  Cartas  Varias  desde  1534  hasta  1541.     MS.  folio. 
Alvarado  (Pedro  de),  Fundacion  de  Gracias  d  Dios,  1536.     In  Pacheco  and 

Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xv. 
Alvarado  (Pedro  de),  Lettres  de  Pedro  de  Alvarado  a  Fernand  Cort6s.     In 

Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  i.,  torn.  x. 
Alvarado   (Pedro   de),    Real  Cedula  a  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  16  Abril,   1538. 

In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiv. 
Alvarado  (Pedro  de),  Relacion  hecha  a  Hernando  Cortes,  28  de  Julio,  1524. 

In  Barcia,  Historiadores  Prim.,  torn.  i. 

Alvares  (Pedro),  Navigation.     1520.     In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  i. 
Alzato  y  Ramirez  (Jose"  Antonio),  Gacetas  de  Literatura  de  Mexico.     Mexico, 

1790-4.  3  vols.;  and  Puebla,  1831.  4  vols. 

Amador  de  los  Rios  (Jose"),  Vida  y  Escritos  de  Oviedo.     In  Oviedo,  torn.  i. 
America,  Descripcion  de  la  America  meriodional  y  Septentrional.     (Madrid, 

1809.)     MS.  folio. 
America,  Disertacion  sobre  varias  cuestiones  iiiteresantes  pertenecientes  &  los 

negocias  de  America.     Madrid,  1821. 

America  6  examen  general  de  la  situacion  politica.     Northampton,  1828. 
America :  or  a  General  Survey  of  the  Political  Situation.    Philadelphia. 
America :  or  an  exact  description  of  the  West-Indies.     London,  1655. 
America  Settentrionale  e  meridionale.     Torino,  1836. 
America,  The  Progress  and  Prospects.     New  York  (1855). 
America  Central,  Gaceta  Oficial.     Managua,  1849  et  seq. 
America  Central,  Reclamacion  de  la  Intervencion  de . Alej .    Macdonald.   Leon, 

[1842.] 

American  Almanac.     Boston,  1830  et  seq. 
American  Annual  Register.     Now  York,  etc.,  1825  et  seq. 
American  Antiquarian  Society,  Proceedings.     Worcester,  1820  et  seq. 
American  Geographical  Society,  Bulletin.     New  York,  1874  et  seq. 
American  Notes  and  Queries.     Philadelphia,  1857  et  seq. 
American  Philosophical  Society.     Philadelphia,  1819  et  seq. 
American  Quarterly  Register  and  Magazine.     Philadelphia,  1848  et  seq. 
American  Quarterly  Review.     Philadelphia,  1827  et  seq. 
American  Register.     Philadelphia,  1807  et  seq. 
American  Review.     Philadelphia,  1811  et  seq. 
American  State  Papers.     Boston,  1817  et  seq. 
American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union.     New  York,  1850  et  seq. 
Ame"rique  Centrale,  Colonisation  du  District  de  Santo -Thomas,  Guatemala. 

Paris,  1844. 
Amoretti  (Charles),   Primo  Viaggio   intorno   al  Globo . . .  fatta  dal  Antonio 

Pigafetta.     Milano,  1800.' 

Andagoya  (Pascual  de),  Carta  al  Rey,  22  Oct.,  1534. 
Andagoya  (Pascual  de,),  Narrative  of  the  Proceedings  of  Pedrarias  Ddvila. 

London,  1865. 
Andagoya  (Pascual  de),  Relacion  de  los  sucesos  de  Pedrarias  Ddvila.     In 

Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Anderson  (Adam),   Historical  and  Chronological  deduction  of  the  origin  of 

Commerce.     London,  1801.   folio.  4  vols. 
Anderson  (Young),  Eastern  Coast  of  Central  America,  Report  18391.    London, 

18S9. 

Andrews  (W.  S.),  Illustrations  of  West  Indies.     London,  n.d.   folio. 
Andrino  (J.   E.),  Remitido  d  la  Gaceta  de  Salvador  20  Julio,  1853.     San 

Salvador.  1853.  folio. 

Annales  des  Voyages.     Paris,  1809-14.  24  vols. 
Annals  of  British  Legislation.     London,  1856  et  seq.  4to. 


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Annals  of  Congress.    (1st  to  18th  Congress.)    Washington,  1834-56.    42  vols. 

Annual  Register.     London,  1758-1807.  47  vols. 

Anson  (George),  A  Voyage  round  the  World.     London,  1756. 

Aiitonelli  (Juan  Bautista),  Instruccion,  hecha  por  el  Ingeniero  para  San  Juan 

de  Uliia.     15  Mar,  1590.     In  Facheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiii. 
Antunez  y  Accvedo  (Rafael),  Memorias  Historicas.     Madrid,  1797. 
Apiano   (Pedro),    Cosmographia   corregida    y   anadida    por   Gemma   Frisio. 

Anvers,  1575. 

Apianns  (Petrus),  Cosmographicus  Liber,  Landshutce,  1524. 
Apianus  (Petrus),  Introductio  geographica  Petri  Apiani,  Ingolstadii,  1533. 
Appleton's  Handbook  of  American  Travel.     New  York,  1807. 
Appleton's  Illustrated  Handbook  of  American  Travel.     New  York,  1857. 
Aragon  (Antonino),  La  Victoria  de  Coatepeque.     San  Salvador,  18G3. 
Arana  (Thomas  Ignacio),  Relacion  de  los  estragos,  y  rvynas  de  Guathemala. 

Guathemala,  1717.  folio. 
Arancel  de  los  derechos,  que  se  han  de  llevar  en  las  dos  Secretarias.     Madrid, 

1749. 

Arancel  de  1720.     In  Reales  Ordenes,  torn.  iii. 

Archenholtz  (J.  M.  von),  History  of  the  Pirates,  etc. ,  of  America.    London,  1807. 
Arellano  (Jose  N.),  Oracion  funebre,  26  Oct.,  1846.     Guatemala,  1846. 
Ardvalo   (Faustino),    Laudatio  funebris  eminentissimi  Francisci  Antonii  de 

Lorenzana.     Roma;  [1804].  folio. 

Ardvalo  (Rafael  de),  Colcccion  de  Documentos  Antiguos  del  Archive  de  Guate 
mala.     Guatemala,  1857. 

Ardvalo  (Rafael  de),  Libro  de  Actas  del  Ayuntamiento  de  Guatemala.    Guate 
mala,  1856. 
Ariza  (Andres),  Comentos  de  la  Rica  y  Fertilisima  Provincia  de  el  Darien. 

1774.     MS.  4to. 

Armin  (Th.),  Das  Alte  Mexiko.     Leipzig,  1865. 
Arosemena  (Justo),  Examen  sobre  la  Franca  comunicacion,  Istmo  de  Panama. 

Bogota,  1846. 
Arrangoiz  (Francisco  de  Paula  de),  Mejico  desde  1808  hasta  1867.     Madrid, 

1871-2.  4  vols. 

Arricivita  (J.  D.),  Cronica  Serafica  y  Apostolica.     Madrid,  1792.  folio. 
Arrillaga  (Basilio  D.),  Informe  que  dieron  los  C6nsules.     Mexico,  1818.   4to. 
Arriola  (D.  J.  de),  Ilegitimidad  de  la  Administracion  Barrios.     [Leon,  1862.] 
Artieda,  Pacificacion  de  Costa  Rica.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 

torn.  xv. 

Asher  (G.  M.),  Life  of  Henry  Hudson.     London,  1860. 

Astaburuaga  (Francisco  S.),  Republicas  de  Centre -America.     Santiago,  1857. 
Atitlan,  Requete  de  plusieurs  chefs.     In  Ternaux-Compans,  se"rie  i.,  torn.  x. 
Atlantic  Monthly.     Boston,  1858  et  seq. 
Audiencia  de  Santo  Domingo,  Cartas.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. , 

torn.  i. 

Auger  (Edward),  Voyage  en  Californie.     Paris,  1854. 
Aurrecoecha  (Jos<5  Maria  de),  Historia  sucinta  e  imparcial  de  la  marcha  que 

ha  seguido  en   sus   convulsiones  politicas  la  America   Espaiiola,   etc. 

Madrid,  1846.  4to. 
Avery  (William  T.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  House  of  Rep.,  Jan.  24,  1859.     Wash- 

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Avezac  (Martin),  Hylacomylus.     Paris,  1867. 
Avezac  (Martin),  In  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,  torn,  cv.;  torn.  cvi. ; 

torn,  cviii. ;  torn,  ex.;  also  Soc.  Geog.,  Bulletin,  torn.  xiv. 
Avila  y  Lugo,  Descripcion  de  las  Yslas  Guanajas,  1639. 
Ayetta,  Ini'orme,  in  Provincia  del  Santo  Evangelio.     8  Mar,  1594, 
Ayon  (Tomas),  Apuntes  sobre  algunos  de  los  acontecimientos.     Nicaragua, 

etc.,  1811  etseq. 
Ayon  (Tomas),  Consideraciones  sobre  la  cuestion  de  Limites  Territoriales. 

Managua,  1872. 
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Bagatcla  (La),  Agosto  19,  1851  et  seq.     [Granada.] 

Baily  (John),  Central  America;  describing  Guatemala,  Honduras,  Salvador, 

Nicaragua,  and  Costa  Rica.     London,  1850. 
Balboa  (Vasco  Nunez  de),  Cartas.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc,,  torn. 

ii. ;  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Balboa  (Vasco  Nunez  de),  Los  Navios. 

Bancroft  (George),  History  of  the  United  States.     Boston,  1870,  et  seq. 
Bancroft  (Hubert  Howe),  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States.     New  York, 

1875.  5  vols. 

Banks  (James),  On  the  Cotton  of  Honduras  and  Yucatan,    n.pl.,  n.d. 

Barcia  (Andre's  Gonzalez  de),  Historiadores  Primitives  de  las  Indias  Occi- 
dentales.  Madrid,  1749.  folio.  3  vols. 

Bard  (Samuel  A.),  Waikna;  or,  Adventures  on  the  Mosquito  Shore.  [By 
E.  G.  Squier.]  New  York,  1855. 

Barrionucvo,  Informacion  hecha  en  Panama  al  navio  Concepcion.  7  Abril, 
1534.  In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  x. 

Barrios  (Gerardo),  A  los  pueblos  del  Salvador,  Segundo  manifiesto.  San  Sal 
vador,  1863. 

Barrios  (Gerardo),  Discurso  ante  el  Cuerpo  Legislative  del  Salvador,  Febrero 
1,  1860.  San  Salvador,  [I860.] 

Barrios  (Gerardo),  El  porqud  de  la  caida  de  Barrios.     San  Salvador,  1863. 

Barrios  (Gerardo),  Manifesto  of.     Nueva  York,  1864. 

Barrios  (Gerardo),  Presidente  Legitimo  de  la  Republica  del  Salvador.  Pan 
ama,  1863. 

Barrios  (Gerardo),  Relaciones  con  el  Gobierno  de  Nicaragua.    Managua,  1860. 

Barrios  (Joso"  Rufino),  General  en  Gefe,  a  los  Pueblos  del  Salvador,  Mayo  S, 

1876.  San  Salvador,  1876. 

Barrow  (John),  The  Life,  Voyages,  and  Exploits  of  Admiral  Sir  Francis  Drake. 

London,  1843. 
Barrundia  (Jose),  Discurso  Pronunciado,  Setiembre  15,  1850.     San  Salvador, 

[1850.] 
Bastidas  (Rodrigo  de),  Asiento  que  hizo  con  sus  Majestades  Catolicas,  5  Junio, 

1500.     In  Paclieco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  ii. 

Bastidas  (Rodrigo  de),  Informacion  de  los  Servicios.  In  Pacheco  and  Car 
denas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  ii. 

Bastide  (M.  dc),  Memoire  sur  uii  Nouveau  Passage.     Paris,  1791. 
Bates  (H.  W.),  Central  America,  The  West  Indies,  and  South  America. 

London,  1878. 

Batres  (Manuel  de),  Relacion  de  las  fiestas  reales.     Guatemala,  1761. 
Baxley  (Willis),  What  I  saw  on  the  West  Coast  of  South  and  North  America. 

New  York,  1865. 
Bay  Islands,  Copy  of  Queen's  warrant  for  erecting  into  a  British  Colony,  etc. 

London,  1856.  folio. 
Bayle  (Pierre),  Dictionnaire  Historique  et  Critique.     Rotterdam,  1720.  folio. 

4  vols. 
Beaumont,  Pablo  de  la  Purisima  Concepcion,  Cr6nica  de  la  Provincia  de  S. 

Pedro  y  S.  Pablo  de  Mechoacan,  MS. ;  also  Mexico,  1873-4.  5  vols. 
Beccatini  (Francisco),  Vida  de  Carlos  III.     Madrid,  1790. 
Beechey  (F.  W.),  Address  at  the  Anniversary  Meeting  of  the  Royal  Geo 
graphical  Society,  20th  May,  1856.     London,  1856. 
Beechey  (F.  W.),  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the  Pacific,  1825-8.     London, 

1831.  2  vols. 

Behaim  (Martin),  Globe — Humboldt's  Essay  on  the  Oldest  Maps.    MS.  folio. 
Bejarano  (Felix  Francisco),  Informe  hecho  por  el  Gobernador  de  Veragua. 

1775.     MS. 
Belcher  (Edward),  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  round  the  World,  1836-42.    London, 

1843.  2  vols. 

Belize,  Copy  of  a  letter,  Nov. ,  1836,  to  S.Coxe,  defining  boundary.  London,  1856. 
Belize,  Packet  Intelligencer.     Belize,  1854  et  seq. 
Belknap  (Jeremy),  American  Biography.     Boston,  1794. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xxix 

Bell  (Chas  N.),  Remarks  on  the  Mosquito  Territory.     In  Lond.  Geog.  Soc. 

Jour.,  vol.  xxxii. 

Bell  (James),  A  System  of  Geography.     Glasgow,  1836.  6  vols. 
Bell  (John),  Speech  in  Senate  of  the  U.  S. ,  February  26, 1856.  Washington,  1856. 
Belly  (Felix),  A  Travers  L'Amerique  Centrale.     Paris,  1867.    2  vols.;   also 

Paris,  1870.  2  vols. 
Belly  (Felix),  Carte  d'Etude  pour  le  trace"  et  le  profil  du  Canal  de  Nicaragua. 

Paris,  1858. 

Belly  (Felix),  Durchbruch  des  Amerikanischen  Continents.     Paris,  1859. 
Belly  (Felix),  Le  Nicaragua.     Paris,  1870.  2  vols. 
Belly  (Felix),  Protesta  del  Seiior  Don  Felix  Belly.     Leon,  1869.  ' 
Belot  (Gnstave),  La  Verite1  sur  le  Honduras.     Paris.,  n.d. 
Benton(  Joseph  A. ),  Speech  inU.  S.  Senate,  March,  1826.  Washington  City,  1826. 
Benton  (Thomas  II.),  Abridgment  of  Debates  in  Congress,  1759-1856.     New 

York,  1857-63.  16  vols. 

Benton  (Thomas  H. ),  Thirty  Years'  View  U.  S.  Senate.  New  York,  1854.  2  vols. 
Benzoni  (Girolamo),  History  of  the  New  World.    (Hakl.  Soc.  ed. )   London,  1857. 
Benzoni  (Girolamo),  La  Historia  del  Mondo  Nuovo.     Venetia,  1572. 
Berendt  (C.  H.),  Report  of  Explorations  in  Central  America.    In  Smithsonian 

Report,  1867. 
Berendt  (Hermann),  Analytical  Alphabet  for  Mexican  and  Central  American 

Languages.     New  York,  1869. 
Berenger,  Collection  de   tous  les  Voyages  faits  autour  du  Monde.     Paris, 

1788-9.  9  vols. 
Bergano  y  Villegas   (Simon),  La  Vacuna.     Canto  dirigido  a  los  Jovenes. 

Nueva  Guatemala,  1808. 

Bergano  y  Villegas  (Simon),  La  Vacuna  y  Economica  Politica.    Nueva-  Guate 
mala,  1808. 

Bergomas  (Jacobo  Philippo),  Nouissime  historiaru  omniu.    Veiietiis,  1503. 
Bergomas  (Jacobo  Philippo),  Supplement!  Chronicarum  ab  ispo  nrundi  exordio. 

[Venet.,  1513.] 

Berlanga,  Pesquisa.     Sobre  conducta  de  Pizarro,  1535.     In  Pacheco  and  Car 
denas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  x. 
Bernal  Diaz.     See  Diaz  del  Castillo  (Bernal). 
Betagh  (William),  A  Voyage  round  the  World.     London,  1757. 
Beulloch,  Le  Mexique  en  1823.     London,  1824.  2  vols. 
Biblioteca  Americana.     London,  1789. 

Biblioteca  Mexicana  Popular  y  Economica,  Tratados.    Mexio,  1851-3.  3  vols. 
Biddle,  Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot.     London,  1831. 
Bidwell  (Chas.  Toll.),  The  Isthmus  of  Panama.     London,  1865. 
Biglund  (John),  A  Geographical  and  Historical  View  of  the  WorlcL     London, 

1810.  5  vols. 

Bilboa  (Francisco),  Iniciativa  de  la  America.     Paris,  1856. 
Blackwood's  Edinburgh  Magazine.     Edinburgh,  1817  et  seq. 
Blagdon  (Francis  Win.),  The  Modern  Geographer.     London,  n.d.  5  vols. 
Blasquez,  Opinion.     In  Chiapas,  Documentos  Originales.     MS. 
Blewfiekls,  Documentos  Interesantes  sobrc  el  Atentado.     San  Salvador  [1848J. 
Blomfield  (E.),  A  General  View  of  the  World.     Bungay,  1807.  4to.  2  vols. 
Boddam  Whetham  (J.  W.),  Across  Central  America.     London,  1877. 
Bogotd,  Gaceta  de  la  Nueva  Granada.     Bogotd,  1843  ct  seq. 
Bogota,  Gaceta  Oficial.     Bogota,  1848  ct  seq. 
Boletin  de  Noticias.     San  Salvador,  1851  et  seq. 
Boletin  del  Ejercito.     Santa  Ana,  1851  et  seq. 
Bonnycastle  (R.  H.),  Spanish  America.     London,  1818.  2  vols. 
Borbon  (Luisde),  Ciudadanos.     Mexico,  1820. 
Bordone  (Benedetto),  Libro  di  Benedetto  Bordone  nel  qual  si  ragiona  de  tutte 

1'Isole  del  inondo.     Vinegia,  1528. 

Borthwick  (J.  D.),  Three  Years  in  California.     Edinburgh,  1857. 
Borthwick  (J.  D. ),  In  Hutchings'  California  Magazine,  vol.  ii. 
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xxx  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Bossi,  Vita  di  Colombo.     Milan,  1818. 

Bourgoanne,  Travels  in  Spain.     In  Pinkertoii's  Col.  Voy.,  torn.  v. 

Boyle  (Frederick),  A  Ride  across  a  Continent.     London,  1868.  2  vols. 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Bibhotheque  Me^'co-Guatemalienne.     Paris,  1871. 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Histoire  des  Nations  civilise"es  du  Mexique  et  de 

1'Ame'riqne  Centrale.     Paris,  1857-9.  4  vols. 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Lettres  pour  servir  d'lntrodnction  &  1'Histoire  primi 
tive  des  Nations  Civilis^esde  1'Ame'rique  Septentrionale.  Mexico,  1851. 4xo. 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Mauuscrit  Troano.  Etudes  sur  le  systeme  graphiqne 

et  la  langtie  des  Mayas.     Paris,  1809-70.  4to.  2  vols.     (Mission  Scien- 

tifique,  Linquistique. ) 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Notes  d'un Voyage  dans  L'  Amerique  Centrale.  n.  pi. ,  n .  d. 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Recherches  sur  les  Ruines  de  Palenque'.     Avec  les 

DessinsdeM. deWaldeck.    Paris,  1808.  folio.  1vol. text;  and  1  vol. plates. 
British  Railway.     Remarks  on,  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific  from  Gulf  of  Hon 
duras.     London,  1849. 

British  Sailor's  Discovery,  or  the  Spanish  Pretensions  refuted.    London,  1739. 
Brouez  (M.  P.),  Une  Colonie  Beige  dans  L'Amerique  Centrale.     Mons,  1846. 
Brown  (A.  G.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  March  12-13,  1850.   u.pl.,  n.d. 
Bryant,  What  I  saw  in  California.     New  York,  1849. 

Bryant  (William  Cullen),  History  of  the  United  States.    N.  Y.  1876-81 .  4  vols. 
Buccaneers  of  America.     See  Esquemeling. 
Buitrago  (P.),  Carta,  Agosto  23  de  1851.     MS.  folio. 
Billow  (A.  von),  Der  Freistaat  Nicaragua.     Berlin,  1849. 
Burgoa  (Francisco  de),  Geografica  Descripcion  de  la  Parte  Septentrional,  del 

Polo  Artico  do  la  America  (Oaxaca).     Mexico,  1674.  4to.  2  vols. 
Burke  (Edmund),  An  Account  of  European  Settlements  in  America.    London, 

1808,  4to;  also  editions  London,  1760,  2  vols. ;  London,  1770,  2  vols. 
Burney  (James),  A  Chronological  History  of  the  Discoveries  in  the  South  Sea. 

London,  1803-16.  4to.  4  vols. 
Burton  (R.),  The  English  Heroe:  or,  Sir  Francis  Drake  revived.     London, 

1687;  also  edition  London,  1710. 
Burwell  (William  M.),  Memoir  Explanatory  of  the  Transnnion  and  Tehuan- 

tepec  Route.     Washington,  1851. 

Bury  (Viscount),  Exodus  of  the  Western  Nations.     London,  1865.  2  vols, 
Buschmann  (Johann  Carl  Ed.),  Uber  die  Aztekischen  Ortsnamen.     Berlin, 

[1853.]  4to. 

Bussiere  (Th.  de),  L'Empire  Mexicain.     Paris,  1863. 

Bustamante  (Carlos  Maria  de),  Apuntes  para  la  Historia  del  Gobierno  del  Gen 
eral  Santa- Anna.     Mexico,  1845. 
Bustamante  (Carlos  Maria  de),  Cuadro  Historico  de  la  Revolucion  Mexicana. 

Mexico,  1823-7.  5  vols.;  also  Mexico,  1832-40.  6  vols. 
Bustamante  (Curios  Maria  de),  Diario  de  lo  especialmente  occurrido  en  Mexico, 

Sept.  de  1841  a  Junio  de  1843.     Mexico,  1841-3.     MS.  4to.  4  vols. 
Bustamante  (Carlos  Maria  de),  Historia  del  Emperador  D.  Agustin  de  Iturbide 

(Continuacion  del  Cuadro  Historia).     Mexico,  1846. 
Bustamante  (Carlos  Maria  dc),  Materiales  para  la  Continuacion  del  Cuadro 

Historico.     Mexico,  1833-9.     MS. 
Bustamante  (Carlos  Maria  de),  Medidas  para  la  Pacificacion  de  la  America 

Mexicana.     MS.   1820. 
Bustamante  (Carlos  Maria  de),  Memorandum,  6  sea  Apuntes  de  lo  principal- 

mente  occurrido  en  Mexico.     Mexico,  1844-7.     MS. 

Bustamante  (Carlos  Maria  tie),  Resistencia  de  la  Corte  de  Espafia.  Mexico,  1 833. 
Bustamante  (Carlos  Maria  de),  Voz  dc  la  Patria.     Mexico,  1828-31.  3  vols. 
Bustelli-Foscolo  (Comte),  La  Fusion  Eepublicaine  du  Honduras  et  du  Salvador 

en  mi  seul  etat.     Paris,  1871. 

Butler  (J.  D.),  The  Naming  of  America.     Madison,  1874. 
Byam  (George),  Wanderings  in  some  of  the  Western  Republics  of  America. 

London,  1850. 
Byam  (George),  Wild  Life  in  the  Interior  of  Central  America.    London,  1849. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xxxi 

Cabanas  (T.),  El  Presidents,  Marzo  2,  1852.     [Comayagua,  1852.] 

Cabanas  (Trinidad),  Soldado  de  la  Patria,  Agosto  27  de  1853.     Santa  Rosa, 

1853.  folio. 
Cabanas  y  la  Paz,  Proclamacion  de  los  Democrates.     Deciembre  2  de  1851. 

San  Salvador,  1851. 
Cabeza  de  Vaca  (Alvar  Nunez),  Relation.     Translated  from  the  Spanish  by 

Buckingham  Smith.     New  York,  1871.  4to. 

Cabildo  da  Guatemala.     Informe  al  actual  Prelado.     Guatemala,  1827. 
Cabot,  Navigatione  di  Sebastiano  Cabota.     In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  ii. 
Cabrera  Bueno  (Joseph   Gonzalez),   Navegacion  Especvlativa,   y  Practica. 

Manila,  1734.  folio. 
Cabrera  (Paul  Felix),  Beschreibung  einer  alten  Stadt  in  Guatimala.    Berlin, 

1832. 
Cadamosto  (Alvise),  La  Prima  Nauigatione,  etc.  Vicenza,  1507;  also  in  Ramusio, 

Viaggi,  torn.  i. 

Cadamosto  (Alvise),  La  Seconda  Navigatione.  In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  i. 
Cadena  (Felipe),  Breve  Descripcion  de  la  noble  ciudad  de  Santiago.     Guate 
mala,  1858. 
Cadena   (Fr.  Carlos),  Descripcion   de   las   reales   exequias   que   d   la   tierna 

memoria  de  nnestro  augusto  y  catolica  monarca  el  Sr.  D.  Curios  III. 

Guatemala,  1789.  4to. 

Caicedo  (J.  M.  Torres),  Union  Latina.     Paris,  1865.  4to. 
Caldas  (Sebastian  Alvarez  Alfonso  Rosica),  Carta  sobre  la  conq vista  de  las 

Provincias  del  Lacandon.     Goatemala,  1GG7.  folio. 
Calendario  Manual  y  Guia  de  Forasteros.     Mexico,  1811  et  seq. 
Callo  (Juan  Diez  de  la),  Memorial,  yNoticias  Sacras,  y  Reales  del  Imperio  de 

las  Iiidias  Occidcntalcs.     n.pl.,  1646. 
Callc  (Juan  Diez  de  la),  Recopilacion.     n.pl.,  1646. 
California  Newspapers.     (Cited  by  name  and  date.) 
Calvo  (Charles),  Annales  Historiques  dc  la  revolution  de  1'Ame'rique  latine. 

Paris,  etc.,  1864-07.  5  vols. 

Calvo  (Charles),  Recueil  Complet  des  Traite's.     Paris,  1862-7.  16  vols. 
Calvo  (Joaquiii  Bernardo),  Memoria  presentada  por  el  Ministro  de  Relaciones. 

San  Josd,  1852,  1854. 

Camp  (David  W.),  The  American  Year-Book.     Hartford,  1869  et  seq. 
Campafio  (Estanislao),  Oracioii  Funebre  en  los  Funerales  General  Jose  Maria 

Caiias.     San  Salvador,  1860. 

Campbell,  A  Concise  History  of  Spanish  America.     London,  1741. 
Campo,  Historia  del  Descubrimiento  y  Conquista  de  America.    Madrid,  1803. 

3  vols;  also  Mexico,  1854.     Madrid,  1845. 
Campo  (Rafael),  Contestaciou  a  la  segunda  replica  impresa  en  San  Salvador 

en  la  imprenta  Nacional.     Leon,  1873. 

Campo  (Rafael),  Contestacion  a  la  Primcr'a  replica  a  los  libelustas  del  Salva 
dor  en  Nicaragua.     San  Salvador,  1871. 
Canal  or  Railroad  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.    Report  of  February  20, 

1849.     Washington,  1849. 

Cancelada  (Juan  Lopez),  Ruina  de  la  Nueva  Espana.     Cadiz,  1811.  4to. 
Cancclada  (Juan  Lopez),  Telegrafo  Mexicano.     Cadiz,  1814  et  seq. 
Caiicellieri  (Francisco),  Dissertazioni  sopra  Cristoforo  Colombo.    Roma,  1809. 
Cancellieri  (Francisco),  Notizie  storichc  e  Bibliografiche  di  Christoforo  Co 
lombo.     Roma,  n.d. 

Candu  (de  Moussion),  Notice  sur  le  Golfe  de  Honduras.     Paris,  1850. 
Capron  (E.  S.),  History  of  California.     Boston,  1854. 

Carazo  (Manuel  Jose),  Informe  del  Ministrode  Hacienda,  1852.  San  Jose,  1852. 4to. 
Carbo  (Pedro),  Question  entrc  L'Angleterre  et  las  Etats-Unis.    Paris,  1856. 
Cardona,   Memorial   sobre   descubriniientos  en  California.     In  Pacheco  and 

Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  ix. 

Carmichael  (John),  Letter  on  the  Destruction  of  Greytown.    Liverpool,  1856. 
Carranza  (Domingo  Gonzalez),  A  Geographical  Description  of ...  the  West 

Indies.     London,  1740. 


xxxii  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Carrasco,  Carta,  Nicaragua,  sobre  reformas.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col. 

Doc.,  torn.  v. 

Carrera  (Rafael),  A  Los  Jefes,  Oct.  30,  1863.     San  Salvador,  1863. 
Carrera  (Rafael),  Manifiesto,  Junio  22,  1854.     [Guatemala,  1854.] 
Carrera  (Rafael),  Origen  y  Nacimiento.     Guatemala,  1844.     MS. 
Carrera  and  Morazan,  Coleccion  de  Noticias  de  Centro  America.    Guatemala, 

1846. 

Carreri  (Gemelli),  Viaggio,  etc. 

Carreri  (Gemelli),  Voyage  de.     In  Berenger,  Col.  Voy.,  torn.  ii. 
Carriedo  (Juan  B.),  Estudios  Hist6ricos  y  Estadisticos.    Oaxaca,  1850.  2vols. 
Carta  de  la  Reina,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Cartas  de  Indias.     Madrid,  1877.  folio. 

Cartier,  Prima  Relatione  di  lacqvs  Carthier.    In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  iii. 
Caruette  (La  Pere),  Lettres  Inedites  sur  la  Nouvelle  Granada.     In  Nouvelles 

Annales  des  Voyages,  torn.  cxlv. 
Casaus  y  Torres  (Ramon),  Relacion  de  las  exequias  que  se  hicieron  en  la 

Santa  Iglesia  Catedral.     Guatemala,  1846. 

Cash  (T.  M.),  The  Panama  Fever.     In  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  i. 
Casorla  (J.  R.),  Cultivo  del  Cafe.     Panama,  1878. 

Cass  (Lewis),  Speech  inU.  S.  Senate,  Jan.  28, 1856.  Washington,  1856,  8°.  16pp. 
Cass   (Lewis),    Speech   on  the  Clayton-Bui wer  treaty,   January   11,    1854. 

Washington,  1854. 

Castaueda,  Informe.     In  Col.  Doc.  Ined.,  torn.  xxvi. 

Castellanos  (Juan  de),  Elegias  de  Varones  ilustres  de  Indias.     Madrid,  1857. 
Castellon  (Francisco),  A  los  Pueblos  de  Centro -America.     Agosto  23,  1851. 

[Comayagua,  1851.] 

Castellon  (Francisco),  Al  Publico,  Deciembre  8,  1853.     [Leon,  1853.] 
Castellon  (Francisco),  Al  Publico,  Febrero  10,  1854.     San  Salvador,  1854. 
Castellon  (Francisco),  Calumnia  Atroz.     Leon,  1851. 

Castellon  (Francisco),  Discurso  Pronunciado,  Junio  11  de  1854.  n.pl.,  1854. 
Castellon  (Francisco),  Documentos  relativos  a  la  Cuestion  de  Mosquitos.    San 

Salvador,  1852. 
Castellon  (Francisco),  Documentos  Relativos  a  la  Legacion  de  Nicaragua  y 

Honduras.     Granada,  1851.  folio. 

Castillo,  Carta  sobre  la  pacificacion  de  Tierra  Firme.     Julio  1,  1527.     In  Pa 
checo  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xii. 
Castle  (William),  A  Short  Discovery  of  Coast  and  Continent  of  America.     In 

Voyages,  Col.  (Churchill),  vol.  viii. 

Castro  Diario.    In  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  1st  series,  toms.  iv.,  v.,  vi. 
Cava,  Testimonio  del  Estado  de  Despoblacion  de  Honduras,  1536.     In  Pacheco 

and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiv. 

Cavanilles  (Antonio),,  Historia  deEspaiia.    Madrid,  1860-3.  5  vols. 
Cavo  (Andres),  Los  Tres  Siglos  cle  Mexico.     Mexico,  1836-8.  3  vols. 
Cedulario.     A  Collection  mostly  MSS.  folio.  3  vols. 
Celis,  Camino  de  Honduras  a,  Guatemala,  1539.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas, 

Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiv. 

Central  America,  American  Anxieties,     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Central  America,  Article,     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Central  America,  British  Aggression  in.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Central  America,  British  Colony.    (32d  Cong.,  2d.  Sess.,  Senate  Report  407.) 

Washington,  1853. 
Central  America,  Clayton  and  Bulwer  Convention-Correspondence.    London, 

1856. 

Central  America,  Coasts.     [Cande",  Notice  sur  le  Golfe.]     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Central  America,  Correspondence  of  the  Department  of  State,  Accompanying 

Message  of  the  President  of  the  U.  S.,  December,  1855. 
Central  America,  Correspondence  with  the  late  Mr  Wallerstein.     London, 

1856.  folio. 

Central  America,  Correspondence  with  the  United  States  Respecting.     Lon 
don,  1856.   folio. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xxxiii 

Central  America,  Disputes  with  America,     n.pl.,  n.d. 

Central  America,  Further  Correspondence  with  the  United  States.    London, 

1856.  folio. 

Central  America,  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,     n.pl.,  n.d, 
Central  America,  Messages  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.    Jan.,  1853, 

Dec.,  1853,  May,  1856. 

Central  America,  Miscellaneous  Documents  on  Politics,     n.pl.,  n.d.  folio. 
Central  America,  Mosquito  King  and  British  Queen,     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Central  America,  Mr  Crampton  and  the  American  Question,     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Central  America,  Pamphlets.  9  vols. 

Central  America,  Question  in  United  Service  Magazine,  April,  1856. 
Central  America,  Recent  Travels  in.     In  Black  wood's  Magazine,  1858. 
Central  America,  Report  of  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations.     (32d  Cong., 

2d  Sess.,  Report  of  Committee  407.) 
Central  America,  Reviews,     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Central  America,  Ruined  Cities  of.     n.pl.,  n.d. 

Central  America,  Tarifa  de  Aforos  para  la  Exaccion  de  Derechos.    n.pl.,  1837. 
Central  America,  Unexplored  Regions  of.     New  York,  1868. 
Central  America  in  Congress.     1858.     A  Collection. 
Central  American  Affairs,  1856.     A  Collection. 

Central  American  Affairs,  Documents  relative  to.     Washington,  1856. 
Central  American  Constitutions. 
Central  American  Notes.     Scrap  Book. 
Central  American  Question.     Correspondence   concerning  the   Arbitration. 

[Washington,  1856.] 
Central  American  Commercial  and  Agricultural  Company.    Brief  Statement. 

London,  1839. 
Centre  America,  A  los  Honorables  Representantes  Congreso.     [Comayagua], 

Nov.  6,  1852.  folio. 

Centro  America,  A  los  Pueblos.     [Various  dates,  1851-2.} 
Centre  America,  Consideraciones  establecer  Gno.  jeneral.    Setiembre  13, 1852. 

[Tegucigalpa,  1852.]  folio. 

Centro  America,  Conveiicion  Provisional  de  los  Estados.     Guatemala,  1839. 
Centro  America",  Correspondencia  respecto  a  la  Isla  del  Tigre.     [San  Jose, 

1849.]  folio. 
Centro  America,  Escrito  que  Demuestra  Conviene  Establecer  un  Gobierno 

Nacional,  Noviembre  10,  1845.     San  Salvador,  1845. 
Centro  America,   Estatuto  Provisorio  de  la  Republica,    13  Octubre,  1852. 

Tegucigalpa,  1852. 
Centro  America,   Extractos    Sueltos  de  varies   libros  de  la  Coleccion  de 

Munoz.     MS.   1545-55.  folio. 
Centro  America,   Ley  Organica  de   la  Hacienda  Federal  de  la  Republica. 

San  Salvador,  1837. 

Centro  America,  Ministerio  de  Hacienda,  Febrero  27,  1837.  MS.  folio. 
Centro  America,  Ministerio  de  Relaciones,  Agosto  22,  1836.  MS.  fo;io. 
Centro  America,  Necesidad  Urjente  de  la  Reorgaiiizacion.  Paris,  1848. 
Centro  America,  Otras  reflexiones  sobre  reforma  politica.  Philadelphia, 

1833. 
Centro  America,  Para  Conocimiento  de  los  Estados  Confederados,  Enero  26, 

1852.     [Comayagua,  1852.]  folio. 

Centro  America,  Para  conocimiento  de  los  pueblos,  Febrero  20,  1853.     [Tegu 
cigalpa,  1853.]  folio. 
Centro  America,  Por  Disposicion  del  Gobierno  Jeneral,  Julio  31,  1851.    [Leon], 

1851. 

Centro  America,  Proposicion  (A  la  Asamblea  Nacional,  Octubre,  1852).    Tegu 
cigalpa,  1852. 
Centro  America,  Proposicion  que  el  Sr.  Representante  por  el  Salvador  Don 

J.  Barrundia.     [Leon,  1851.] 

Centro  America,  Provisorio  de  la  Republica,  Noviembre  20,  1852.     [Coma 
yagua,  1853.]  folio. 


xxxiv  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Centre  America,  Pneblos  Todos  de  Centre  America,  Marzo  2,  1853.     Teguci 
galpa,  1853.  folio. 
Centre  America,  Reflecciones  Dedicadas  ii  los  Lejislaturas  de  los  Estados. 

Enero  1,  1853.     San  Vicente,  1853. 
Centro  America,  Representacion  Nacional,  Octubre  8,  1851.     San  Salvador, 

1861. 
Centro  America,  Secretaria  del  despacho  relaciones,  Enero  21,  1851.     [Chi- 

iiandega,  1851.]  folio. 
Centro  America,  Secretaria  del  despacho  relaciones,  Marzo  31,  1851.     [Leon, 

1851.]  folio. 
Centro  America,    Situacion   de   Centro  America.     Articulos  Publicados  en 

Gaceta  de  Guatemala,  Nos.  83-90.     Managua,  1803. 

Centro  Americano,  A  Los  Americanos,  Junio  15,  1850.     [Leon,  1850.]  folio. 
Centro  Americano,  A  Los  Americanos.     Honduras,  1853.  folio. 
Centro  Americano,  A  Periodical.     Guatemala,  1825etseq.;  also  A  Weekly. 

Guatemala,  1833  et  seq. 

Centro  Americano.     Los  Leoneses,  Agosto  15,  1851.     Leon,  1851.  folio. 
Centro  Americana,  Pacto  de  la  Confederacion.     Comayagua,  1842. 
Centro  Americano,  Unos  Nacionalistas,  Set.  5, 1852.    [Tegucigalpa,  1852.  ]  folio. 
Cerezeda  (Andres  dc),  Carta  al  Rey,  Enero  20,  1529.     MS.  1529.  folio. 
Chambers'  Edinburgh  Journal.     London,  1834  et  seq. 

Chamorro  (Fernando),  Documeiitos  que  Esclarecen  la  Muerte.    Leon,  1803. 
Chamorro  (Fernando),  Sobre  la  Cuestion  de  Nacionalidad  Libelos  del  Senor 

Zeledon.     Setiembre  25,  1802.     Granada,  1802. 
Chamorro  (Fruto),  Mensaje  del  Director  Supremo  de  Nicaragua,  Enero  22, 

1854.     Managua,  1854. 

Chamorro  (Pedro  Joaquin),  Discurso  Pronunciado.     Managua,  1871. 
Champagnac  (J.  B.  J. ),  Le  Jeune  Voyageur  en  Californie.     Paris,  n.d. 
Charcncey  (M.  le  Cte  de),  Le  Percement  de  I'lsthme  de  Panama.     Mortagne, 

1859. 

Charlcvoix  (Fr.  Xav.  de),  Histoire  de  1'Isle-Espagnole.     Paris,  1730. 
Charlevoix  (Fr.  Xav.  de),  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France.     Paris,  1744.  4to. 

3  vols. 
Charpentier  (Eugene),  Projet  D  'Exposition  Universelle  a  San-Salvador.   Paris, 

1807. 

Chateaubriand  (de),  Congr6s  de  Vdrone.     Paris,  1838.  2  vols. 
Chavez  (Gabriel  de),  Relacion  de  la  provincia  de  Meztitlan.   MS.  1579.  folio. 
Chevalier  (Emile),  Des  Travaux  Entrepis  &  L'Isthme  de  Panama.     In  Soc. 

G6og. ,  Bulletin,  series  iv. ,  torn.  iv. 
Chevalier  (Michel),  L'Isthme  de  Panama.     Paris,  1844. 
Chiapas,  Documeiitos  Originales  para  la  historia  de  Chiapas.     MS. 
Chiapas,  Segundo  Trimestre  de  los  hechos  Notables  de  la  Asamblea  Depr.rta- 

mental  de  Chiapas.     Guatemala,  1845. 

Chica,  Restitucion  de  los  Chamelcos.     In  Chiapas,  Documentos  Orig. 
Chimalpain,  Hist.  Conq.     See  Gomara  (Francisco  Lopez  de),  Hist.  Mex. 
China  and  Japan,  A  Sketch  of  the  New  Route.     San  Francisco.     1807. 
Chiriqui,  Copiador  de  oficios  del  Gobierno  con  la  Lejislatura  provincial.    MS. 

1854. 
Chiriqui,  Libro  de  actas  de  la  camara  provincial. .  .en  sus  sesiones  extraordi- 

narias.     MS.   1851. 

Chiriqui,  Ordenanzas  de  la  Camara.     MS.  1849  et  seq.  folio. 
Chiriqui  Real  Estate  Company,  By-laws  and  other  documents.    MS.  1854-6. 
Chiriqui,  Reglamento  que  la  camara  provincial  de. .  .decreta  para  su  regimen 

interior.     MS.  1849. 
Chiriqui  Improvement  Company.    Abstract  of  Privileges  and  Titles,  ii.pl., 

n.d.   folio. 

Chiriqiu  Improvement  Company,  A  Collection. 
Chiriqui  Improvement  Company,  Possessions,     ii.pl.,  n.d. 
Chiriqui  Improvement  Company,  Reports.     l^Tew  York,  1856. 
Chiriqui  Province,     n.pl.,  n.d. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xxxv 

Chronica  compendiosissima.    Antwerp,  1534. 

Circumnavigation  of  the  Globe,  An  Historical  Account.    Edinburg,  1837. 

Cladera  (Cliristobal),  Investigaciones  Historicas.     Madrid,  1794. 

Clark  (Sam),  Life  and  Death  of  Sir  Francis  Drake.     London.  1671. 

Clavigero  (Francesco  Saverio),  Storia  Antica  del  Messio.     Cesena,  1780.    4to. 

4  vols. 

Clavigero  (Francesco  Saverio),  Storia  della  California.    Venezia,  1789.  2  vols. 
Clay  (J.  B.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  House  of  Rep.,  February  7,  1859.    Washington, 

1859. 

Clayton  (John  M. ),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  April  19,  1850.    Washington,  1853. 
Clement  (Claudio),  Tablas  Chronologicas.     Valencia,  1689. 
Cleveland  (Daniel),  Across  the  Nicaragua  Transit.   [San  Francisco,  1868.]  MS. 
Cloquet  (Martial),  Rapport  sur  Santo-Thomas  de  Guatemala.    Bruxelles,  1844. 
Cobbett's  Register.     London,  1802-34.  67  vols. 
Cockburn  (John),  A  Journey  over  land  from  the  Gulf  of  Honduras  to  the 

Great  South-Sea.     London,  1735. 
Codman  (John),  The  Round  Trip.     New  York,  1879. 
Coffin  (Charles  Carleton),  The  Story  of  Liberty.     New  York,  1879. 
Coffin  (Charles  E.  B.),  Letter  to  the  Chiriqui  Improvement  Company.     New 

York,  1859. 

Coffin  (James  Henry),  Winds  of  the  Globe.     Washington,  1876.  4to. 
Coggeshall  (George),  Second  Series  of  Voyages,  1802-41.    New  York,  1852. 
Cogolludo  (Diego  Lopez),  Historia  de  Yucathan.     Madrid,  1688.   folio. 
Cojutepeque,   La  Municipalidad  y  Vecindario  de  la  Ciudad   Leal  de.     San 

Salvador,  1863. 
Coleccion  do  Documentos  Ineditos  para  la  Historia  de  Espaiia.     Madrid, 

1842-73.   59  vols. 
Colmenares  (Rodrigo  de),  Memorial  Presentado  al  Rey  sobre  a  poblar  Uraba. 

In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Colombel,  Report  on  Golfo  Dulce.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Colombia,  Constitution  de  la  Republique.     In  Ancillon,  Melanges. 
Colombia,  Diario  Oficial.     Bogota,  1872  et  seq. 
Colombia,  Acta  de  la  instalacion  del  Congreso  Constituyente  de  Colombia 

del  afio  de  1830.     Cartagena,  1830. 
Colombia,  Constitucion  de  los  Estados-Unidos  de  Colombia,  sancionada  el  8 

do  Mayo  de  1863.     Panama,  1875. 

Colombia,  La  Diputacion  del  Cauca  en  el  Congreso  de  1876.     Bogotd,  1876. 
Colombia,  Lcyes  y  Decretos  del  Congreso  Constitucional  de  la  Nueva  Granada. 

11. p.,  n.d. 
Colombia,  Leyes  y  Decretos  expedidos  por  el  Congreso  Constitucional  de  1839. 

Bogotd,  1839. 

Colombia,  Memorias.     [Different  departments  and  dates.] 
Colombia,  Nos  los  representantes  de  las  provincias  del  centre  de.    Bogota, 

1831.    folio. 
Colombia,  Partes  relatives  al  Ataque  y  Rendicion  de  la  Plaza  de  Manizales. 

Mcdellin,  1877. 
Colombo    (Fernando),   Historic  della  vita,  e  de'  fatti  dell'  Ammiraglio   D. 

Christoforo  Colombo  suo  Padre.     Venetia,  1709. 
Colon  (Fernando),  La  Historia  de  el  Almirante  D.  Christoval  Colon,  su  Padre. 

In  Barcia,  Historiadores  Prim.,  torn.  i.     [Translation  in  Pinkerton's  Col. 

V  oy . ,  vol.  xii. ;  and  in  Kerr's  Col.  Voy. ,  vol.  iii.  ] 
Colon  (Diego),  Memorial  a  el  Rey  1520.     London,  1854. 
Colon   y   Larriategui   (Felix),  Juzgados  Militares  de  Espaiia  y  sus  Indias. 

Madrid,  1788-97.  5  vols. 

Colonial  Magazine.     London,  1840-41.  6  vols. 
Colton's  Journal  of  Geography.     New  York,  1867. 

Columbus  (Christopher),  Cartas.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  i. 
Columbus  (Christopher),  Copia  de  la  Lettera.     Venetia,  1505. 
Columbus  (Christopher),  Cuarto  y  Ultimo  Viage.      In  Navarrete,  Col.  da 

Viages,  torn.  i. 


xxxvi  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Columbus  (Christopher),   Die  vierdte  Reise  so  vollenbracht  hat.     In  Low, 

Meer  oder  Seehanen  Buch,  p.  6.     Cologne,  1598. 
Columbus  (Christopher),  Epistola  Christofori  Colom :  cui  etas  nos'tra  multu 

debet:  de  Insulis  Indie  supra  Gangem  nuper  inuentis.     M.cccc.xciij. 
Columbus  (Christopher),  Navigatio.     In  Grymeus,  Novvs  Orbis. 
Columbus  (Christopher),  Primero  Viage.    In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  i. 
Columbus  (Christopher),  Segundo  Viage  de.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages, 

torn.  i. 

Columbus  (Christopher),  Tercer  Viage.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  i. 
Comercio,  Libre  Reglamento.     In  Reales  Ordenes,  torn.  iii. 
Concilios  Provinciates  Mexicanos.     1°,  2°,  3°,  y  4°;  1555,  1565,   1585,   1771. 

The  original  MS.  Records,    folio.    5  vols.;   also  editions  Mexico,  1769; 

Paris,  1725;  Mexico,  1622,  1762,  1770. 

Conder  (Josiah),  Mexico  and  Guatemala.     London,  1831.  2  vols. 
Confederacion  Centre- Americana,  Alocucion,  Proyecto  de  Reformas  y  Esposi- 

cion  dirijida  al  Consejo,  etc.     Guatemala,  1845.    folio. 

Confesion(La),  Firmadoel  Penitente,  lOJulio,  1853.     San  Salvador,  1853.  folio. 
Congressional  Debates.     (ISth  to 25th  Congress.)    Washington,  1824.    14  vols. 
Congressional  Globe.     Washington,  1836  et  seq.  4to. 
Consejo  de  Regencia  de  Espaiia  e  Indias  a  la  America  Espanola.     Cadiz,  1811; 

also  Mexico,  1810.  folio. 

Constitucion  politica  de  la  Monarquia  Espanola.     Cadiz,  1812. 
Construccion   de   la  monarquia   de   Espaila,    Promulgada   en  Cadiz,    19   de 

Marzo,  1812.     Mexico,  1820. 

Contestacion  al  Manifiesto  que  Firmaron  los  Seilores  Magistrados.    Leon,  1870. 
Conti  (E.  Vincenzo  de),  Notiz  stori'che  della  citta  di  C.  di  Monferrato.     Casali, 

1838-42. 

Conti  (Nicolo  di),  Discorso  sopra  il  Viaggio.     In  Rainusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  i. 
Contreras,  Informacion  contra  Las  Casas,  Junio  30,  1536.     In  Pacheco  and 

Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  vii. 
Convenio  celcbrado  entre  los  Reyes  de  Espaiia  e  Inglaterra,  1786.     Coma- 

yagua,  1846. 

Cook,  Remarks  on  a  Passage  from  River  Balise  to  Merida.     London,  1769. 
Cooke  (George  Alexander),  Modern  and  Authentic  System  of  Universal  Ge 
ography.     London,     n.d.  4to.  2  vols. 
Cooley  (W.  Desborough),  The  History  of  Maritime  and  Inland  Discovery. 

London,  1830.   3  vols. 

Copia  delle  lettere  del  prefelto  del  la  India,     n.pl.,  1534. 
Cordoba  (Franciscus  Hernandez  de),  Scheeps-Togt.     In  Aa,  torn.  vii. 
Cordoba  (F.  M.),  Utilidades.     Nueva  Guatemala,  1798. 
Coreal  (Francois),  Voyages  aux  Indes  Occidentales.     Paris,  1722.  2  vols. 
Core*al  (Francois),  Voyages  de  F.  Coreal  aux  Indies  Occidentales.    Paris,  1722. 

2  vols. ;  also  Amsterdam,  1722.  2  vols. 
Coronado,  Probanza,  Agosto  18,  1564.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 

torn.  xiv. 

Corradi,  Descubrimiento  de  la  America.     See  Campe. 
Correo-Maritimo  Reglamento.     In  Reales  Ordenes,  torn.  iii. 
Correo  Mercantil  cle  Espaua  y  sus  Indias.     Madrid,  1792  et  seq. 
Cortes  (Hernan),  Aventuras  y  Conquistas  de  Hern  an  Corte"s  en  Mexico.     Bar 

celona,  1846. 

Cortes  (Hernan),  Brieven.    Amsterdam,  1780-1. 
Cortes  (Hernan),  Carta  de  Relacio.     Seville,  1522. 
Cortes  (Heriian),  Carta  tercera  de  Relacio.     Seville,  1523. 
Cortes  (Hernan),  Cartas  y  Relaciones  de  Hernau  Corte"s  al  Emperador  Carlos  V. 

Paris,  1866. 

Cortds  (Hernan),  Correspondance.     [Edited  by  Flavigny.]     Paris,  1778. 
Cortes  (Hernan),  Despatches  of  Hernaudo  Cortds.     New  York,  1843. 
Cortes  (Hernan),  Escritos  Sueltos.     Mexico,  1871. 
Cortes  (Hernan),  Historia  de  Nueva  Espaua.    [Edited  by  Lorenzana.l    Mexico, 

1770. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xxxvii 

Cortes  (Hernan),  Instruccion  dada  al  Licenciado,  1532.  In  Pachcco  and  Cdr- 
denas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiii. 

Cortes  (Hernan),  Laquarfca  Relacion.    Toledo,  1525.    [Dated  October  15,  1524.] 

Cortes  (Hernan),  Letters  and  Reports  by  Cortes  and  other  Officers  to  the 
Emperor  and  Council.  In  Doc.  Ined.,  torn.  i. ;  torn.  iv. ;  Pacheco  and 
Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  toms.  xii.,  xiii.,  xiv. ;  Icazbalceta,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  i. ; 
Barcia,  Hist.  Prim.,  torn,  i.;  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  iii. ;  Ribadeneyra, 
Biblioteca,  torn.  xxii. ;  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages ;  Kingsborough's  Mex. 
Antiq. ;  Alaman,  Disertaciones. 

Cortes  (Hernan),  The  Fifth  Letter  to  Charles  V.     London,  1868. 

Cortes,  Martyr,  et  al.,  De  Insvlis  nvper  inventis  Fcrdinandi  Cortesii  ad  Caro- 
lum  V.  Narrationes  cum  alio  quodam  Petri  Martyris.  n.pl.,  1532. 

C6rtes  de  Espana,  Actas  de  las  Cortes  Ordinarias.     Cadiz,  [1813.]  2  vols. 

Cortes  do  Espana,  Actas  Publicas  de  la  Primera  Legislatura.  Madrid,  1820-1. 
2  vols. 

Cortes  de  Espana,  Coleccion  de  Decretos  y  Ordenes.     Mexico,  1829. 

Cortes  do  Espaila,  Diario  de  las  Actas  y  Discusiones  de  las  Cortes.  Madrid, 
1820  et  seq. 

Cortes  de  Espana,  Diario  de  las  Discusiones  y  Actas.    Cadiz,  1811-13.  24  vols. 

Costa  Rica,  Acontecimientos.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  torn.  xvii. 

Costa  Rica,  Al  Piiblico  (Firmado  "Unos  Costaricenses"),  Julio  24,  1850. 
[San  Jose,  1850.]  folio. 

Costa  Rica,  Boletin  Oficial.     San  Jose,  1853  et  seq. 

Costa  Rica,  Boundaries,     n.pl.,  n.d. 

Costa  Rica,  (Cabildo  de),  Relacion  de  los  Sucesos  de  Juan  Vasquez  de  Coro- 
nado,  12  Diciembre,  1502.  Costa  Rica,  1562.  folio. 

Costa  Rica,  Censo  de.     1864.     [San  Jose,  1865.]  4to. 

Costa  Rica,  Colonization  for  the  Development  of  its  Rich  Mines.    London,  n.d. 

Costa  Rica  Company,  for  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  by  road  or  railway,  n.pl., 
n.d.  folio. 

Costa  Rica,  Constitucion  Politica.     1847.    n.pl..  1848. 

Costa  Rica,  Copies  of  Documents  relating  to  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Rail 
road  of  Costa  Rica.  London,  1870. 

Costa  Rica,  Cronico  de  Costa  Rica.     San  Jose,  1857  et  seq. 

Costa  Rica,  El  Presidente  (Juan  Rafael  Mora),  Junio  8,  1850.  [San  Jose, 
1850.] 

Costa  Rica,  Enterprises,  etc.     n.pl.,  n.d. 

Costa  Rica,  Exposicion  de  los  Motivos  del  Cambio,  Agosto  14,  1859.  San 
Jose,  1860. 

Costa  Rica,  Gaceta  del  Gobierno  del.     San  Jose,  1850  et  seq. 

Costa  Rica,  Memorias  Informes,  etc.,  del  Ministro  de  Relaciones,  Hacienda 
etc.  [Reports  of  the  different  departments,  cited  by  dates.] 

Costa  Rica,  New  Route  to  California.  r  [London,  1851.] 

Costa  Rica,  Petition  au  Peuple  des  Etats-Unis  par  les  Citoyens  fran9ais  de 
Barruel  Freres  &  Cie.  Port  Limon,  1879. 

Costa  Rica  Railway,    n.pl.,  n.d.  folio. 

Costa  Rica,  Real  Instruccion.    In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  torn.  xvii. 

Costa  Rica,  Reglamento  Dando  Nueva  Organizacion  a  la  Administracioii. 
[San  Jose,  1866.] 

Costaricense  (El).     San  Jose,  1849  et  seq. 

Cote  des  Mosquitos  (La),     n.pl.,  n.d. 

Cowley.  Voyage.     In  Berenger,  Col.  Voyages,  torn,  ii; 

Creassy  (James),  A  Plan  for  getting  a  superior  naval  force  into  the  South 
Sea,  taking  or  destroying  the  City  of  Panamd,  etc.  Smithiield,  1790.  MS. 

Crelle  (A.  L.),  Einige  technische  Nachrichten  von  den  Entwiirfen  zur  Ver- 
bindung  des  Mittelmeeres  mit  dem  Rothen  Meere,  etc.  Berlin,  184G.  4to. 

Criado  de  Castilla  ( Alonso),  Carta  al  Rey  Informando  de  una  Victoria.  Guate 
mala,  1606.  MS.  folio. 

Criado  de  Castilla  (Alonso),  Carta  al  Rey  sobre  Derrota  de  Corsarios.  Guate 
mala,  1606.  MS.  folio. 


xxxviii  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Criado  de  Castilla  (Alonso),  Carta  al  Rey  sobre  Descubrimiento  del  Puerto  de 
Santo  Tomas  de  Castilla.  Guatemala,  1G05.  MS.  folio. 

Criado  de  Castilla  (Alonso),  Carta  al  Rey  sobre  la  Pordida  de  la  nao  Almiranta. 
Guatemala,  1605.  MS.  folio. 

Criado  de  Castilla  (Alonso),  Descubrimiento  del  Puerto  de  Amatique.  Guate 
mala,  1004.  MS.  folio. 

Criado  de  Castilla  (Alonso),  Relacion  Cerca  del  Navio  de  Yngleses.  Guate 
mala,  1606.  MS.  folio. 

Criado  de  Castilla  (Alonso),  Relacion  Primera  de  la  Victoria  sobre  Cosarios. 
Guatemala,  1606.  MS.  folio. 

Criado  de  Castilla  (Alonso),  Segunda  Relacion  de  la  Segunda  Victoria.  Guate 
mala,  1606.  MS.  folio. 

Criterio  (El),  Prospecto  San  Salvador  1°  de  Agosto,  1853.    San  Salvador,  1853. 

Crosby  (E.  0.),  Events  in  California,  1878.     MS. 

Crowe  (Frederick),  The  Gospel  in  Central  America.     London,  1850. 

Cuelebrouk  (Blondeel  van),  Colonie  cle  Santo  Tomas.    Bruxelles,  1846. 

Cuellar  (J.  M.  de)  and  P.  M.  de  Figueroa,  Manuel  de  Minero.    Granada,  1860. 

Cuevas  (Luis  G.),  Porvenir  de  Mexico  6  Juicio  sobre  su  Estado  Politico  en 
1821  y  1851.  Mexico,  1851.  3  vols. 

Cullen  (Edward),  The  Darien  Canal.     London,  1868. 

Cullen  (Edward),  The  Isthmus  of  Darien  Ship  Canal.     London,  1853. 

Curatos,  Las  razones  6  inconvenientes  que  los  religiosos  de  las  drdenes  mendi- 
cantes  Sancto  Domingo,  etc. ,  de  las  Provincias  de  la  Nueva  Espaiia,  Mex 
ico,  Guatemala,  etc.  MS.  folio. 

D. . . ,  Essai  sur  la  Marine  et  sur  le  Commerce.     Amsterdam,  1743. 
Dalton  (William),  Stories  of  the  Conquests  of  Mexico  and  Peru.    London,  n.d. 
Daly,  Annual  Address,  January  13,  1873.     In  American  Geog.  Soc.,  1873. 
Dampier  (Win. ),  A  New  Voyage  round  the  World.   London,  1699- 1709.  3  vols. 
Darien,    Considerations   on    the   Subject   of    Communications    between    the 

Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.     Georgetown,  1836. 
Darien,  Defence  of  the  Scots  Colony  at  Darien.     Edinburg,  1099. 
Darien,  Enquiry  into  the  Causes  of  the  Miscarriage  of  the  Scots  Colony  at 

Darien.     Glasgow,  1700. 

Darien,  Establecimientos.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Darien,  Junction  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.     London,  1853. 
Darien,  Just  and  Modest  Vindication  of  the  Scots  Design,     n.pl.,  1699. 
Darien,  Letters  Relating  to.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Darien,    Original    Papers  and  Letters   Relating  to  the   Scots   Settlement. 

[Edinburg],  1700. 
Darien,  The  Humble  Address. .  .to  His  Majesty,  on  the  12th  of  Feb.,  1699. 

London,  1699. 

Dati,  Questa  e  la  Hystoria,  etc.     Florence,  1493. 
Datos  Biogrdficos.     In  Cartas  de  Indias. 

Dau  (Jose"  Maria),  Instruccioii  para  el  Cultivo  de  Tabaco.     Comayagua,  1847. 
D'Avezac  (Martin).     See  Avesac. 
David,  El  Chiriqui.     David,  1881  et  seq. 
Davila  (Agustin),  Continuacion  de  la  Cronica  del  Orden  de  Predicador.     MS. 

1642.  folio. 

Davila  (Gil  Gonzalez),  Carta  al  Rey,  12  de  Julio,  1520.    In  Squier's  MSS.,  i. 
Davila  (Gil  Gonzalez),  Relacion  del  viage  que  hizo  Gil  Gonzalez  Davila,  1522. 

In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  xiv. 
Davila  (Gil  Gonzalez),  Teatro  Eclesiastico  de  la  Primitiva  Iglesia  de  las  Indias 

Occidentals.     Madrid,  1649-55.  2  vols.  folio. 
Davila  (Gil  Gonzalez),  Testimonio  de  una  Informacion,  Octubre,  1524.     In 

Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xii. 
Davila  (Pedrarias),  Capitulo  sobre  los  Medios  de  Facilitar  la  Comunicacion. 

In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Davila  (Pedrarias),  Instruccioii  para  su  Viage,  Agosto  2,  1513.    In  Navarretet 

Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xxxix 

Ddvila  (Pedrarias),  Lettere  clella  Conquista.     n.pl.,  n.d. 

Ddvila  (Pedrarias),  Real  Cedula,  18  de  Junio,  1519.    In  Squier's  MSS.,  torn.  i. 

Ddvila  (Pedrarias),  Relacion  de  los  sncesos,  en  las  Provincias  de  Tierra  Firme. 

y  Castilla  del  Oro.     In  Navarrete,  Col  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Davila  (Pedrarias),  Reys-Togten,  1514.     torn.  vii. 
Ddvila  (Pedrarias),  Testimoiiio  de  un  acta  de  posesion  que  tom6  el  Gobernador 

Pedrdrias  Davila.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  ii. 
Ddvila  (Pedrarias),  Titulo  Expedido  por  el  Rey-Catolico  a  Pedrarias.     In 

Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Ddvila  (Vasquez),  Carta  denunciada  abusos  en  la  gobernacion  de  Indias,  Feb. 

10,  1539.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  iii. 
Davis  (Charles  H. ),  Report  on  Interoceanic  Canals  and  Railroads.   Washington, 

1807. 

Davity  (Pierre),  Description  Generale  de  L'Amerique.     Paris,  1637.  folio. 
Davity  (Pierre),  Le  Monde  ou  'la  Description  Generale  de  ses  Quatre  Parties. 

Paris,  1637.  folio.  5  vols. 
De  Bow  (J.  D.  B.),  Encyclopedia  of   Trade  and  Commerce  of  the  United 

States.     London,  1854.  2  vols. 
De  Bow  (J.  D.  B.),  Industrial  Resources  of  the  Southern  and  Western  States. 

New  Orleans,  1852.  3  vols. 

De  Bow's  Review  of  the  Southern  and  Western  States.     New  Orleans,  1852. 
De  Brosses,  Histoire  des  Navigations.     Paris,  1756. 
De"cadas  de  Descubrimientos  la  Indias  Occidentales,  desde  1492  d  1640.     In 

Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  viii. 

De  Costa  (B.  F.),  The  Pre-Columbian  Discovery  of  America.     Albany,  1868. 
Defensor  del  Orden.     Granada,  1854  et  seq. 
Defensor  del  Pueblo.     Granada,  1851  et  seq. 
De  Gonneville,  Mdmoires.     Paris,  1663. 
Delaporte,  Le  Voyageur  Fra^ois,  ou  la  connoissancede  1'Ancien  et  du  Nouveau 

Monde.     Paris,  1767-72.   42  vols. 

Delaporte.    Reisen  Eines  Franzosen  oder  Beschreibung.    Leipzig,  1772.  2  vols. 
Dello  Scoprimento  dell'  Isola  Frislanda.    See  Zeno,  Dello  Scoprimento,  et  seq. 
Demarquets,  Me"moires  Chronologiques,  etc.     Dieppe,  1785. 
Democratic  Review.     Washington,  etc.,  1832  et  seq. 
Depons  (F.),  Voyage  a  la  partie  Orientale  de  la  Terre-Ferme,  etc.,  1801-4. 

Paris,  1806.    3  vols. 
Derrotero  de  las  islas  Antillas  de  las  Costas  de  Tierra  firme  y  del  seno  Mexi- 

cano.     Madrid,  1810. 
Derrotero  para  la  Navegacion  de  los  Puertos  de  Espafia  a  los  de  America.    MS. 

atlas  folio. 

Deutsche  Ansiedelung  in  Mittel-Amerika.     Berlin,  1850. 
Diaz  (B.),  See  Granada  Exposicion  d  S.  M.,  etc. 
Diaz  (Juan),  Itinerario  1518.     In  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn.  i. ;  Ternaux- 

Compans,  Voy. ,  se>ie  i. ,  torn.  x. 

Diaz  del  Castillo  (Bernal),  Carta  el  Emperador.     In  Cartas  de  Indias. 
Diaz  del  Castillo  (Bernal),  Historia  Verdadera  de  la  Conquista  de  la  Nueva- 

Espafia.     Madrid,  1632.  4to. 

Diccionario  Enciclopedico  de  la  Lengua  Espanola.    Madrid,  1866.  folio.  2  vols. 
Diccionario  Universal  de  Historia  y  de  Geografia.    Mexico,  1853.  4to.   10  vols. ; 

also  edition  Madrid,  1846-50.  4to.   8  vols. 
Diez  de  la  Calle  (Juan).     See  Calle. 
Diezmos  de  Indias.     A  Collection. 
Diezmos,  Memorial.     In  Diezmos  de  Indias. 
Dillon  (A.),  Beautes  de  ITIistoire  du  Mexique.     Paris,  1822. 
Disertacion  Juridica  Acad^mica  Forense  y  Aulica.     Guatemala,  1702. 
Disposiciones  Varias.     A  Collection  of  Documents,  MSS.,  and  Print.  6  vols. 
Disturnell  ( J. ).  Influence  of  Climate  in  North  and  South  America.    New  York, 

1807. 
Documentos  para  la  Historia  de  Mexico.     Mexico,  1853-7.  20  vols.  4  series. 

Series  iii.,  in  folio,  and  in  four  parts. 


xl  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Documentos  que  esclarecen  la  mantra  con  que  fu<§  ejecutada  la  muerte  del 

ex-General  Don  Fernando  Chamarro,  etc.     Leon,  1863. 
Doolittle  (James  E.),  Speech  inU.  S.  Senate,  January  21,  1858.  n.pl.,  n.d. 
D'Orbigny  (Alcide),  Voyage  dans  les  deux  Ameriques.     Paris,  1859. 
D'Orbigny  (Alcide),  Voyage  Pittoresque  dans  les  deux  Ameriques.    Paris,  1836. 
Drake  (Edward  Cavendish),  A  New  Universal  Collection  of  Voyages  and 

Travels.     London,  1771.  folio. 

Drake  (Francis),  His  Voyage.     1595.     London,  1849.     (Hakl.  Soc.  ed.) 
Drake  (Francis),  The  Life  of  the  Celebrated.     London,  1828. 
Drake  (Francis).  The  Life  and  Dangerous  Voyages  of.    London,  n.d.   14th  ed. 
Drake  (Francis),  The  World  Encompassed.     Out  of   the   Notes  of   Master 

Francis  Fletcher.     London,  1854.     (Hakl.  Soc.  ed.) 

Drake,  Cavendish,  and  Dampier.  Lives  and  Voyages  of.  New  York.  1832. 
Draper  (John  Wm.)_,  History  of  the  Intellectual  Development  of  Europe. 

New  York,  1872. 
Duarte  (Alonso),  Relacion  de  lo  que  yo  Vecino  de  esta  Ciudad  de  Santiago  de 

Guatemala.     MS.   folio. 

Duende  (El),  de  las  Pasquas  al  S.  S.  Honduras,  Diciembre  24,  1753.  MS.  4to. 
Dufey  (P.  J.  S. ),  Resume"  de  L'Histoire  des  Revolutions  de  L'Ame'rique 

Me"ridionale.     Paris,  1826.  2  vols. 

Dunlop  (Robert  Glasgow),  Travels  in  Central  America.     London,  1847. 
Dunn  (Henry),  Guatimala,  or  the   United   Provinces   of   Central  America. 

New  York,  1828. 

Du  Perier,  A  General  History  of  all  Voyages  and  Travels.     London,  1708. 
Dupuy  (Auguste  Myionnet  de),  Deux  Ans  de  Se"jour  dans  L'Etat  de  Nicaragua. 

1850-2.     Paris,  1853. 
Duran  (Fray  Diego),  Historia  de  las  Indias  de  Nueva  Espafia.    Mexico,  1585. 

MS.  folio.  3  vols.;  also  edition  Mexico,  1867. 

Eardley-Wilmot.     Our  Journal  in  the  Pacific.     London,  1873. 

Eastern  Coast  of  Central  America,  Commercial  and  Agricultural  Company, 

Brief  Statement.     London,  1839. 
Eco  Hispanic- Americano  (El).     Paris,  1854  et  seq. 
Eco  Popular  (El).     [Granada,  1854]  et  seq. 
Edinburgh  Review.     Edinburgh,  1802  et  seq. 
Elementos  de  Geografia  Civil.     Mexico,  1845, 

Elprza  y  Rada  (Francisco  de),  Nobiliario  de  el  Valle  de  la  Valdorba.     Pam 
plona,  1714. 

Emigrado  Observador  (El).     London,  1828  et  seq. 

Empoli  (Giovanni  di),  Viaggiofatto  nell  'India.    In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  i. 
Enciso  (Martin  Fernandez),  Memorial  que  di6  el  bachiller  Enciso  en  defensa 

de  los  Reales  derechos.    In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  i. 
Enciso  (Martin  Fernandez),  Suma  de  Geographia.     Seuilla,  1530.  folio. 
Ens  (Gaspar).     See  West-  und  Ost-Indischer  Lustgart. 
Eraso,  Circular,     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xi. 
Escamilla  (Jose"  Maria),  Sucesion  Chronologica.     MS.   1777.  folio. 
Espinosa,  Chronica  Apostolica.     n.pl.,  1746.  2  vols. 

Espinosa  (Gaspar  de),  Relacion,  1516.  In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ii. 
Espinosa  (Isidro  Felis  de),  El  Peregrine  Septentrional  Atlante.  Mexico,  1737. 
Espinosa  (Isidro  Felis  de),  Nuevas  Empressas  del  Peregrino  Americano. 

Mexico,  1747. 

Espiritu  Publico.     Mexico,  1828  et  seq. 
Esquemelin  (Alexandre  Olivier),  De  Americsensche  Zee-Roovers.    Amsterdam, 

1678. 
Esquemelin  (Alexandre  Olivier),  Histoire  de  Aventuriers  Flibustiers.     Aiitre- 

voux,  1775.  4  vols. 
Esquemelin  (John),  Historic  der  Boecaniers  of   Vrybuyters  van  America. 

Amsterdam,  1700. 
Esquemelin   (John),  History  of  the  Bucaniers  of  America:    Boston,   1857. 

Lond.  1704.  3  vols. 


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Estancelin  (L.),  Recherches  sur  les  Voyages.     Paris,  1832. 

Estrada  (T.  Maria),  Defensa  del  Poder  Lejislativo  del  Estado  de  Nicaragua. 
Granada,  1851. 

Estrada  Ravage  (Juan  de),  Descripcion  de  las  Provincias  Costa  Rica,  Guate 
mala,  Honduras.  MS.  1572.  folio. 

Everett  (Edward),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  March  21,  1853. 

Ezquebel,  Aankomst.     In  Gottfried,  Reysen,  torn.  i. 

Fabens  (Joseph  W. ),  A  Story  of  Life  on  the  Isthmus.     New  York,  1853. 

Fabrica  y  Estampa  de  Naypes  de  Nueva  Espafia.     Mexico,  1760. 

Fairba.irn  (Henry),  Projects  for  Marine  Railways.    In  U.  S.  Jour.  1832.  pt.  ii. 

Fajardo  (Domingo),  Informe  del  Ministro  de  Relaciones.     Campeche,  1828. 

Fancourt  (Charles  St  John),  The  History  of  Yucatan.     London,  1854. 

Fate  of  Republics.     Boston,  1880. 

Fedix,  L'Ortgon  et  les  Cotes  de  I'OcSan  Pacifique  du  Nord.     Paris,  1846. 

Fernandez  (Alonso),  Historia  Eclesiastica  de  Nvestros  Tiempos.    Toledo,.  1611. 

Fernando  VII.     Decretos  del  Rey.     Mexico,  1836. 

Ferrer  de  Couto  (Jose),  Cuestiones  de  Mexico,  Venezuela  y  America  en  General. 

Madrid,  1861.  499pp.;  Madrid,  1861,  660pp. 

Feuillee  (Louis),  Journal  des  Observations  Physiques.     Paris,  1825.  4to. 
Figueredo,  y  Uictoria  (Francisco  Joseph),  Carta  Pastoral  Exortatoria.     No- 

viembre  1,  1755.     Guatemala,  [1756.] 

Figueroa  (Francisco  Antonio  de  la  Rosa),  Vindicias  de  la  Verdad.  MS.  folio. 
Figuerola,  Relacion  de  los  servicios,  Julio  29,  1541.     In  Pacheco  and  Car 
denas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  iii. 
Filisola  (Vicente),  El  Ciudadano  General  de  Brigada  Vicente  Filisola  a  Jose" 

Francisco  Burrundia.     Puebla,  1824. 
Filisola  (Vicente),  Memorias  para  la  Historia  de  la  Guerra  de  Tejas.     Mexico, 

1849.  2vols.;  also  Mexico,  1848.  2  vols. 
Findlay  (Alex.  G.),  A  Directory  for  the  Navigation  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

London,  1851.  2  vols. 

Fisher  and  Colby.     American  Statistical  Annual.     New  York,  1854. 
Fitz-Roy,  on  Interoceanic  Communication.     A  Collection. 
Fitz-Roy  (Robert),  Considerations  on  the  Great  Isthmus  of  Central  America. 

London,  1850;  also  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xv. 
Fitz-Roy  (Robert),  Report  on  the  Honduras  Interoceanic  Railway.     London, 

1856. 

Flachat  (Jules),  Notes  sur  le  Fleuve  du  Darien,  etc.     Paris,  1866. 
Fleury  (Lame"),  L'Histoire  de  la  d^couverte  de  1'Ame'rique.     Paris,  1850. 
Flint  (Timothy),  History  and  Geography  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.     Cincin 
nati,  1832.  2  vols. 

Florencia  (Francisco  de),  Zodiaco  Mariano.     Mexico,  1755. 
Flores,  Contestacion  a  la  Gaceta  del  Gobierno  del  Salvador.  [San  Salvador,  1 850.  ] 
Flores  y  Ribera  (Jose  Antonio),  Elogios  Funebres  en  los  dias  29  y  30  de 

Octubre,  1756.     Mexico,  1757. 
Florida,  Coleccion  de  Varies  Documentos. 

Florida,  Discovery  and  Conquest  of.     London,  1851.     (Hakl.  Soc.  ed.) 
Fonseca  (Fabian),  and  Urrutia  (Carlos),  Historia  General  de  la  Real  Hacienda. 

Mexico,  1845,  1849-53.  6  vols. 

Foote,   Report  upon  the  trade  of  the  republic  of  Salvador.     London,  1856. 
Foote  (Mrs),  Recollections  of  Central  America.     London,  1869. 
Forbes  (Alex. ),  California:  London,  1839. 
Foreign  Quarterly  Review.     London,  1827  et  seq. 

Forma  de  Gobierno,  Carta  Escrita  a  un  Americano.     San  Sebastian,  1821. 
France  et  Amerique.     Bruxelles,  [1846.] 
France  et  Amerique.     Sur  les  moyens  de  preserver  Fe'quilibre  Ame"ricain,  etc. 

n.pl.,  n.d. 

Francis,  De  Orbis  Sitv  ac  Descriptione.     Antwerp,  1524. 
Francis  of  Bologna,  La  Letera  al  ministro  della  Provincia  di  Bologna.    Vene- 

tia,  1534. 

VOL.  I.    i 


xlii,  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Franck  (Sebastian),  Weltbuch-Spiegel.     Tiibingen,  1534. 

Franklin  Institute  Journal.     Philadelphia,  1854  et  seq. 

Fransham  (John),  The  World  in  Miniature.     London,  1741.  2  vols. 

Fricius  (Valentinus),  Indianischer  Religionstandt.     Ingoldstadt,  1588. 

Friedrichsthal  (Emanuel),  Notes  on  the  lake  of  Nicaragua,  and  the  province 

of  Chontales,  in  Guatemala,  n.pl.,  n.d. 

Frisch  (P.),  Die  Staaten  von  Mexico,  Mittel-  und  Siidamerika.   Liibeck,  1853. 
Froebel  (Julius),  Aus  Amerika.     Leipzig,  n.d.  2  vols. 
Froebel  (Julius),  Seven  Years'  Travel  in  Central  America.     London,  1859. 
Frost  (Thomas),  Half -Hours  with  the  Early  Explorers.     London,  etc.,  1876. 
Fuentes  y  Guzman,  Coiiquista  de  Guatemala.     In  Gavarrete,  Copias  de  Doc. 
Fuentes  y  Guzman  (Francisco  Antonio  de),  Historia  de  Guatemala  6  ilecorda- 

cion  Florida.     Madrid,  1882. 
Funnell  (Wm.),  A  Voyage  round  the  World.     London,  1707. 

Gaceta  de  Gobierno  de  Mexico,  1728-1805,  1810-21,  1823  et  seq. 

Gaceta  Imperial  de  Mexico.     Mexico,  1821-23. 

Gage  (Thomas),  A  New  Survey  of  the  West  Indies.     London,  1(577. 

Gage  (Thomas),  Nouvelle  Relation  Contenant  les  Voyages.   Paris,  1676.  4  vols. 

Gage  (Thomas),  Voyages  dans  la  Nouvelle  Espagne.    Amsterdam,  1720.  2  vols. 

Gallardo  (Manuel),  Apuntes  Biograficos.     San  Salvador,  1872. 

Gallego  y  Cadena,  Relacion  de  la  Provincia  de  Vera  Paz.     MS.   1 574.  folio. 

Galvano  (Antonio),  Discoveries  of  the  World.    London,  1601;  also,  18G2. 

Galvano  (Antonio),  Voyages.     In  Kerr's  Col.  Voyages,  torn.  ii. 

Gama  (Vasco  di),  Navigatione.     In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  i. 

Gambarce,  De  Navigatione  Christophori  Columbi.     Rome,  1585. 

Garaldini  (Alexan. ),  Itinerarium  ad  Regiones  sub  Equinoct.     Rome,  1631. 

Garcia  (Manuel),  Reflexiones.     Guatemala,  1826. 

Garcia  de  la  Concepcion  (Joseph),  Historia  Bethlehemitica.   Sevilla,  1723.  folio. 

Garcia  y  Ciibas  (Antonio),  Resefia  Geografica  del  Districto  de  Soconusco. 

Mexico,  1857.  atlas  4  to. 
Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  (El  Inca),  Primero  Parte  de  los  Comentarios  Reales. 

Madrid,  1723.  folio. 

Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  (El  Inca),  La  Florida  del  Inca.     Madrid,  1723.  folio. 
Garella  (Napoleon),  Projet  d'un  Canal  de  Jonction  de  L'0c6an  Pacifique  et 

Atlantique.     Paris,  1855. 

Gasca,  Carta  al  Consejo  de  Indias.     In  Col.  Doc.  Ine"d.,  torn.  i. 
Gastelu,  Real  Titulo  de  Gobernador  de  Costa  Rica,  a  favor  de  Coronado,  Abril 

8,  1565.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xi. 
Gastizabal  (Martin  Garcia  de),  Por  el  Maestro.     [Guatemala,  iG41.]  4to. 
Gavarrete  (Juan  de),  Copia  de  Algunos  Fracmentos  Interesantes  de  la  Recor- 

dacion  Florida.     MS.  folio. 
Gemelli  Carreri.     See  Carreri. 

Genther  (Samuel),  Report  upon  the  Chiriqui  Road.     New  York,  1859. 
Ghillany  (Friedrich  Wilhelm),  Geschichte  des  Seefahrers  Ritter  Martin  Behaim. 

Nurnberg,  1853. 
Gil  (Hilarion  Romero),  Memoria  sobre  los  Descubrimientos  que  los  Espanoles 

hicieron  en  el  Siglo  XVI.  en  Nueva  Galicia,  Die.  22,  1861.     In  Soc.  Mex. 

Geog.,  Boletin,  torn.  viii. 

Girava  (Hieronymo),  La  Cosmographia  y  Geographia.     Venetia,  1570. 
Gisborne  (Lionel),  The  Isthmus  of  Darien  in  1852.     London,  1853. 
Giustiniani  Psalterium.     Genoa,  1516. 
Goldschmidt  (Albert),  Cartography  of  the  Pacific  Coast.    MS.  folio.   3  vols. 

San  Francisco,  1873. 
Gomara  (Francisco  Lopez),  Cronica  de  la  Nueua  Espana  con  la  Conquista  de 

Mexico  y  otras  Cosas  Notables.     Saragossa,  [1554.] 
Goma,ra  (Francisco  Lopez),  Historia  de  las  Conquistas  de  Hernando  Cortes. 

(Chimalpain  edition.)     Mexico,  1826.  2  vols. 

Gomara  (Francisco  Lopez),  Historia  di  Don  Fernando  Cortes.     Venetia,  1560. 
Gomara  (Francisco  Lopez  de),  Historia  de  Mexico.     Anvers,  1554. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xliii 

Gomara  (Francisco  Lopez  de),  La  Historia  General  de  las  Indias.    Anvers,  1554. 

Gomez,  Diario.     In  Doc.  Hist.  Mex. ,  serie  ii. ,  torn.  vii. 

Gomara  (F.  Copez),  Pleasant  Historic  of  the  Conquest  of  the  West  Indias. 

London,  1578. 

Gonzalez  Davila.     See  Davila. 
Goodrich  (Aaron),  History  of  the  Character  and  Achievements  of  the  so-called 

Christopher  Columbus.     New  York,  1874. 
Goodrich  (Frank  B.),  Man  upon  the  Sea.     Philadelphia,  1858. 
Gordon  (James),  The  Ocean  Passenger's  Guide  and  Chart.    San  Francisco,  n.d. 
Gordon  (James  Bentley),   An  Historical  and  Geographical   Memoir  of  the 

North- American  Continent,  its  Nations  and  Tribes.     Dublin,  1820.  4to. 
Gordon  (Thomas  F. ),  Digest  of  the  Laws  of  the  United  States.     Phil.  1848. 
Gordon  (Thomas  F. ),  The  History  of  Ancient  Mexico.    Philadelphia,  1832.  2  vols. 
Gordon  (Thomas  F.),  Spanish  Discoveries  in  America.     Phil.  1831.  2  vols. 
Gossellin  (Pasch.  Franc.  Jos.),  Recherches  sur  la  Geographic  Syste"matique. 

Paris,  1813.  4  vols. 
Gottfriedt  (Johann  Ludwig),   Newe  Welt   und  Americanische    Historien. 

Franckfurt,  1655.  folio. 

Gracias,  Cuadro  Estadistico  del.     Paris,  1857. 
Graham's  Magazine.     Philadelphia,  1855  et  seq. 
Granada,  Exposicion  a  S.  M.  por  la  Justicia,  Nov.  24,  1544.     In  Pacheco  and 

Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  vii. 
Grant  (U.  S.),  The  Nicaragua  Canal.    In  North  American  Review,  February, 

1881. 
Grau  y  Monfalcon,  Memorial  sobre  pretensiones  de  la  ciudad  de  Manila.     In 

Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  torn.  vi. 
Greenhow  (Robert),  History  of  Oregon  and  California.    New  York,  1845;  also 

editions  Boston,  1844;  Boston,  1845;  London,  1844;  Boston,  1847. 
Greenhow  (Robert),  Memoir,  Historical  and  Political.     Washington,  1840. 
Grey-Town,  Bombardement  et  Entiere  Destruction.     Paris,  1856. 
Grey-Town,  Lettre  du  Deldgue  de  la  Population  Francaise.     Paris,  1856. 
Grijalva  (Johann),  Reiseund  allererste  Entdeckung.    In  Sammlung,  torn.  xiii. 
Griswold  (C.  D.),  The  Isthmus  of  Panama.     New  York,  1852. 
Groesbcck  (W.  S. ),  Speech  in  U.  S.  House  of  Rep. ,  Jan.  11, 1858.    Washington, 

1858. 

Gryna3us,  Nows  Orbis  Regionvm  ac  Insularvm.     Basilise,  1532.  4to. 
Guardia  (J.  M.),  Les  Re~publiques  de  L'Amerique  Espagnole.     Paris,  1862. 
Guardiola  (General),  A  Sus  Compatriotas.     [Chiquimula,  1854.]  folio. 
Guardiola  (Santos),  Parte  Oficial  Comayagua,  1850. 

Guatemala,  Acta  en  esta  Ciudad,  20  Julio,  1853.     Guatemala,  1853.  fol. 
Guatemala,  Apuntamientos  sobre  la  AgriculturayComercio    [Guatemala,  1811.] 
Guatemala,  Arancel  Provisional  para  las  Aduanas  de  Guatemala.  n. pi.,  n.d. 
Guatemala,  Aranceles  Formadas  de  Orden  de  la  Real  Audiencia.     Guate 
mala,  n.d. 

Guatemala,  Autos  de  Parte.     MS.  1643.  4to. 
Guatemala,  Boletin  de  Noticias.     Guatemala,  1850  et  seq. 
Guatemala  (Cabildo  de),  Informe  sobre  ereccion  de Obispado.   Guatemala,  1827. 
Guatemala,  Carta  dirijida  al  Ilustrisimo  Seuor  Arzobispo,  20  Agosto,  1851. 

[Guatemala,  1851.]  folio. 
Guatemala,  Carta  del  Obispo,  historia  de  Nueva  Espana,  Agosto  27, 1529.    In 

Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiii. 
Guatemala,  Charte  Autorisant  la  Banque  de  Guatemala  [Guatemala,  1839]; 

also  edition  Bruxelles,  1840. 
Guatemala,  Charte  de  Concession  du  Territoire  de  Vera  Paz.     Guatemala, 

1839. 

Guatemala,  Coleccion  de  Cedulos  Reales,  1555-1788.     MS.  and  print. 
Guatemala,    Constituciones    municipales    de  este    Santo    Colegio  de  Xpto. 

[Guatemala],  1736.     MS. 

Guatemala,  Contestation  alComunicado  sobre  Nacionalidad.    Salvador,  1846. 
Guatemala,  Deere tos.     [Various  dates.] 


xliv  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Guatemala,  El  Dean  de  la  Santa  Iglesia.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Guatemala,  Gaceta  de.     Guatemala,  1849  et  seq. 
Guatemala,  Guia  de  Forasteros.     Guatemala,  1853  et  seq. 
Guatemala,  Hospital  de  San  Juan  de  Dios.     Guatemala,  1854.   folio. 
Guatemala,  Informacion  echa  en  Santiago  de  Guatemala  Set.  15,  1536.    MS. 
Guatemala,  Informe  de  los  servicios  hechas  por  la  religion  de  Santo  Doming  ». 

MS.   1  vol. 
Guatemala,  Informe  dirijido  por  el  Presidente,  Agosto  16,  1851.     Guatemala, 

[1851.] 

Guatemala,  Informe  sobre  la  ereccion  de  Obispo.     Guatemala,  1827. 
Guatemala,  Informe  que  el  Cabildo  Eclesiastico  de  la  Catedral  Guatemala, 

1827. 

Guatemala,  Informe  sobre  los  Diferentes  Ramos  de  la  Administracion.    Guate 
mala,  1844.  folio. 
Guatemala,    Instruction   formada  de  orden   de   la  Junta  preparatoria  para 

facilitar  las  elecciones  de  Diputados,  etc.     Guatemala,  1812.  4to. 
Guatemala,  Relacion  de  la  tormenta,  Set.   15,  1541.     In  Pacheco  and  Car 
denas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  iii. 

Guatemala,     Instruccion  para  el  Arreglo.     Nueva  Guatemala.  1799.  4to. 
Guatemala,  Los  Emigrados  de  Guatemala.     [Comayagua,  1852.]  folio. 
Guatemala,  Los  Nobles  de.     San  Salvador,  1803. 
Guatemala,  Manifesto  del  Gefe  Politico.     Mexico,  1821. 
Guatemala,  Memoire  Contenant  un  Aperpu  Statistique.     Bruxelles,  1840. 
Guatemala,  Memorias.     [Different  departments  of  the  Government,  cited  by 

dates.] 

Guatemala,  Ministerio  de  Policia  del  Gobierno.     Guatemala,  1828.  folio. 
Guatemala,  Nacionalidad  Espaiiola.     Guatemala,  1852.  folio. 
Guatemala,  Nueva  Instruccion  y  methodo  de  cobrar  y  r.ecaudar  los  diezmos  de 

la  Iglesia  es  este  arzobispado  de  Guatemala.    Nueva  Guatemala,  1785.  4to. 
Guatemala,  Obispo  y  Oficiales,  Carta  al  Emperador.     [Nov.  25,  1541.]     In 

Cartas  de  Indias. 

Guatemala,  Por  Fernando VII.,  el  12  de  Diciembre,  1808.    Oracion.  n.pl.,  n.d. 
Guatemala,    Proyecto   de   Constitucion   para   la  Republica.     San  Salvador, 

1851.  folio. 
Guatemala,  Reglamento  general  de  artesanos  de  la  Nueva  Guatemala,  etc. 

Nueva  Guatemala,  1798. 

Guatemala,  Relacion  Historica  Concerniente.     Guatemala,  1852. 
Guatemala,  Resources,  Agricultural  and  Mineral.     San  Francisco,  1874. 
Guatemala,  Tratado  de  Amistad.     [Guatemala,  1847.]  folio. 
Guatemala,  Eleccion  de  Diputados.     Mexico,  1822.  folio. 
Guerra  (Cristobal),  Capitulacion,  Julio  21,  22  y  23  y  Agosto  18,  1500.     In 

Navarrete,  Col.  deViages,  torn.  ii. 
Guerra  (J.),  Carta,  Agosto  25  de  1851.     MS.  folio. 

Guerra  (Joss),  Historia  de  la  Revolucion  de  N.  Espana.    London,  1813.  2  vols. 
Guerrero  (Jose),  Vindicacion,  Julio  6  de  1852.     [Leon,  1852.]  folio. 
Guerrero  (Vicente),  Manifesto  a  sus  Compatriotas.     Mexico,  1829. 
Guijo,  Diario  de  1648  d  1664.     In  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  i.,  torn.  i. 
Guthrie  (William),  A  Universal  Geography.     Philadelphia,  1820.  2  vols. 
Gutierrez  (Bias  J. ),  Leyes  de  Reforma.     Mexico,  1868. 
Gutierrez  (Felipe),  Carta  al  Emperador  Febrero  10,  1539.     In  Pacheco  and 

Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  iii. 

Guzman  (Fernando),  Manifiesto.     Managua,  1867. 
Guzman  (Fernando),  Mensaje.     Managua,  1871. 

Hacke  (Win.).  A  Collection  of  Original  Voyages.     London,  1699. 
Haefkens  ( J. )',  Central  America.     Dordrecht,  1832. 
Haefkens  (J. ),  Reize  Naar  Guatemala.     Gravenhage,  1827;  also  1828. 
Hakluyt  (Richard),  Divers  Voyages.     London,  1850.     (Hakl.  Soc.  ed.) 
Hakluyt  (Richard),  The  Principal  Navigations,  Voyages,  etc.    London,  1599- 
1600.  folio.  3  vols. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xlv 

Hakluyt  Society.     Works  Issued  by.     London,  1850  et  seq. 

Hale  (E.  E.),  Early  maps  of  America.     Worcester,  1874. 

HaH  (Basil),  Extracts  from  a  Journal.     Edinburgh,  1826.  2  vols. 

Hall,  Report  on  the  trade  of  the  republic  of  Guatemala.    London,  1856.  folio. 

Hansard  (T.  C.),  Parliamentary  Debates  from  1803.     London,  1812-77. 

Hardman  (Frederick),  Scenes  and  Adventures  in  Central  America.    Edinburgh, 

1852. 

Harper's  New  Monthly  Magazine.     New  York,  1856  et  seq. 
Harris  (J.  Dennis),  A  Summer  on  the  Borders  of  the  Caribbean  Sea.     New 

York,  1860. 

Harris  (John),  Navigantium  atque  Itinerantium.    London,  1705.  folio.  2  vols. 
Harrisse  (Henry),  Bibliotheca  Americana  Vetustissima.     New  York,  18G6. 
Hartmann  (Carl),  Geographisch  -  Statistische  Beschreibung  von  Californien. 

Weimar,  1849. 
Haskin  (John  B.),  Speech  inU.  S.  House  of  Rep.,  Jan.  5,  1858.    Washington, 

1858. 

Hassaurek  (F.),  Four  Years  among  Spanish- Americans.     London,  1868. 
Hassel  (G.),  and  J.  G.  F.  R.  Cannabich,  Vollstandige  und  neueste  Erdbeschrei- 

bung  vom  Reiche  Mexico,  Guatemala  und  Westindien.    Weimar,  1824. 
Hawkins  (Sir  Richard),  The  Observations.     London,  1622.     (Hakl.  Soc.  ed.) 
Haya  (Diego  de  la,  Gov.  Costa  Rica),  Informe  dirigido  al  Rey.     MS.  4to. 
Hayes,  Scrap-Books.     1850-74.  129  vols. 
Hayne,  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  March,  1826.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Hazlitt  (Wm.  Carew),  The  Great  Gold  Fields  of  Cariboo.     London,  1862. 
Heine  (Wilhelm),  Wanderbilder  aus  Central- Amerika.     Leipzig,  n.d. 
Helper  (Hinton  R.),  The  Land  of  Gold.     Baltimore,  1855. 
Helps  (Arthur),  Life  of  Hernando  Cortes.     New  York,  1871.  2  vols. 
Helps  (Arthur),  The  Conquerors  of  the  New  World  and  their  Bondsmen. 

London,  1848-52.  2  vols. 

Helps  (Arthur),  The  Life  of  Las  Casas.     Philadelphia,  1868. 
Helps  (Arthur),  The  Spanish  Conquest  in  America.    London,  1855-61.  4  vols.; 

also  New  York,  1856.  2  vols. 

Henderson  (Alex.),  A  Grammar  of  the  Moskito  Language.     New  York,  1846. 
Henderson  (George),  An  Account  of  the   British   Settlement  of  Honduras. 

London,  1811. 

Herran  ( Victor),  Le  Chemin  de  Fer  Interoee'anique  du  Honduras.    Paris,  1868. 
Herran  (Victor),  Notice  sur  les  Cinq  Etats.     Bordeaux,  1853. 
Herrera(  Antonio  de),  Descripcionde  las  Indias  Occidentals.  Madrid,  1730.  fol. 
Herrera  (Antonio  de),  General  History  of  the  Vast  Continent  and  Islands  of 

America.     London,  1725-6.  6  vols. 
Herrera  (Antonio  de),  General  Observations.     In  Voyages,  A  Collection  of. 

(Churchill  Coll.),  vol.  v.;  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  iv. 
Herrera  (Antonio  de),  Historia  General  de  los  Hechos  de  los  Castellanos  en 

las  Islas  i  Tierra  Firme  del  Mar  Oceano.     Madrid,  1601.  4to.  4  vols.; 

also  edition  Madrid,  1726-30.  folio. 
Hesperian.     San  Francisco,  1858  et  seq. 
Heylyn  (Peter),  Cosmography.     London,  1701.  folio. 
Hill  (H.  R.),  Ship  Canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.     London,  1845. 
Hill  (S.  S.),  Travels  in  Peru  and  Mexico.     London,  1860.  2  vols. 
Historical  Magazine,  and  Notes  and  Queries.     Boston,  etc.,  1857-C9.  15  vols. 
Hoffman  (William),  The  Monitor.     New  York,  1803. 
Holbrook  (Samuel  G.),  Three  Score  Years.     Boston,  1857. 
Holinski  (Alex. ),  La  Californie  et  les  Routes  Iiiteroc^aniques.    Bruxelles,  1853. 
Holmes  (Abiel  D.  D.),  Annals  of  America.     Cambridge,  1829.  2  vols. 
Honduras.     A  los  Antipatriotos  Escondidos.     Honduras,  1854. 
Honduras.     A  Los  Patriotas,  Febrero  4,  1854.     [Honduras,  1854.]  folio. 
Honduras,   A  Los   Pueblos.      Un  Amigo   del   General   Guardiola,    Gracias. 

Diciembre  24,  1853.     [Gracias,  1853.]  folio. 
Honduras,  A  Mis  Comitentes  y  Demas,  Abril  8,  1854.     [Comayagua,  1854.] 

folio. 


xlvi  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Honduras,  A  Nuestros  Compatricios,  Noviembre,  1853.  [Comayagua,  1853.] 
folio. 

Honduras,  Al  Gran  Dialogo,  Enero  27,  1854.     Honduras,  1854. 

Honduras,  Almanac,  Belize,  1829  et  seq. 

Honduras,  Al  Publico.     [Various  dates  and  signatures,  1852-4.] 

Honduras,  Anagrama.     [Honduras,  1853.] 

Honduras,  Boletin  del  Ejercito  de  Honduras.     Comayagua,  1853  et  seq. 

Honduras,  Boletin  Oficial  del  Gobierno  Supremo.     Comayagua,  1851  et  seq. 

Honduras,  Carta  Escrita  de  Guatemala.     [Comayagua,  1854.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Clavellina.     [Tegucigalpa,  1852.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Compatricios  [Tegucigalpa,  1852.] 

Honduras,  Conciudadanos.     [Tegucigalpa,  1852.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Coiiocuniento  y  satisfaccion  de  los  Pueblos,  Julio  13,  1853.  [Tegu 
cigalpa,  1853].  folio. 

Honduras,  ConstitucionPoliticadelEstado,  Febreroo,  1848.  [Comayagua,  1848.] 

Honduras,  Contestacion,  Agosto  8, 1852.  ' '  Otros  Ciudadanos. "  [Comayagua, 
1852.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Contestacion  a  las  Tres  Preguntas  del  Anonimo,  19  de  Enero  de 
1854.  [Honduras,  1854.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Cuadro  Estadistico  del  Dcpartamento  de  Gracias.     Paris,  1857. 

Honduras,  Defensa  que  el  Clero  de  Honduras.     San  Salvador.     [1861.] 

Honduras,  Dialogo  entre  un.  Guanaco  y  un  Escritor  Veterano.  [Honduras, 
1854.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Discursos  pronunciados  en  la  tribuna  de  los  debates.  Comayagua, 
1853.  folio. 

Honduras,  Documentos  Justin cativos.     Comayagua,  1855. 

Honduras,  Documentos  para  la  Historia  de  los  Atentados  de  las  Tropas  de 
Guatemala.  Comayagua,  1853.  folio. 

Honduras,  El  Diputado  Alvarado,  Abril  3,  1854.  "Los  Observadores  en  la 
galeria."  [Comayagua],  1854.  folio. 

Honduras,  El  Jefe  Politico  del  Departamento  de  Comayagua,  Setiembre  1°, 
1843.  [Comayagua],  1853.  folio. 

Honduras,  El  Senador  en  Ejerci  o  del  Poder  Ejecutivo  del  Estado,  Mayo  15, 
1853.  [Comayagua,  1853.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Epediciones.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xii. 

Honduras,  Exposicion  del  Presidente  del  Estado  de  Junio  28,  1845.  [Coma 
yagua,  1845.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Exposicion  dirijida  por  el  que  Suscribe  a  los  Habitantes.  [Guate 
mala,  1853.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Felicitacion  que  los  hondurenos  hacen  al  Ciudadano.  [Coma 
yagua,  1851.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Fundacion.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xvi. 

Honduras,  Gaceta  de.     Comayagua,  1861  et  seq. 

Honduras,  Gaceta  Oficial.     Comayagua,  1854  et  seq. 

Honduras,  Gaceta  Oficial  de  Gobierno.     Comayagua,  1849  et  seq. 

Honduras,  Hechos  do  las  Tropas  de  Guatemala.     Comayagua,  [1853.] 

Honduras,  Hondurenos.     [Single  sheets,  various  dates  in  1852-4.] 

Honduras,  Impostura  y  el  Insulto  son  las  Armas  del  Malvado.  [Comayagua, 
1853.]  folio. 

Honduras.  Indicacion.  Setiembre  2,  1852;  also  Octubre  31,  1852.  [Tegu 
cigalpa,  1852.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Interoceanic  Railway,  Charter  of  the.     New  York,  1853.  folio. 

Honduras,  Invasion  al  Departamento  de  Gracias.     [Comayagua],  1854.    folio. 

Honduras,  La  Prensa  Libre,  Mayo  15,  1852.     [Tegucigalpa,  1852.]  folio 

Honduras,  Lijeras  Observaciones  sobre  la  Entrega  del  Estado.     Leon,  1850. 

Honduras,  Los  Dos  Dias,  Enero  4,  1854.     Honduras,  1854.  folio. 

Honduras,  Mauifestacion  de  los  Patriotas  de  Honduras  contra  los  Perturba- 
dores.  Tegucigalpa,  1853.  folio. 

Honduras,  Manifiesto  a  los  Pueblos  de  Honduras,  Diciembre  31, 1853.  [Guate 
mala,  1853.]  folio. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xlvii 

Honduras,  Mariifiesto  del  Pueblo.     Tegucigalpa,  [1872.] 

Honduras,  Memoria  de  los  Valientes  Jeiierales  Don  Francisco  Gomez,  etc. 
Agosto  21,  1854.  Comayagua,  1854.  folio. 

Honduras,  Memoria  Presentada  por  el  Seiior  Don  Jose  Maria  Rugama,  1851. 
Comayagua,  1851. 

Honduras,  Ministerio  de  Relaciones.     [Numerous  decrees,  cited  by  dates.] 

Honduras,  Objeciones  al  Contrato  del  Ferro-carril,  Febrero  22,  1854.  [Coma 
yagua,  1854.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Observacion,  Julio  25,  1852.     [Tegucigalpa,  1852.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Opinion.   [Signed  "La  Galeria,  Julio 24, 1852."  Tegucigalpa,  1852.] 

Honduras,  Otras  Observaciones,  Julio  27,  1852.    [Tegucigalpa],  1852.  folio. 

Honduras,  Pensamiento,  Enero  30,  1853.     Tegucigalpa,  1853.  folio. 

Honduras,  Presideiite,  Diciembre  31,  1853;  also  Diciembre  7,  1854.  [Coma 
yagua,  1853,  1854.]  folios. 

Honduras,  Protesta  de  los  Diputados,  Abril  19,  1853.     Comayagua. 

Honduras,  Refutacion  del  Folletin.     Comayagua,  1861. 

Honduras,  Salutacionibien  venida  en  union  de  vuestra,  Mayo  21,  1854.  [Hon 
duras,  1854.]  folio. 

Honduras,  Trabajos  de  la  Junta  Preparatoria,  Julio  1°,  1852.    [Tegucigalpa.] 

Honduras,  Ultimas  Noticias  del  Ejercito,  Julio  12,  1853.     [Comayagua.] 

Honduras,  Un  Nacionalista,  Junio  26,  1852.     [Comayagua],  1852.  folio. 


~  Ipa.] 

Honduras  and  Guatemala,  Preliminares  de  Paz.     Comayagua,  [1855/j 
Hondurenos,  No  por  un  rasgo  de  vil  adulacion,  Abril  25,  1853.     Comayagua. 
Honolulu.     Polynesian,  1857  et  seq. 
Honter,  De  Cosmographia?.     Basiliaa,  1534. 
Horas  de  Solaz.     San  Jose",  1873  et  seq. 
Humboldt  (Alex,  de),  Essai  Politique  sur  le  Royaume  de  la  Nouvelle  Espagne. 

Paris,  1811.  folio.  2  vols.  and  atlas. 
Humboldt  (Alex,  de),  Examen  Critique  de  1'histoire  de  la  Geographic  du 

Nouveau  Continent.     Paris,  1836-9.  5  vols. 
Humboldt  (Alex,  de),  Personal  Narrative  of  Travels  to  the  Equinoctial  Regions 

of  the  New  Continent.     London,  1822-9.  7  vols. 
Humboldt  (Alex,  de),  Tableaux   de   la  Nature.     Paris,  1808.   2  vols.;   also 

Paris,  1865. 

Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine.     New  York,  1839  et  seq. 
Huston  (R.  G.),  Journey  in  Honduras.     Cincinnati,  1875. 
Hutchings'  California  Magazine.     San  Francisco,  1857-61.  5  vols. 
Hylacomylus  (Waldsee-Miiller),  Cosmographiae  Introdvctio . . .  Insuper  quatuor 

Americi  Vespucij  nauigationes,  Deodate  (St  Die"  Lorraine),  1507. 

Icazbalceta  (Joaquin  Garcia),  Coleccion  de  Documentos  para  la  Historia  de 

Mexico.     Mexico,  1858-66.  folio.  2  vols. 
Iglesias  (J.  M.),  Revistas  Historicas  sobre  la  Intervencion  Francesa.    Mexico. 

1867.  3  vols. 

Iglesias  y  Conventos  de  Mexico,  Relacion  Descriptiva.     Mexico,  1863. 
Impugnacion  al  Impreso  que  se  Publico  en  S.  Salvador.     Guatemala,  [1830]. 
Imray  (James  F.),  Sailing  Directions  for  the  West  Coast.     London,  1868. 
Indices  de  Historias  de  America.     MS.  folio. 
Institute  Nacional  de  Geografia  y  Estadistica,  Boletin.     See  Sociedad  Mexi- 

cana,  etc.,  it?  later  name. 
Instrvccion  qve  han  de  Observar  los  Oficiales  Reales  cle  los  Reales  Cajas  de 

Nicaragua,  Comayagua,  etc.     Guatemala,  1709. 
Integridad  de  Centre- America.     Granada,  1849  et  seq. 
Inter-Oceanic  Canal  and  Monroe  Doctrine.     New  York,  1880. 
Inter-Ocean  Communication.     [Scraps  collected  by  E.  G.  Squier.]  folio. 
Irving  (Washington),  The  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Columbus.     New 

York,  1869.  3  vols. 


xiviii  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED, 

Isagoge,  Relacion.     MS. 

Itinerariu  Portugallesiu.     Milan,  1508. 

Ixtlilxochitl  (Fernando  de  Alva),  Horribles  Crueldades  de  los  Conquistadores 

de  Mexico.     Mexico,  1829. 
Ixtlilxochitl,  Relaciones.     In  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix. 

Jacob  (W.),  Historical  Inquiry.     London,  1831.  2  vols. 
Jeffreys  (Thomas),  Voyages  from  Asia  to  America.     London,  17C1.  4to. 
Jenkins  (Albert  G.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  House  of  Rep.,  January  12,  1859. 
Jerez  (Maximo),  Contestacion  al  Manifiesto  del  Presidente.     Leon,  1862. 
Jesuitas  (Los),  Observaciones  sobre  un  Articulo  de  la  Opinion.     Leon,  1871. 
Jesuits,  Coleccion  General  de  las  Providencias.     Madrid,  1767,  17C9.  2  vols. 
Jimenes  (Jose  Antonio),  Memoria  Presentada  al  Cuerpo  Legislative,  Febrero 

22  de  1851.     San  Salvador,  [1851].  folio. 
Jimenez  (Francisco),  Las  Historias  del  Origen  de  los  Indies  de  esta  Provincia 

de  Guatemala.     Viena,  1857. 

Jolinson  (Fr.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  House  of  Rep.,  April  13,  1826.  n.pl.,  n.d. 
Johnston  (J.  S.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  March,  1826.    Washington,  1826. 
Jomard  (Edme.  Frai^ois),  Les  Monuments  de  la  Geographic.   Paris,  1854  et  seq. 
Jordan  (John),  Serious  Actual  Dangers  of  Foreigners.     Philadelphia,  1826. 
Juan   (George)  and  Antonio  de  Ulloa,  Voyage  Historique  de  1'Amerique 

Meridionale.     Amsterdam,  1752.  4to.  2  vols. 

Juana  (Doila),  Sobre  Carta  de  la  Reina.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages. 
Juarros  (Domingo),  Compendio  de  la  Historia  de  la  Ciudad  de  Guatemala. 

Guatemala,  1857;  also  Guatemala,  1808  and  1818. 
Juarros  (Domingo),  A  Statistical  and  Commercial  History  of  the  Kingdom,  of 

Guatemala.     London,  1823. 
Jiiifs  (J.  C.)  and  F.  Balleer.     Die  Seehiifen  und  Seehandelsplatze  der  Erde. 

Oldenburg,  1875. 

Keller  (F.  A.  E.),  Canal  de  Nicaragua.     Paris,  1859. 

Kelley  (M.  F.),  Projet  d'un  Canal  Maritime.     Paris,  1857. 

Kelly  (Fred.  M.).  The  Union  of  the  Oceans.     New  York,  1859. 

Kerr  (Henry),  Travels  through  the  Western  Interior  of  the  U.  S.  Elizabeth- 
town,  1816. 

Kerr  (Robert),  A  General  History  and  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels. 
Edinburgh  and  London,  1824.  18  vols. 

Keweii  (E.  J.  C.),  Nicaragua  and  Walker.     MS.  [1879.]  folio. 

Kingsborough  (Lord),  Antiquities  of  Mexico.     London,  1831-48.  folio.  9  vols. 

Kirchhoff  (Theodor),  Reisebilder  und  Skizzen  aus  Amerika.  New  York, 
1875-6.  2  vols. 

Kittlitz  (F.  H.  von),  Denkwiirdigkeiten  einer  Reise  nach  dem  russischen 
Amerika.  Gotha,  1858. 

Kohl  (J.  G. ),  A  History  of  the  Discovery  of  the  East  Coast  of  North  America. 
Portland,  1869. 

Kohl  (J.  G.),  Die  Beiden  Altesten  Gcneral-Karten  von  Amerika.  Weimar, 
1860.  folio. 

Kohl  ( J .  G. ),  Popular  History  of  the  Discovery  of  America.  London,  1 862.  2  vols. 

Kretzschmar  (W.),  Das  Deutsche  Colonisirimgs-Project.     Konigsberg,  1845. 

Kunstmann  (Friedrich),  Die  Entdeckung  Amerikas.     Miinchen,  1859.  4to. 

Kunstmann  (Friedrich),  The  Discovery  of  America.     MS.  foilo. 

Kurtze,  Interoceanic  Railroad  through  Costa  Rica  Route.    New  York,  1860. 

Lachapelle  (A.  de),  Le  Comte  de  Raousset-Boulbon.     Paris,  1859. 
Laet  (Joannis  de),  Novvs  Orbis.     Lvgd.  Batav.,  1633.  folio. 
Laferriere  (J.),  De  Paris  a  Guatemala.     Paris,  1877. 
Lafond  (G.),  Voyages  autour  du  Monde.     Paris,  1844.  8  vols. 
Lafond  de  Lurcy  (Gel.),  Notice  sur  le  Golfo  Dulce.     Paris,  1856. 
La  Harpe  (John  Francois),  Abreg6  de  1'Histoire  Generale  des  Voyages.  Paris, 
1816.  24  vols.  and  atlas. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xlix 

Lallement,  Geschichte  von  Columbien.     Quedlinburg,  etc.,  1827. 

Lardner  (Dioiiysius),  History  of  Maritime  and  Inland  Discovery.  London, 
1830.  3  vols. 

Larenaudiere,  Mexique  et  Guatemala.     Paris,  1843 ;  also  Paris,  1847. 

Larrainzar  (Fed.),  Carta  sobre  los  Ultimos  Sucesos  de  Centro-Ame'rica. 
Mexico,  1864. 

Larrainzar  (Manuel),  Noticia  Hist6rica  de  Soconusco.     Mexico,  1843. 

Larreynaga  (Miguel),  Memoria  sobre  el  fuego  de  las  Volcanes.  Guatemala,  1843. 

Larreynaga  (Miguel),  Noticia  Biografica  del  Distinguido  Literate.  Guate 
mala,  1847.  folio. 

La  Salle,  La  Salade.     Paris,  1527. 

Las  Casas  and  Valdivioso.     In  Cartas  de  Indias. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome'  de),  Breve  Relacion  de  la  Destruccion  de  las  Indias. 
Se  villa,  1822. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome"  de),  Cancionero  Spiritual.     Mexico,  154G. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome"  de),  Carta  a  los  Padres  del  capitulo  provincial  de  Guate 
mala.  London,  1854. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolomd  de),  Carta  al  Gattinara.     London,  1854. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolom£  de),  Carta  de  amonestacio.     London,  1854. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolom6  de),  Cartas,  Representaciones,  Asientos,  and  other 
Documents.  In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col  Doc.,  torn.  vii. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome"  dc),  Coleccion  de  las  Obras  del  Obispo  de  Chiapa. 
[By  Juan  Antonio  Llorente.]  Paris,  1822.  2  vols. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome'  de),  Conqvista  dell'  Indie  Occidentali.  Venetia,  1G44. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome  de),  Decouverte  des  Indias  Occidentales.     Paris,  1697. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome'  de),  Extractos.  [From  his  Historia  de  las  Indias.]  MS. 
folio. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolom6  de),  Historia  Apolog6tica  de  las  Yndias  Occidentales. 
MS.  folio.  4  vols. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome'  de),  Historia  de  Indias.  MS.  folio.  4  vols.;  also  edition 
Madrid,  1875.  5  vols. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolomd  de),  Indio  Esclavo  obra  Compuesta.     Puebla,  1821. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolomd  de),  Istoria  6  Breuissima  Relatione.  Venetia,  1630; 
also  Venetia,  1643. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolomd  de),  Liberta  Pretesta  dal  suplice.     Venetia,  1640. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome"  do),  Oeuvres.     Paris,  1822.  2  vols. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome  de),  Real  Cedula.  In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 
torn,  vii.;  Temaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  v.;  Florida,  Col.  Doc. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolome"  de),  Regionvm  Indicarum  per  Hispanos.  Heidelberg, 
1064. 

Las  Casas  (Bartolom6  de),  Relation  des  Voyages  et  des  De"couvertes.  Amster 
dam,  1098. 

Las  Casas  (Bartoloni(5  de),  Tyrannies  et  Crvavtez  des  Espagnols.  Anvers,  1579. 

Lebcn,  Hie  hcbt  sich  an  der  Heiligen  Leben.   Augspurg,  1471-2.  folio.  2  vols. 

Lelewel(Joach.),  Geographic  du  moyen  age.    Bruxelles,  1852.  4  vols.  Atlas  4to. 

Leon  (Ponce  de),  Reise  des,  und  Entdeckung.  In  Sammlung  aller  Reisebesch. , 
torn.  xiii. 

Leon  (Ponce  de),  Uitvoerlyke  Scheepstogt  door  den  Dapperen.  In  Gottfried, 
Reysen,  torn.  iii. 

Lerdo  de  Tcjada  (Miguel  M. ),  Apuntes  Historicos  de  la  Heroica  Ciudad  de 
Vera  Cruz.  Mexico,  1850-5.  5  parts. 

Lerma,  Carta  de  la  gobernacion  de  Honduras,  Oct.  20,  1535.  In  Pacheco  and 
Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xii. 

Leslie  (Frank),  Popular  Monthly.     New  York,  1876  et  seq. 

Lester  (C.  Edwards)  and  Andrew  Foster.  Life  and  Voyage  of  Vcspucius. 
New  York,  1846. 

Lesur  (C.  L.),  Annuaire  Historique  Universel  pour  1827.     Paris,  1828. 

Letera  de  la  Nobil  Cipta.     Zhaval,  1535.  4to. 

Levy  (Pablo),  Notas  Geograficas  y  Econ6micas  sobre  la  Republica  de  Nic 
aragua.  Paris,  1873. 


1  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Leyes  y  Ordenancas  Nuevamente  hechas  por  su  Magestad,  para  la  gouernaci<5 

de  las  Indias.     Valladolid,  1603.  folio. 
Leyes  y  Ordenanzas.     Madrid,  [1581.] 

Libretto  de  tutta  la  Navigazione  del  lie  di  Spagna.     n.pl.,  [1504.] 
Liceaga  (Jose  Maria),  Adiciones  y  Rectificaciones  a  la  Historia  de  Mexico. 

Guanajuato,  1868. 

Lie"vano,  Primer  Calendario.     [San  Salvador,]  1853  et  seq. 
Linage  (Joseph  de Veitia),  Norte  de  la  Contratacion  de  las  Indias  Occidentales. 

Seville,  1672. 

Linage  (Joseph  de  Veitia),  The  Spanish  Rule  of  Trade.     London,  1702. 
Lloyd  (J.  A.),  Notes   respecting  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.     In  Lond.  Geog. 

Soc.  Jour. ,  vol.  i. 

Loaisa  (Fr.  Garcia  de),  Viages  al  Maluco.    In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  v. 
London  Geographical  Society  Journal.     London,  1831-70.  40  vols. 
London  Mining  Journal,  1867. 
London  Morning  Chronicle,  1850. 

Long,  Porter,  and  Tucker,  America  and  the  West  Indies.     London,  1845. 
Lopez,  Poblacion,  Guatemala,  1576.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 

torn.  xiv. 
Lopez  (Domingo),  Discurso  por  el  Presidente  de  la  Asamblea  Nacional,  Marzo, 

1877.     San  Salvador  (1877).  folio. 

Lopez  (Patricio  Antonio),  Mercuric  Indiana  Pcema  historico.     MS.  [1690.] 
Lord  (John  Keast),  The  Naturalist  in  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia. 

London,  1866.  2  vols. 

Lorenzaua,  Viage.     In  Cortds,  Hist.  N.  Espana. 
Losada  (Juan  Miguel  de),  Cuestion  Mejicana.     Madrid,  1863. 
Lossing  (Benson  J. ),  Pictorial  History  of  the  United  States.     Hartford,  1868; 

also  New  York,  1861. 

Low  (Conr.),  Meer  oder  Seehanen  Buch.     Cologne,  1598.   folio 
Ludd,  Speculi  Orbis.     Strasburg,  1507. 
Lunario  de  Centro -Americano.     Guatemala,  1833. 
Lussan  (Ravenau  de),  Journal  du  Voyage  fait  a  la  Mer  du  Sud  avec  les 

Flibustiers,  1684.     Paris,  1693. 
Luyts  (Joannis),  Introductio  ad  Geographiam  Novam  et  Veterem.     Trajecti 

ad  Rlienum,  1692. 
Lynch  (P.),  Relacion  Puntual  de  toda  la  costa  del  Mar  del  Norte.     Leon, 

1757.     MS. 

Macario  (Juan),  Xecul  MS. 

Macfie  (Matthew),  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia.  London,  1865. 
Macgillivray  (W.),  Life,  Travels,  and  Researches  of  Humboldt.  London,  1S59. 
Macgregor  (John),  The  Progress  of  America,  from  the  Discovery  by  Colu:  ;bus 

to  1846.     London,  1847. 

Macham,  The  Voyage  of  Macham,  an  Englishman,  etc.  InHakluyt,vol.  ii.,  pt.ii. 
Mackay  (Charles),  Life  and  Liberty  in  America.     London,  1859.  2  vols. 
Macpherson  (David),  Annals  of  Commerce.     London,  1805.   4to.  4  vols. 
Madoc,  The  most  ancient  Discouery  of  the  West  Indies  by.    In  Hakluyt,  vol.  iii. 
Maffei,  Historiarum  indicarum.     Florence,  1588. 

Maffei  of  Volterra,  Commentariorum  m*banorum.     Rome,  1506.  folio. 
Magelhaens  (Fernando  de),  Voyage.     In  Berenger,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  i. 
Magin.     See  Wytfliet. 
Maglianos,  St  Francis  and  Franciscans. 

Maire  (A.),  Renseignements  sur  le  Centre- Ame"rique,  etc.     Paris,  1844. 
Major  (Richard  Henry),  The  Life  of  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal.    London,  1868. 
Major  (Richard  Henry),  Select  Letters  of  Columbus.     London,  1847.     (Hakl. 

Soc.  ed.) 
Maldonado  (Antonio),  Repertorio  de  las  Cedulas  Provisiones  i  Ordenanzas 

Realcs.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Malte-Brun  (V.  A. ),  Precis  de  la  Geographic  Universelle.     Bruxelles,  1839. 

6  vols.  and  atlas. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  li 

Maltratamiento  de  Yndios.     A  Collection.     MS.  folio. 

Mandeville  (Sir  John),  Travels  of.     London,  1725.     (Hakluyt  Soc.  ed.) 

March  y  Labores  (Jose"),  Historia  de  la  Marina  Real  Espaiiola.    Madrid,  1854. 

4to.  2  vols.  and  atlas. 

Marco  Polo,  De  Veniesia  de  la  meravegliose  cose  del  mondo.    Venice,  1496. 
Marco  Polo,  Dei  Viaggi  di  Messer  Marco  Polo  Gentil'hvomo  Venetiano.     In 

Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  ii. 

Marco  Polo,  Veneti  de  regionibus  orientalibus  libri  tres.     Cologne,  1671. 
Marcou  (Jules),  Origin  of  the  name  America.     In  Atlantic  Monthly.    March, 

1875. 

Mariana  (Juan  de),  Historia  General  de  Espaiia.     Madrid,  1780.  folio.  2  vols. 
Marie  ( Adolf o),  El  Nuevo  Derecho  de  Gentes  observadoen  Salvador,  Mayo  26, 

1851.     (Guatemala,  1851.)  folio. 
Marineo,  Obra  Compuesta  de  las  Cosas  Memorables  e  Claros  Varones  de  Espafla. 

Alcala,  1530. 

Marr  (Willielm),  Reise  nach  Ccntral-Amerika.     Hamburg,  1863.  2  vols. 
Marroquin  (Francisco),  Carta  al  Emperador.    Mayo  10, 1537 ;  Agosto  15, 1539 ; 

Agosto  10, 1541 ;  Noviembre  25, 1541 ;  Junio4, 1545.    In  Cartas  de  Indias. 
Marroquin  (Francisco),  Carta  al  Principe  Don  Felipe,  Setiembre  20,  1547. 

In  Cartas  de  Indias. 

Marryatt,  Narrative  of  the  Travels  of  Monsieur  Violet.     New  York,  1843. 
Marshall  (E.  G.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Jan.  6,  1853.    Washington,  1853. 
Marshall  (T.  W.  M.),  Christian  Missions.     New  York,  1864.  2  vols. 
Martin  (Robert  Montgomery),  History  of  the  West  Indies.     London,  1836. 

2  vols. 

Martinez  (Tomas),  Discurso  Proiiunciado.     Managua,  1857. 
Martinez  (Tomas),  Mensaje.     Managua,  1867. 
Martire,  Summario.     In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  iii. 
Martyr  (Peter),  Aiiglimediolanensis  Opera.     Seville,  1511. 
Martyr  (Peter),  De  Nvper  svb  D.  Carolo  repertis  Insulis.     Basiliee,  1521. 
Martyr  (Peter),  De  Orbe  Decades.     Alcala,  1516. 
Martyr  (Peter),  De  Orbe  Novo  Petri  Martyris  ab  Angleria  Mediolanensis 

Protonotarrii  Ctesaris  senatoris  decades,     n.pl.,  1530. 
Martyr  (Peter),  De  Rebus  Oceanicis.     Paris,  1536. 
Martyr  (Peter),  Libro  Primo  della  Historia  delle  Indie  Occidentali.    Vinegia, 

1534. 

Martyr  (Peter),  Opus  Epistolarum.     Copluti,  1530. 
Marure   (Alejandro),    Bosquejo  Historico  de  las   Revoluciones  de  Centro- 

America.     Guatemala,  11-37. 
Maruro  (Alejandro),  Efemerides  de  los  Hechos  Notables  en  la  Republica  de 

Ceritro -America.     Guatemala,  1844. 

Mavor  (William),  Universal  History.     New  York,  1803-5.  25  vols. 
Maximilian.     De  Molvccis  Insulis.     Colonise,  1523. 

Mayer  (Brantz),  Mexico  as  it  was  and  as  it  is.     New  York,  1844;  also  Balti 
more,  1846,  and  Philadelphia,  1847. 

Mayer  (Brantz), Mexico.  Aztec,  Spanish,  and  Republican.  Hartford,  1853.  2  vols. 
Mayer,  MSS.     [A  Collection  of  thirty  copies,  from  Mexican  Archives.] 
Mayorga  (D.  Mateo),  Carta  Junio  10,  1851.     MS.  folio. 
Medina  (Balthassar  de),  Chronica  de  la  Santa  Provincia  de  San  Diego  de  Mexico. 

Mexico,  1682.  folio. 

Mela  (Pomponius),  De  Orbis  Sitv.     Basilic,  1522. 
Mela  (Pomponius),  Libri  de  Situ  Orbis.     Vienna,  1518. 

Mendez  (Diego),  Relacion  hecha  por.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  i. 
Mendez  (Jose  Mariano),  Memoria  del  Estado  Politico  y  Eclesiastico  de  la 

Capitania  General  de  Guatemala.     Madrid,  1821. 
Mendieta  (Fr.  Gheronimo  de),  Carta  al  Rey,  Octubre  8,  1565.     In  Provincia 

del  Santo  Evangelio. 

Mendieta  (Geronimo  de),  Historia  Eclesiastica  Indiana.     Mexico,  1870. 
Mendoza  (Antonio  de),  Cartas.    In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  toms.  iii., 

xiv. ;  and  in  Florida,  Col.  Doc. 


lii  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Mendoza  (Antonio  cle),  Relacion  desasosiegos  en  Peru,  Junio,  1552.     In  Pa- 

checo  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  iii. 
Mercator's  Atlases.     1569  et  seq. 

Mesa  y  Leompart,  Compendio  de  la  Historia  de  America.    Paris,  1870,  2"vols. 
Mexican  Newspapers  (cited  by  names  and  dates). 
Mexico,  A  Trip  to,  by  a  Barrister.     London,  1851. 
Mexico,  Actas  del  Congi-eso  Constituyente  Mexicano.     Mexico,  1822-5;  10 

vols. ;  also  Mexico,  1824-5.  4  vols. 

Mexico,  Anales  del  Ministerio  de  Fomento.     Mexico,  1854-5.  3  vols. 
Mexico,  Decretos.     [Different  dates.] 

Mexico,  Descargos  del  Marques  de  Gelves  a  los  Cargos.     MS.  folio. 
Mexico  in  1842.     New  York,  1842. 

Mexico,  Memorial.     In  Pachecoand  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  vi. 
Mexico,  Memoiias.     [Of  the  different  departments,  Guerra,  Hacienda,  etc., 

cited  by  dates.] 

Mexico,  Notes  made  in  1822.     Philadelphia,  1824. 
Mexico,  Relacion  Particular  y  Descripcion  de  toda  la  Provincia  del  Santo 

Evangelio.     MS.  folio. 

Mexico  and  Central  America.     The  Problem  and  its  Solution,     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Mexico  y  Guatemala,  Cuestioii  de  Limites.     Mexico,  1875. 
Meyer  (Carl),  Nach  dem  Sacramento.     Aarau,  1855. 
Michell  (R.  C.),  A  Statistical  Account  and  Description  of  the  Island  of 

Ruatan.     In  United  Service  Journal,  August,  1850. 
Mills  (Nicholas),  History  of  Mexico.     London,  1824. 
Mining  Magazine.     10  vols.     New  York,  1853  et  scq. 
Modern  Traveller  (The).    Mexico  and  Guatemala.   London,  1825.  2  vols.;  also 

Boston,  1830.  2  vols. 

Mofras  (Duflot  de),  Exploration  du  Territoire  de  L'Oregon.    Paris,  1844.  2  vols. 
Molina  (Felipe),  Bosquejo  de  la  Republica  de  Costa  Rica.     New  York,  ISol. 
Molina  (Felipe),  Boundary  Question  of  Costa  Pvica  and  Nicaragua.     Wash 
ington,  1851. 

Molina  (Felipe),  Costa  Rica  y  Nueva  Granada.     Washington,  1852. 
Molina  (Felipe),  Coup  d'Oeil  rapide  sur  la  Re"publique  de  Costa  Rica.     Paris, 

1850. 

Molina  (Felipe),  Memoir  on  the  Boundary  Question,  Costa  Rica  and  Nica 
ragua.     Washington,  1851. 
Mollhausen  (Balduin),  Diary  of  a  Journey  from  the  Mississippi.     London, 

1858.  2  vols. 
Mollien  (G.),  Voyage  dans  la  R6publique  de  Colombia  en  1825.     Paris,  1825. 

2  vols. 

Monglave  (Eugene  de),  R<$sum<§  de  PHistoire  du  Mexique.     Pari.?,,  1826. 
Monroe  Doc  trine,  Paper  by  E.  Everett ;  Letter  of  J.  Q .  Adams.    Nev,  York ,  1 863. 
Montalboddo,    Pjesi   Nouamente   retrouati,   Et    Nouo   Mondo  da  Alberico 

Vesputio,  Florentino  intitulato.     Vincentia,  1507. 
Montaims  (Arnoldus),    De  Nieuwe  en   Onbekende  Weereld.     Amsterdam, 

1671.  folio. 
Montanus  (Arnoldus),  Die  Unbekannte  Neue  Welt.    [Translated  by  Dapper.] 

Amsterdam,  1673. 

Montauban,  Relation  du  Voyage.     Amsterdam,  1698. 
Montejo,  Carta  describiendo  el  Rio  Grijalva,  Abril  13,  1629.     In  Pacheco 

and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiii. 
Moutemayor  y  Cordova  de  Cuenca    (Juan    Francisco  de),  Svmarios  de  las 

Cedvlas  Ordcnea  por  su  Magestad  hasta  1677.     Mexico,  1678.  folio. 
Monterey  (Narciso),  Proyecto  de  reorganizacion  nacional  en  Centro- America. 

[Salvador,  1856.] 
Montescaros,  Carta  sobre  materia  de  encomendar  Yndios,  Abril  7,  1612.     In 

Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  torn.  vi. 

Montgomery  (G.  W. ),  Narrative  of  a  Journey  to  Guatemala.    New  York,  1839. 
Montufar  (Lorenzo),  Respuesta  al  segundo  Opusculo  de  Sefior  Don  Lorenzo 

Montufar  sobre  Jesuitas.     Leon  de  Nicaragua,  1873. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  liii 

Monttifar  (Manuel),  Memorias  para  la  Historia  de  la  Revolucion  de  Centro 

America.     Jalapa,  1832. 

Mora  (J.  M.  S.),  Mejico  y  sus  Revoluciones.     Paris,  1836.  3  vols. 
Morales  (Agustin),  A  los  Centro-Americanos.     Managua,  1846. 
Morales  (Agustin),  Polemica.     [San  Salvador,  1851.]  folio. 
Morazan  (F.),  Al  Pueblo  Centro- Americano.     [David,  1841.] 
Morazaii  (F. ),  Apuntes  sobre  la  Revolucion  de  1829.     MS.  4to. 
Morazan  (F.),  Testament©  de.     San  Salvador,  1843. 
Morazan  and  Carrera.     A  Collection  of  MSS.  and  Print,  folio. 
Morden  (Robert),  Geography  Rectified.     London,  1C93. 
Morel  de  Santa  Cruz  (Pedro  Agustin),  Visita  Apostolica,  de  Nicaragua  y 

Costa  Rica.     Leon,  1874.     MS.  folio. 

Morelet  (Arthur),  Travels  in  Central  America.     New  York,  1871. 
Morelet  (Arthur),  Voyage  dans  1'Amerique  Centrale.     Paris,  1857.  2  vols. 
Morelli  (Ciriacus),  Fasti  Novi  Orbis  et  Ordinationum.     Venetiis,  1776.  4to. 
Moreno,  Informacion  sobre  Excesos  en  Truxillo.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas, 

Col.  Doc.,  torn.  ii. 
Moreno  (Geronymo),  Reglas  ciertas  y  precisamente  necessarias  para  Juezes. 

Mexico,  1637. 

Morgan,  the  Buccaneer.     Harper's  Monthly,  vol.  xix. 
Moro  (Gerardt),  Informe  en  derecho  sobre  que  la  compauia  de  el  Real  Asiento 

de  la  Gran  Bretana.     Mexico,  1724. 
Morrell  (Benjamin),  A  Narrative  of   four  Voyages  to  the  South  Sea,  etc. 

New  York,  1832. 

Mosaico  Mexicano  (El).     Mexico,  1840-42.  7  vols. 
Mosquitia,  Convencion  relativa  a  la  Mosquitia  entre  Nicaragua  y  S.  M.  B. 

Managua,  I860. 

Mosquito,  Black  River  Land-Grant.     London,  1856.  folio. 
Mosquito  Indian.     In  Voyages,  A  Collection  of.     (Churchill  Coll.),  vol.  vi. 
Mosquito -Kiiste  und  Texas,  Vollstiindige  und  Unpartheiische  Beschreibung. 

Charlottenburg,  1846. 

Mosquitoland,  Bericht  liber.     Berlin,  1845. 
Mosquito  Question.     A  Collection. 

Mosquito  Question,  Documents  from  the  Squier  Library.     MS.  and  print. 
Mosquito  Shore,  Case  of  His  Majesty's  Subjects.     London,  1789.  4to. 
Mosquito  Territory,   Correspondence  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons, 

July  3,  1848.     London,  1848.  folio. 
Mota  Padilla  (Matias  de  la),  Historia  de  la  Conquista  de  la  Nueva  Galicia. 

Guadalajara,  1742.     MS.  copy,  folio. 
Munguia  ( Clemen te  cle  Jesus),  Pastorales.     A  Collection. 
Munich  Atlas.     Munich,  1859. 

Muiioz  (Domingo),  A  Los  Soldades,  Mayo  19,  1852.    [Comayagua,  1852.]  folio. 
Muiioz  (Jose  Trinidad),  Carta,  Agosto  26  de  1851.     MS.  folio. 
Muiioz  (Jose  Trinidad),  El  General  Suscribe  a  los  Nicaraguenses,  Agosto  10, 

1851.     [Leon,  1851.] 

Mufioz  (Juan  Bautista),  Historia  del  Nuevo  Mundo.     Madrid,  1793.,  torn.  i. 
Mufioz  (Miguel),  Defensa  de  las  Haves  de  San  Pedro.     Nueva  York,  1834. 
Minister  (Seb.),  Cosmographia.    Basel,  1545;  also  editions  1553  and  1598.  folio. 
Murchison  (Sir  Roderick),  Address.     In  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.  Jour.,  vol.  xxviii. 
Muro  (Antonio  de  San  Jose),  Utilidades  y  medios  de  que  todos  los  Indies  y 

Ladinos.     Nueva  Guatemala,  1798. 
Museo  Mexicano.     Mexico,  1843-5.  5  vols. 
Myers  (H.  M.  and  P.  V.  N.),  Life  and  Nature  under  the  Tropics.    New  York, 

1871. 

Nacaome,  Dictamen  sobre  los  Pactos  Celebrados  por  la  Convencion.     Coma 
yagua,  1848. 

Nacional  (El).     Leon,  1858  et  seq. 
Naharro,  Relacion.     In  Doc.  In6d.,  torn.  xxvi. 
Napione  di  Coconato,  Delia  patria  di  Cristoforo  Colombo.     Florence,  1808. 


liv  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Napione  di  Coconato  and  De-Conti,  Patria  e  Biografia  del  Grande  Ammiraglio 

D.  Cristoforo  Colombo.     Roma,  1853. 

National  Calendar  and  Annals  of  the  United  States.  "Washington,  1822  et  seq. 
Navarrete  (Martin  Fernandez),  Coleccion  de  los  "Viages  y  Descubrimientos  que 

hicieron  los  Espanoles  desde  fines  del  Siglo  XV.     Madrid,  1825-37.  5  vols. 
Navarre,  Relacion.     In  Doc.  Ined.,  torn.  xxvi. 
Navarro  (Luis  Diez),  Extracto  de  una  Relacioii  sobre  el  Antiguo  Reyno  de 

Guatemala.     Guatemala,  1850. 
Navegaciones  de  los  vascongados  a  los  mares  de  Terranova.     In  Navarrete, 

Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 

New  Granada  and  the  United  States  of  America,  Final  Controversy.     Liver 
pool,  [1857.] 
New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce.     Fourth  Annual  Report,   1861-2.     New 

York,  1862. 

New  York  Historical  Society,  Collections.     New  York,  1841  et  seq. 
Newe  Lades  (Of  the),   and  of  ye  people  founde  by  the  messengers  of  the 

Kynge  of  portygale,  named  Emanuel.     Antwerp,  [1521  or  1522.] 
Newen  Zeytung,  Copia  der.    n.pl.,  n.d. 
Newe  Zeytung,  Em  Scho'ne.     Augsburg,  [1522.] 
Nicaragua,  A  Los  Pueblos  del  Estado.     [Leon,  1852.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Alocucion  que  Unos  Granadinos.     [Granada,  1854.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Al  Publico.    [Separate  sheets,  with  various  signatures  and  dates.] 
Nicaragua,  Al  Sefior  Publico,  Diciembre  24  de  1851.     Leon,  1851.  folio. 
Nicaragua,  America  del  Centre  Memoria  dirijida.     Leon,  1847. 
Nicaragua,  (Asamblea  Constituyente.)     Managua,  1848. 
Nicaragua,  Asercion  Documentada.     Managua,  1870. 
Nicaragua,  Atlantic  and  Pacific  International  Ship-Canal  Company.     Papers. 

Paris,  n.d.  folio. 

Nicaragua,  Boletin  de  Noticias.  Leon,  18C9  et  seq. 
Nicaragua,  Boletin  Oficial.  Leon,  etc.,  1849  et  seq. 
Nicaragua,  Boletin  del  Pueblo.  Leon,  1863  et  seq. 

Nicaragua,  Bombardement  et  enticre  Destruction  de  Grey- town.    Paris,  1856. 
Nicaragua,  Codigo  de  la  Lejislacion.     Managua,  1871.  folio. 
Nicaragua,    Coleccion  de   Decretos  y  Acuerdos   Gubernativos   Emitidos  de 

Enero  a  Deciembre  de  1863.     Managua,  1866. 
Nicaragua,  Coleccion  de  Decretos  Gubernativos,  1864-68.    Managua,  1866-72. 

5  vols.     Managua,  1873.  2  vols. 

Nicaragua,  Coleccion  de  Varies  Trabajos  Importantes.  [Managua,  1852.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Contestacion  al  Mensaje  del  Presidente,  1875.  Managua,  1875.  4to. 
Nicaragua,  Contestacion  a  Unos  Versos  Publicados  en  Leon  por  Dn  Pablo 

Buitpago,  etc.     [Granada,  1751.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Contestacion  del  Sr  Presidente  del  Congreso  al  Mensage.   Managua, 

1869.  folio. 

Nicaragua,  Constitucion  Politica,  1838.     [Leon,  1838.] 

Nicaragua,  Continuacion  de  Correspondencia  Oficial  de  Limites  entre  Nica 
ragua  i  Costa-Rica.     Managua,  1872. 

Nicaragua,  (Contratas  con  Companias  de  Vapores.)     [Leon,  1849.]  4to. 
Nicaragua,  Contrato  de  Canalizacion.     Leon,  1849. 
Nicaragua,  Contrato  de  Ferro  Carril.     Managua,  1864. 
Nicaragua,  Contrato  de  Ferro-Carril  de  Leon  a  Corinto.    Managua,  1873. 
Nicaragua,  Contrato  del  Ferro-Carril  de  Nicaragua.     Panama,,  1873. 
Nicaragua,  Convencion  Consular  Ajustada  entre  la  Republica  de  Nicaragua  i  el 

Reino  de  Italia.     Managua,  1872. 
Nicaragua,  Convencion  de  Estradicioii  entre  la  Republica  de  Nicaragua  i  los 

Estados-Unidos  de  America.     Managua,  1871. 

Nicaragua,  Convencion  postal  entre  Nicaragua  y  S.  M.  B.     Managua,  1860. 
Nicaragua,  Convencion  Postal.     Managua,  1869. 
Nicaragua,  Convencion  Relativa  &  la  Mosquitia.     Managua,  1860. 
Nicaragua,  Convenio  Celebrado  en  la  Ciudad  de*  Granada  el  dia  19  de  Agosto, 

1851.     Granada,  1852. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  Iv 

Nicaragua,  Convenio  de  14  de  Julio.     Leon,  1865. 

Nicaragua,  Convention  between  the  United  States  and  Nicaragua,  n.pl.,  1871. 

Nicaragua,  Correo  del  Istmo.     Leon,  1849  et  seq. 

Nicaragua,  Correspondence  between  E.  G.  Squier,  S.  H.  Weems,  and   the 
Governments  of  Nicaragua  and  Guatemala.     MS.  folio. 

Nicaragua,  Correspondent  entre  Costa  Rica  sobre  la  Reclamacion.     Mana 
gua,  1875.  4to. 

Nicaragua,  Correspondencia  relativa  a  los  Asuntos  entre  Nicaragua  i  Costa 
Rica.     Managua,  1872. 

Nicaragua,  Cuenta  Documentada  del  Comisionado.     [Leon,  1843.] 

Nicaragua,  Datos  relatives  a  la  proyectada  Imigracion.     Managua,  18G8. 

Nicaragua,  Decretos  Legislatives.     Managua,  1867  et  seq. 

Nicaragua,   Decretos  y  Acuerdos  de  la  Administracion   Tomas  Martinez. 
Managua,  1859-61.  4  vols. 

Nicaragua,  Decretos  y  Acuerdos  Gubernativos,  Jose  Laureano  Pineda.     Gra 
nada,  1583. 

Nicaragua,  Decretos  y  Acuerdos  de  la  Junta  de  Gobierno.     Managua,  1857. 

Nicaragua,  Defensa  de  los  Derechos  del  Pais.     [Leon,  1843.] 

Nicaragua,  De  Orden  del  Director  al  territorio  Mosquitos.     Leon,  1847. 

Nicaragua,  Dictamen  de  la  Comision  del  Congreso  sobre  la  Eleccion  Preu- 
dencial.     Managua,  1871. 

Nicaragua,  Differences  with  the  United  States,     n.pl.,  n.d. 

Nicaragua,  Discursos  pronunciados  el  15  de  Setiembre.     Managua,  1858. 

Nicaragua,   Documentos  de  la  Arbitrariedad  del  Gobierno.     Octobre  12  de 
1852.     [Leon,  1852.]  folio. 

Nicaragua,  Documentos  Creados  sobre  Platicas  de  Paz.    Granada,  1854.  folio. 

Nicaragua,  Documentos  Diplomaticos  para  servir  a  la  Historia.  Paris^l869.  4to. 

Nicaragua,  Documentos  Diplomaticos  Relatives  a  las  Reclamacion  es.     Mana 
gua,  1872. 

Nicaragua,    Documentos   relatives  a   la  Reclamacion    del    General  Barrios. 
Managua,  1865. 

Nicaragua,  Documentos  relatives  al  Armisticio,  Mar2o,  1848.     Leon,  1848. 

Nicaragua,   Documentos  relatives  a  las  Ultimas  Negociaciones  entre  Nica 
ragua  i  Costa  Rica.     Managua,  1872. 

Nicaragua,  Documentos  sobre  la  Mediacion.     Managua,  1869. 

Nicaragua,  ElComandante  General  de  laCaballeria  del  Ejercito  Democratico. 
[Leon,  1854.]  folio. 

Nicaragua,  El  Director  del  Estado,  "Buques  Esportadores  Junio  2, 1847."  MS. 
folio. 

Nicaragua,  El  Director  del  Estado, { ' Sobre  Comercio  Junio  10, 1839."  MS.  folio. 

Nicaragua,  El  Director  del  Estado,  "Sobre  Comercio  Mayo  16, 1842."  MS.  folio. 

Nicaragua,  El  Director  Supremo  a  los  Pueblos  del  Estado  "  Fruto  Chamorro. " 
[Managua,  1853.]  folio. 

Nicaragua^Empresa  Centre -Americana  del  Canal  de.     Managua,  1863. 

Nicaragua,  Estudios  sobre  el  Canal  de.     [Managua],  1870. 

Nicaragua,  Gaceta  del  Gobierno  Supremo.     Leon,  1848  et  seq. 

Nicaragua,  Gaceta  de  Nicaragua.     Managua,  1 863  et  seq. 

Nicaragua,  Gaceta  Oficial.     Granada,  etc.,  1852  et  seq. 

Nicaragua,  Informe  sobre  la  Espedicion  al  Rio  Coco.     Managua,  1869. 

Nicaragua,  Interposicion  de  la  R.  N.  de  C.  A.  para  el  Paciiico  Desenlace  de 
la  Cuestion  Politica.     Leon,  1851. 

Nicaragua,  Las  Cenizas  de  San  Juan  del  Norte.     Puerto  Limon,  1874. 

Nicaragua.  Lector.     !  Si  ores  hombre  de  honor,  etc.     [Leon,  1853.]  folio. 

Nicaragua,    Lettre   du  Delegud  de  la  Population   Francaise  de  Grey- town. 
Paris,  1856. 

Nicaragua,  Leyes  Emitidas  por  el  Congreso.     Granada,  1859. 

Nicaragua,  Lcyes.    [Numerous  separate  laws,  cited  by  subject  and  date.] 

Nicaragua.     London,  ["1851.] 

Nicaragua,  Loor  al  Clero  de  Nicaragua,  "Los  Leoneses."    Julio  21  de  1851. 
[Leon,  1852.]  folio. 


Ivi  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Nicai^agua,  Los  Anales.     Masaya,  1872  et  seq. 

Nicaragua,  Manifiestos.     [Many  different  subjects'  and  dates.] 

Nicaragua,  Memoria  por  el  Ministro  sobre  Mosquitos.     Leon,  [1847.] 

Nicaragua,  Memorias  del  Ministro  de  Fomento.     [Guerra,  Hacienda,  Interior, 

Justicia,  Relaciones,  etc.,  of  different  years.] 
Nicaragua,  Mensajes  del  Presidentes.     Managua,  1857  et  seq. 
Nicaragua,    Message  of    the  President  of  the  United  States  on   the  Bom 
bardment  of  San  Juan  de  Nicaragua.     (33d  Cong.,  1st.  Sess.,  Ex.  Doc.  85.) 
Nicaragua,    Ministerio  de   Gobierno,    Hacienda,  Guerra,  etc.     [Decrees  and 

Proclamations,  cited  by  their  dates.] 

Nicaragua,  Mociones  hechas  por  el  Representante.     [Managua,  1852.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Municipal  Ordinances  of  Greytown.     Kingston,  1851. 
Nicaragua,  Muy Estimable  M.E.Geo.  Squier,  Marzo 27, 1853.  [Leon,  1853.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Muy  Honorable  Camara.     [Managua,  1852.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Nueva  Discusion  entre  S.  M.  B.   y  Nicaragua  sobre  Mosquitos. 

Leon,  1849. 

Nicaragua,  Nueva  Era  del  Estado.     Leon,  1854  et  seq. 
Nicaragua,  Observaciones  al  Fallo  Emitido  en  10  de  Octubre.     Leon,  1871. 
Nicaragua,    Para  Conocimiento  del  Publico  se  dan  a  Luz  los  Documentos 

Oiiciales.     Managua,  1SC9. 

Nicaragua,  Porvenir  de  Nicaragua.     Valle  Gottel,  1871  et  seq. 
Nicaragua,  Primera  Amonestacion.     [Leon,  1851.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,    Private    Prospectus  of    the  Atlantic   and    Pacific   Ship  Canal 

Company.     London,  n.d.  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Pronunciamento  y  Acta  de  Organizacion  de  un  Gobierno.     [Leon, 

1851.]  folio. 

Nicaragua,  Prospecto  de  la  Compania  de  Diligencias.     Managua,  1861. 
Nicaragua,  Protesta  dirijida  al  Senor  Don  J.  L.  White,  y  Trascrita  al  Senor 

Don  Cornelius  Wanderbilt.     Agosto  25  de  1851.     MS.    folio. 
Nicaragua,  Protesta  Publica  al  Gobierno.     [Leon,  1853.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,  Registro  Oficial.     San  Fernando,  etc.     1845  et  seq. 
Nicaragua,    Reglamento  General  para  la  Cuenta  y  Razon  de  la  Hacienda 

Publica.     Managua,  18G1. 
Nicaragua,  Reglameuto  Interior  de  las  Escuelas  Primarias  de  la  Republica. 

Managua,  18G9. 

Nicaragua,  Reglamentos  para  la  Organizacion  Rejimen.     Leon,  1850. 
Nicaragua,  Renuncia  Presentada  al  Soberano  Congreso.     Managua,  1873. 
Nicaragua,  Representacion  Nacional.     [San  Salvador,  1851.]  folio. 
Nicaragua,    Resolucion  en  6rden  d  llevarle   una  mision   de   Franciscanos. 

n.pl.,  1688.  folio. 

Nicaragua,  Seizure  of  General  Walker.  Washington,  1858. 
Nicaragua,  Semanal  Nica.raguense.  Managua,  1872  et  seq. 
Nicaragua,  Senores  R.  R.  del  Siglo  Febrero  27  de  1852.  Jorje  Obispo  de 

Nicaragua.     [Leon,  1852.]  folio. 

Nicaragua,  Ship-Canal  Reports  of  Explorations.     Washington,  1874.  4to. 
Nicaragua,  Tarifa  para  la  Marina  del  Puerto  de  Corinto.     Managua,  1869. 
Nicaragua,  Telegrafo  Setentrional.     Granada,  1857  et  seq. 
Nicaragua,  The  Ashes  of  Greytown.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Nicaragua,  The  Destiny  of  Central  America.     Boston,  1856. 
Nicaragua,  Tratado  con  Costa  Rica.     Managua,  1869  and  1871. 
Nicaragua,  Tratado,  entre  Nicaragua  i  el  Reino  de  Italia.     Managua,  1872. 
Nicaragua,  Tratado,  entre  Nicaragua  i  Espana.     Managua,  1868. 
Nicaragua,  Tratado,  entre  Nicaragua  i  los  Estados-Unidos  de  Norte  America. 

Managua,  1868. 

Nicaragua,  Tratado,  entre  Nicaragua  y  Honduras.    Managua,  1867. 
Nicaragua,  Tratado,  entre  Nicaragua  y  la  Belgica.    Managua,  1860. 
Nicaragua,  Tratado,  entre  Nicaragua  y  la  Francia.     Managua,  1860. 
Nicaragua,  Tratado,  entre  Nicaragua  y  S.  M.  B.     [Managua,  I860.] 
Nicaragua,  Union  de  Nicaragua.     Managua,  1861  et  seq. 
Nicaragua  y  Honduras,  Documentos  relatives  a  la  Legacion.     Granada,  1851. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  Ivii 

Nicaragua  and  the  Filibusters.     In  Blackwood's  Edin.  Mag.,  March,  1856. 

Nicaragua!!  Question,     n.pl.,  1858. 

Nicaraguense  (El),  Granada,  1855  et  seq. 

Niebla  (Fernando  de),  Memorial  Tocante  a  las  Cosasque  hay  en  la  Provincia 

y  Costa  de  Zepotitlan.     [Jalisco,]  1579.     MS.  folio. 

Niles  (John  M. ),  History  of  South  America  and  Mexico.    Hartford,  1844.  2  vols. 
Niles' Register.     Baltimore,  etc.,  1811-49.  76  vols. 
Nino,  Asiento.     In  Squiers  MSS. 
North  American  Miscellany.     Boston,  etc.,  1851. 
North  American  Review.     Boston,  1819  et  seq. 
Noticia  Individual  de  los  derechos  que  Segun  lo  Reglado  en  el  ultimo  Real 

Proyecto  de  5  de  Abril  de  1720.     Barcelona,  1732. 
Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages.     Paris,  1819-60.  168  vols. 
Nueva  Espana,  Breve  Resumen  del  Descubrimiento  de  la.     Madrid,  [1767.] 

MS.  royal  folio.  2  vols. 

Nueva  Granada,  Decreto  del  Congreso  nacional  sobre  indigenas.  MS.  1834. 
Nueva  Granada,  Division  de  la  Republica  en  departamentos.  MS.  Nov.  21,1831. 
Nueva  Granada,  La  Convencion  del  Estado  de  la  17  de  Diciembre  de  1831. 

Bogota,  1831.  folio. 

Nueva  Granada,  Memorias.     [Different  departments  and  dates.] 
Nueva  Granada,  Mensajes  del  Presidentes.     Bogota,  1835  et  seq. 
Nueva  Granada,  Rejistro  Oficial.     Bogota,  1837  et  seq. 
Nuevo  Viajero  Universal.    Madrid,  1859-62.  4to.     5  vols. 
Nuiiez  de  Balboa..    See  Balboa. 
Nunez,  Tratado  da  Sfera.     Olisipone,  1537. 

Observaciones  al  Dictamen  que  la  comision  de  negocios  Eclesiasticos  La,  pre- 

sentado  al  Congreso  de  Guatemala.     Mexico,  1846, 
Ocios  de  Espafioles  Emigrados.     London,  1824-9.  9  vols. 
Odorico  di  Porto  Maggiore  del  Frivli,  Viaggio  del  Beato  Frate.    In  Ramusio, 

Viaggi,  torn.  ii. 
Odriozola  (Manuel  de),  Coleccion  de  Documentos  Literarios  del  Peru.     Lima, 

1863-78.  11  vols. 
Odriozola  (Manuel  de),  Documentos  Hist6ricos  del  Peru.     Lima,  1863-79. 

10  vols. 
Ogilby  (John),  America :  Being  the  latest  and  most  accurate  Description  of  the 

New  World.     London,  1071.  folio. 
Ojeda  (Alonso),  Noticias  Biograficas  del  Capitan.     In  Navarrete,  Col.    de 

Viages,  torn.  iii. 
Ojeda  (Alonso),  Real  Cedula  por  la  cual,  con  referencia  a  lo  Capitulado,  etc., 

Junio  10,  1501.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  i.i. 
Oliveira  (Emm.),  Lettres  Ecrites  de  la  Californie.     In  Nouvelles  Annales  des 

Voy.,  1849,  torn,  cxxiii. 
Ordenancas  para  remedio  de  los  Danos  6  Inconvenientes  que  se  siguen  de  los 

descaminos  i  Arribadas  maliciosas  de   los   Navios  que  Na vegan  de  laa 

Indias  Occidentales.     Madrid,  1661.  folio. 

Ordenancas  Reales  del  Consejo  de  Indias.     Valladolid,  1603.  folio. 
Ordenan9as  Reales  para  el  Gobierno  de  los  Tribunales  de  Contaduria  Mayor 

en  los  Reynos  de  las  Indias.     n.pl.,  n.d.  folio. 
Ordenancas  Reales,  para  la  Casa  de  Contratacion  de  Sevilla  y  para  otras  cosas 

de  las  Indias.     Seville,  1647. 
Ordenanzas.     n.pl.,  1548. 

Ordenanzas  de  la  Junta  de  Guerra  de  Indias.     [Madrid],  1634. 
Ordenanzas  of  July  14,  1556.    Guatemala,  1556. 

Ordenanzas  reales  para  Tribunales  de  Contaduria.    Valladolid,  1606.  4to. 
Ordenes  de  la  Corona.     A  Collection.     MS.  folio.   7  vols. 
Ordonez  y  Aguiar  (Ramon  de),  Historia  de  la  Creacion  del  Cielo  y  dela  Tierra. 

n.pl.,  1796.     MS.  folio. 
Orellana  (Matias),  Refutacion  de  las  Calumnias  contra  el  candnigo  D.  Matias 

Orellana.     Leon,  1872. 
VOL.  I.    5 


Iviii  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Original  Letters  to  an  Honest  Sailor.     London,  n.d. 

Orteiivs  (Abrahamvs),  Theatrvm  Orbis  Terrarvm.    Antverpice,  1573.  folio. 

Osborne  (John),  Giiiclo  to  the  West  Indies.     London,  1845. 

Otis  (F.  N.),  Isthmus  of  Panama.     New  York,  18G7. 

Otis  (F.  N.),  Tropical  Journeyings.     In  Harper's  Magazine,  vol.  xix. 

Ovalle  (Alonso  de),  Historical  Relation  of  the  Kingdom  of  Chile.    Rome,  1649. 

Overland  Mail  Company,  Observations  suggested,     n.  pi.     [1857.] 

Overland  Monthly.     San  Francisco,  18G8  et  seq. 

Oviedo  y  Valdos  (Gonzalo  Fernandez  de),  Cartas  al  Emperador.     In  Pacheco 

and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  iii. 
Oviedo  y  Valdc's  (Gonzalo  Fernandez  de),   De  la  Natural  Hystoria  de  las 

Indias.     Toledo,  1520. 
Oviedo  y  Vald6s  (Gonzalo  Fernandez  de),  Histoire  du  Nicaragua.    In  Ternaux- 

Compans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn.  iii. 
Oviedo  y  Valdcs  (Gonzalo  Fernandez  de),  Historia  General  y  Natural  de  las 

Indias.     Madrid,  1851-5.  4  vols.  4to. 

Oviedo  y  Valdds  (Gonzalo  Fernandez  de),  Hystoria  General.     Salamanca,  1547. 
Oviedo  y  Valde"s  (Gonzalo  Fernandez  de),  Relacion  Sumaria  de  J.a  Histori- 

Natural  de  las  Indias.     In  Barcia,  Historiadores  Prim.,  torn.  i. 

Pacheco  (Joaquin  F.)  and  Cardenas  et  a!.,  Coleccion  de  Documentos  Ineditos 

relatives  al  Descubrimiento,  Conquista  y  Colonizacion  de  las  Posesiones 

Espaiiolas  en  America.     Madrid,  18C4-81.  34  vols. 
Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company,  Memorial  to  Congress,     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Packet  Intelligencer.     Belize,  1854  et  seq. 

Pages  (F.),  Nouveau  Voyage  autour  du  Monde.     Paris,  1797.  3  vols. 
Palacio  (Diego  Garcia  de),  Carta  dirigida  al  Reyde  Espafia,  ano  157G.     [With 

English  translation.]     Albany,  I860.     (No.  1  of  Squier's  Collection.) 
Palacio  (Diego  Garcia  de),  Description  de  la  Province  de  Guatemala.     In 

Ternaux-Compans,  Recueil  de  Doc. 
Palacio  (Diego  Garcia  dc),  Relacion  hecha  por  el  Licenciaclo  Palacio  al  Rey 

D.  Felipe  II.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  vi. 
Palacio  (Diego  Garcia  de),   San   Salvador  und    Honduras  im  Jahre   1576. 

Berlin,  etc.,  1873. 
Palafox  y  Mendoza  (Juan),  Carta  al  M.  R.  Padre  Andres  de  Rada,  Mayo  4, 

1G49.     n.pl.,  MS.  folio. 

Palliser  (John),  .Solitary  Rambles.     London,  1853. 
Panamd,  Boletin  Oficial.     Panama,  1862  et  seq. 
Panama,   Cedulas  de  20  de  Febrero  de  1534  y  Carta  sobre  la  Navegacion 

del  rio  Chagres.     Spain,  1534.     MS.  folio. 

Panama,  Chiriqui  Improvement  Company's  Prospectus.     New  York,  1855. 
Panamd,  Constitucion  Politica  del  Estado  Soberano  dc  Panama.    Panamd,  1875. 
Panamd,  Decretos.     [Separate  sheets,  with  various  signatures  and  dates.] 
Panamd,  Decretos  i  Reglamcntos  dc  la  Caja  de  Ahorros  de.     Panamd,  1847. 
Panama",  Dcscripcion.     In  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  ix. 
Panamd,  El  Constitucional  del  Istmo.     Panama,  1831  et  seq. 
Panamd,  Gaceta  de.     Panamd,  1855  et  seq. 
Panama,  Gaceta  del  Istmo.     Panamd,  1841  et  seq. 
Panamd,  La  Cr6nica  Oficial.     Panamd,  1849  ct  seq. 
Panama,  La  Estrella  de  Panama.     Panama,  1849  et  seq. 
Panamd,  Lcyes  expedidas  por  la  Asamblea  Legislativa  del  Estado  Soberano  de 

Panamd,  en  sus  sesiones  de  1876-7;  1879-80.  'Panamd,  1877, 1880.  2  vols. 
Panamd  Mail.     Panamd,  1869  et  seq. 

Panama,  Massacre,  A  Collection  of  the  Principal  Evidence.     Panamd,  1857. 
Panama,  Mcmoria  que  presenta  cl  Secretario  de  Gobierno  a  la  Asamblea 

Lcjislativa,  1878.     Panama,  1879.  4to. 
Panama,  Mcmorias.     [Different  departments  and  dates.] 
Panamd,  Mcnsagcs  del  Presidentes.    Panamd,  1860  et  seq. 
Panama  Mercantile  Chronicle.     Panamd,  18G6  et  seq. 
Panamd  Notes,  Scrap  Book. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  lix 

Panamd,  Original  Papers.     London,  1744. 

Panama,  Projet  d'Organisation  du  service  de  Santo"  de  la  compagnie  du  Canal 

Interoc^anique  de  Panamd.    Paris,  1880. 

Panama,  Prolongacion  del  Ferro-Carril  de  Panama.     Panama,  1877. 
Panamd  Railroad  Company,  Abstract  of  Testimony  and  Argument.     [Wash 
ington,  1861.] 
Panamd  Railroad  Company,    Communication  of   the  Board  of    Directors. 

New  York,  1855  et  seq. 
Panamd  Railroad  Company,  Contract  between  the  Republic  of  New  Granada 

and  the.     New  York,  1850. 

Panamd  Railroad,  Report  of  T.  B.  King.     Washington,  1849. 
Panamd,  Realcs  Cedulas.     In  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  torn.  xvii. 
Panamd,   Recopilacion  de   Ordenanzas  de  la  Provincia  de  Veraguas   hasta 

1850.     Cartagena,  1851. 
Panamd,    Recortes    de    uii    peri6dico    Correspondent    Hist6rico-Politica, 

Panamd,  1871. 

Panamd,  Reglamento  de  Administracion  i  Contabilidad  Militar.  Panamd,  1875. 
Panama,  Report  on  the  Coal  Mines  of  Bocas  del  Toro.     New  York,  1853. 
Panamd  Star  and  Herald.     Panama,  1849  et  seq. 

Panamd,  Taxation  of  Citizens  of  the  United  States  in  Transitu.     Wash.  1851. 
Panamd,  The  Isthmus  of.     [London,  1851.] 
Panamd,  The  Panamd  Massacre  in  185G.     Panamd,  1857. 
Panamd,  Tropical  Journeyings.     New  York,  1859. 
Panamd,    Uber   die    Strassenverbindung  der  Beiden    Meere    bei    Panama, 

[Berlin,  1849.]  4to. 

Papeles  do  Jesuitas.     A  Collection.     MS.  folio. 
Papeles  Franciscanos.     A  Collection.     MS.  folio.  2  vols. 
Papeles  Varios.     A  Collection  of  Spanish  Pamphlets.  216  vols. 
Parades  (Victoriano  de  D.),  Coast  of  Mosquito  and  the  Boundary  Question* 

New  York,  1855. 

Parker  (Samuel),  Journal  of  an  Exploring  Tour.     Ithaca,  1842. 
Parliamentary  Debates.     See  Hansard,  T.  C. 
Parra   (Joseph    Gomez),   Importantissimas   y  verdaderas  resoluciones  para 

Eclesiasticos.     Puebla,  1712. 

Patton  ( J.  Harris),  History  of  the  United  States  of  America.    New  York,  1867. 
Payne  (Edward  J.),  History  of  the  European  Colonies.     London,  1877;  also 

edition  London,  1878. 

Payne  (Edward  J.),  Voyages  of  the  Elizabethan  Seamen.    London,  1880. 
Payne  (John),  A  New  and  Complete  System  of  Universal  Geography.     New 

York,  1798.  4  vols. 

Payno,  Cronologia  de  Mexico.     In  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  torn.  vi. 
Pclaez  (Francisco  do  P.  Garcia),  Memorias  para  la  Historia  del  Guatemala. 

Guatemala,  1851-2.  3  vols. 

Pellion  (Odet),  Report  on  Golfo  Dulce,  June,  1852.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Pcmberton  (J.  Dcspard),   Facts  and  Figures  relating  to  Vancouver  Island 

and  British  Columbia.     London,  1860. 
Peiia  (Juan  Antonio),  Diario  del  Viage  del  Marques  de  San  Miguel  de  Aguayo. 

In  Mayer,  MSS. 
Peiia  y  Pefia  (Manuel  de  la),  Lecciones  de  Practica  Forense  Mejicana.   Mexico, 

1835-9.  4  vols. 

Penonom  J,  El  Coclesano.     Penonome",  1881  et  seq. 
Peralta  (M.),  La  Rtfpublique  de  Costa-Rica.     Geneve,  1871. 
Perez  (Jeronimo),  Biografia  del  Coronel  Don  Crisanto  Sacasa.     [Masaya],  1875. 
Perez   (Jeronimo),    Memorias   para    la    Historia   de   la   Compana   NacionaL 

Masaya,  1873. 
Perez  (Jeronimo),  Memorias  para  la  Historia  de  la  Revolucion  de  Nicaragua. 

Managua,  1865. 
Perez  (Max.),  Contestacion  al  manifiesto  del  presidente  de  la  Republica  de 

Nicaragua.     Leon,  1862. 
Perez  (Max.),  Contestacion  al  voto  de  las  actualidades.     Leon,  1862. 


Ix  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Perez  y  Lopez  (Javier),  Teatro  de  la  Legislacion  Universal  de  Espaiia  e  Indias. 

Madrid,  1791-8.     4to.  28  vols. 

Pescliel,  Geschiclite  der  Entdeckungen.     Stuttgart,  1858. 
Peter  Martyr.     See  Martyr,  Peter. 

Peto  (Sir  S.  Morton),  Resources  and  Prospects  of  America.  New  York,  1866. 
Pfeiffcr  (Ida),  A  Lady's  Second  Journey  round  the  World.  New  York,  1856. 
Phillips  ( J.  Arthur),  The  Mining  and  Metallurgy  of  Gold  and  Silver.  London, 

18G7. 
Pigafetta  (Francisco  Antonio),  Le  Voyage  et  navigation  faict  par  les  Espaig- 

nolz  es  Isles  de  Mollucques.    MS.  of  16th  century. 
Pigafetta  (Francisco  Antonio),  Viaggio  atorno  il  mondo  fatto  et  descritto.    In 

Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  i. 

Pigghe,  De  cequinoctiorum  Sol.     Paris,  [1520.] 
Pirn  (Bedford)  and  Berthold  Seemann,  Dottings  on  the  Roadside  in  Panamd, 

Nicaragua,  and  Mosquito.     London,  1869. 
Pirn  (Bedford),  The  Gate  of  the  Pacific.     London,  1863. 
Pineda  (Jose"  Laureano),  Mensage  pronunciado  por  el  Director  Supremo  del 

Estado.     Granada,  1853. 
Pinelo  (Antonio  de  Leon),  Autos,  acuerdos  y  decretos  de  gobierno  del  real  y 

supremo  consejo  de  las  Indias.     Madrid,  1658. 
Pinelo  (Antonio  de  Leon),  Discurso  sobre  la  Importancia,  forma  y  disposicion 

de  la  Recopilacion  de  Leies  de  Indias.     [Madrid],  1623.  folio. 
Pinelo  (Antonio  de  Leon),  Epitome  de  la  Bibliotheca  Oriental,  etc.     Madrid, 

1737-8.  folio.  3  vols. 
Pinelo  (Antonio  de  Leon),  Relacion  que  en  el  Consejo  de  Indias.     [Madrid], 

1638.  folio. 

Pinkerton  (John),  A  General  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels.     London, 

1808-14.  17  vols.  4to. 

Pinkerton  (John),  Modern  Geography.  London,  1807.  3  vols.  and  atlas.  4to. 
Pinzon,  De  Navigatione  Pinzoni  Socii  Admirantis,  et  de  rebvs  per  eum 

repertis.     In  Grynseus,  Novvs  Orbis. 

Pio  IX.,  Carta  al  Obispo  de  Nicaragua.     Noviembre,  1849.     [Leon,  1850.] 
Piratas  de  la  America  y  luz  a  la  defensa  de  las  costas  de  Indias  Occiden tales. 

Madrid,  1793. 
Pitman  (Robert  Birks),  A  Succinct  View  and  Analysis  of  a  Ship  Canal  across 

the  Isthmus  of  America.     London,  1825. 
Pizarro   (Francisco),  Informacion   hecha   en   Panamd   al  navio   Concepcion, 

1534.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  x. 
Pizarro  y  Orellana  (Fernando),  Varones  Ilvstres  del  Nvevo  Mvndo.    Madrid, 

1639.  folio. 

Poinsett  (J.  R.),  Notes  oA  Mexico.     London,  1825. 

Ponce  de  Leon.     See  Leon. 

'Ponce,  Relacion  dc  las  Cosas.     In  Documentos  Indditos,  toms.  Ivii.,  Iviii. 

Pontelli  (L.  dc),  Explorations  in  Central  America.     In  Nouvelles  Annales  des 

Voy.,  1857,  torn,  civ.;  and  in  California  Farmer,  Nov.  7,  14,  1862. 
Ponton  (Mungo),  Earthquakes  and  Volcanoes.     London,  1868. 
Porras,  Relacion  de  viage  de  1502.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  i. 
Poussin  (Guillaume  Tell),  De  la  Puissance  Americaine.     Paris,  1848.  2  vols. 
Povedo  (Ignacio),  Esposicion.     Leon,  1872. 
Prescott  (William  H.),  Historia  de  la  Conquista  de  Mexico.    Mexico,  1844-6. 

3  vols.;  also  Mexico,  1845-6,  3  vols.;  also  Madrid,  1847-50,  4  vols. 
Prescott  (William  H. ),  Historiade  laConqnista  del  Peru.    Mexico,  1850.  2  vols. 
Prescott   (William   H.),   Historia   del   Reinado   de   los  Reyes  Catolicos  D. 

Fernando  y  Isabel.     Mexico,  1854,  2  vols. 
Prescott  (William  II.),  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico.    New  York,  1844. 

3  vols. ;  also  Philadelphia,  1860.  3  vols. 

Prescott  (William  H.),  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Peru.  Phil.,  1871.  2  vols. 
Prescott  (William  H.),  History  of  the  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  the 

Catholic.     Philadelphia,  1871.  3  vols. 
Prior  (Samuel),  All  the  Voyages  round  the  World.     New  York,  1846. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  Ixi 

Providencias  Reales  de  Varies  asuntos  y  fechas.   Spain,  1506-1784.  MS.  folio. 
Provincia  del  Santo  Evangelio  de  Nueva  Espana.     [A  Collection  of  MSS.  of 

the  16th  century.]  folio. 

Provincise  sive  Regiones  in  India  Occidental!.     Valladolid,  1520. 
Ptolemy,  Cosmographia.     Ulmae,  1482;  and  other  editions. 
Ptolemy,  In  hoc  opere  hsec  continentvr  Geographic  Cl.  Ptolemsei.   Rome,  1508. 
Puente  and  Marquez.     Carta  de  Alonso  de  la  Puente  y  Diego  Marqiiez  sobre 

descubrimientos,  Enero  28,  1519.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 

torn.  ii. 

Puerto  (Nicolas  Antonio  del),  Convite  a  los  Catolicos  Amer.     Mexico,  1811. 
Puga  (Vasco  de),  [cedulario]  Provisiones,  Cedulas,  Instrurnentos  de  su  Ma- 

gestad.     Mexico,  1563. 
Purchas,  His  Pilgrimage.    (1st  Part.)     London,  1614.    9  books  in  1  vol.  fol. 

11  1.  918pp.   181. 

Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes.     London,  1625-6.  5  vols.  folio. 
Puydt  (Lucien  de),  Account  of  Scientific  Explorations  on  the  Isthmus  of 

Darien,  1861,  1865.     In  Loud.  Geog.  Soc.  Jour.,  vol.  xxxviii. 
Puydt  (M.  le  Colonel),  Rapport  pour  faire  suite  a  la  collection  de  tous  les 

documents  relatifs  au  Guatemala.     Bruxelles,  1842. 
Puydt  (R.  de)  and  Van  Denberghe  Binckum,  Colonisation  dans  L'Amerique 

Centrale.     Paris,  1844. 

Quarterly  Review,  London,  1809  et  seq. 

Quifionez  (Faustino),  A  la  Memoria  del  General  Beneme"rito  de  la  Patria  Don 

Francisco  Morazan.     San  Salvador  [1859]. 
Quintana  (Manuel  Josef),  Vidas  de  Espanoles  Celebres.     Paris,  1845. 

Rafn,  Abstract.     In  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.  Journal,  1838,  vol.  viii. 

Rafn,  Antiquitates  Americanse.     Hafnia,  1837. 

Ramirez  (Jose  Fernando),  Proceso  de  Residencia  contra  Pedro  de  Alvarado. 

Mexico,  1847. 

Ramirez  (Norberto),  Nicaraguenses,  Juiiio  19,  1849.     Leon,  n.d.  folio. 
Ramirez  (Sebastian),  Vida  de  Motolinia.     In  Icazbalceta,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  i. 
Ramusio  (Giovanni  Battista),  Navigation!  et  Viaggi.    Venetia:  torn,  i.,  1554; 

torn,  ii.,  1583;  torn,  iii.,  1565.  3  vols.  folio. 
Raynal  (G.  T.),  Histoire  Philosophique  et  Politique.     Paris,  1820-1.   12  vols. 

and  atlas. 
Real  C-idula.    In  Col.  Doc.  In^ditos;  Navarrete,  Col.  deViages;  Pacheco  and 

Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. 

Reales  Cedulas.     [A  collection  of  MSS.  ]  folio.  2  vols. 
Reales  Ordenes.     [A  collection  of  Cedulas,  etc.,  of  the  18th  century.]    Madrid. 

folio.   12  vols. 
Reclus   (M.  A.),    Exploraciones   a  los  istmos   de  Panama  y  de  Darien  en  - 

1876-77  y  78.     Madrid,  1881.  folio. 
Recopilacion  de  las  Leyes  del  Gobiemo  Espauol  que  Rigen  en  la  Republica. 

Mexico,  1851. 
Recopilacion  de  Leyes  de  los   Reynos  mandadas   Imprimir  y  Publicar  por 

Carlos  II.  •  Madrid,  1791.  folio.  4  vols. 
Rees  (L.  E. ),  Reports  and  Documents  relating  to  the  Sacra  Familia  Mines. 

London,  [1866.] 
Reflexiones  en  contestacion  al  articulo  comunicado  inserto  en  el  Universal, 

Numero  169.     Madrid,  1821. 
Refutacion  de  la  Cronica  Electoral  de  Granada  seguida  de  una  Revista  sobre 

la  eleccion  del  mismo  Distrito.     Managua,  1866. 
Regeneracion  (La).     San  Salvador,  1876  et  seq. 
Regil  (Jose  Maria)  and  Alonso  Manuel  Peon.     Estadistica  del"  Departamento 

de  Yucatan.     In  Soc.  Mex.  Geog. ,  Bolctin,  torn.  iii. 

Reglamento  Provisional  del  Correo- Maritime  a  sus  Indias.     [Madrid],  1764. 
Reglamento  y  Aranceles  Reales  para  el  Comercio  Libre  de  Espaiia  a  Indias. 

n.pl.,  1778. 


Ixii  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Rcicliardt  (C.  F.),  Ceiitro-Amerika.     Braunschweig,  1851. 

Reichardt  (C.  F.j,  Nicaragua.     Braunschweig,  1854. 

Reisch  (Georges),  Margaritha  Philosophica.     [Basle],  1517. 

Relacion  de  la  Derrota,  que  hi  zoun  bergantin  en  1527.     In  Florida,  Col.  Doc. 

Relacion  de  los  Oidores,  1531.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiv. 

Relacion  y  Derrotero,  1533.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiv. 

Relaciones  del  viaje  heclio  a  las  islas  Molucas,  1537.    In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas, 

Col.  Doc.,  v. 
Remesal  (Antonio  de),  Historia  de  la  Provincia  de  S.Vicente  de  Chyapa. 

Madrid,  1C  19.  4  to. 
llemon  (Miguel),  El  Informe  de  Gobiemo  de  la  Provincia  de  Santo  Domingo  de 

el  Darien.     n.pl.,  1754.     MS.  folio. 
Repertorio  Americano  (El).     Londres,  1826  et  seq. 
Restrepo  (Jose  Manuel),  Historia  de  la  Revolucion  de  Colombia.     Paris,  1827. 

10  vols.  atlas  in  4to. 
Revilla  (Jose  de  la),  Resiimen  Historico  de  la  Conquista  de  Nueva  Espaiia. 

In  Solis,  Hist.  Mex.     Edition  Madrid,  1843. 

Revisor  de  la  Politica  y  Literatura  Americana.     New  York,  1850  et  seq. 
Revolution  in  Spanish  America,  Outline  of  the.     London,  1817. 
Revue  Ame'ricaine.     Paris,  1826  et  seq. 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondes.     Paris,  1839  et  seq. 
Revue  Francaise.     Paris,  1864. 

Richardson  (Charles  S.),  Report  on  Chiriqui.     New  York,  1857. 
Ringrose  (Basil),  The  Dangerous  Voyage  and  bold  attempts  of  Captain  B. 

Sharp.     London,  1684. 

Rivas,  El  Porvenir  de  Nicaragua.     Rivas,  1867  ct  seq. 

Rivera  (Juan  Antonio),  Diario  Curioso.    In  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  ii.,  torn.  vi. 
Rivera  (Manuel),  Historia  Antigua  y  Moderna  de  Jalapa.     Mexico,  1869-71. 

5  vols. 

Rivera  (Manuel),  Los  Gobernantes  de  Mexico.     Mexico,  1872.  2  vols. 
Rivinus  (Eduard  Florens),  Atlantis.     Leipzig,  1827.  2  vols. 
Roberts  (Orlando  W.),  Narrative  of  Voyages  and  Excursions  on  the  East 

Coast  and  Interior  of  Central  America.     Edinburgh,  1S27. 
Robertson  (William),  The  History  of  America.     London,  1777.  2  vols.  4to. ; 

also  London,  1783.  3  vols. 
Robinson  (Conway),  An  Account  of   Discoveries   in  the  West  until  1519. 

Richmond,  1848. 

Robinson  (William  Davis),Memorias  de  la  Revolucion  de  Megico.  London,  1824. 
Robinson  (William  Davis).   Memoirs  of   the   Mexican   Revolution.     Phila 
delphia,  1820;  also  London,  1821.  2  vols. 
Roble.3  (Antonio  de),  Diario  de  los  aiios  1665  y  1703.     In  Doc.  Hist.  Mex., 

serie"  i. ,  torn.  ii. 
Robles  (Antonio  de),  Resguardo  contra  el  Olvido,  vida  de  D.  Alonso  de  Cuevas 

Duvalos.     Mexico,  1757. 
Rocha  (Jesus  de  la),  Codigo  de  la  Legislacion  de  Hacienda  Publica,  Navegacion 

y  Comercio  de  Nicaragua.     Managua,  1871.  folio. 
Rocha   (Jesus   de   la),  Codigo  de  la  Legislacion  de  Nicaragua.     Managua, 

1873-4.  4to.  3  vols. 

Rocha  (Jesus  de  la),  Suplemento  del  Libro  Octavo  del  Codigo  de  la  Legisla 
cion  de  Nicaragua.     Managua,  1871.  folio. 

Rocha  (Pedro  Francisco  de  la),  Re  vista  Politica  sobre  la  Historia  de  la  Revo 
lucion  de  Nicaragua.     Granada,  1847. 
Roche  (I.  L.),  Fernaud  Cortez.     Lille,  18,38. 
Rodriguez  (Y.),  Discurso  Pronunciado  el  20  de  Octubre  del  corriente  aiio. 

San  Salvador,  1853. 

Rogers  (Woode),  A  cruising  Voyage  round  the  World.     London,  1718. 
Rojas,  Instruccion  a  Gabriel  de  Rojas  para  el  descubrimiento  del  Desaguadero, 

1527.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiv. 
Rol  (El).     San  Vicente,  1855  et  seq. 
Romero  (Elias),  Los  Salvages  6  La  Caridad.     Mexico,  1855. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  Ixiii 

Roqnette,  Geographic  do  la  Nouvelle  Granada.     In  Nouvelles  Annales  de3 

Voy.,  185.5,  torn,  cxlvii. 

Rosccrans  (W.  S.),  La  Doctrina  Monroe.     Mexico,  1870. 
Rosecrans  (W.  S.),  Manifest  Destiny.     Mexico,  1870. 

Rosser  (W.  H.),  Short  Notes  on  the  Winds  of  the  Pacific.     London,  1868. 
Rosser  (W.  H.),  The  Navigation  of  the  Three  Oceans.     London,  1868. 
Rossi,  Souvenirs  d'un  Voyage  en  Oregon.     Paris,  1864. 
Rouhaud  (Hippolyte),  Les  Regions  Nouvelle.     Paris,  1868. 
Route  du  Port  de  Panama  &  celui  de  Acapulco.     MS.  folio. 
Roux  de  Rochelle,    Dissertation  sur  les  Voyages  de   Sebastien  Cabot.      In 

Soc.  Geog.,  Bulletin,  April,  1832. 

Roux  de  Rochelle,  Fernand  Cortes,  Poeme.     Paris,  1838. 
Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London.     See  Lond.  Geog.  Soc. 
Rubalcava  (J.  G.  de),  Tratado  Historico  Politico  y  Legal  de  el  Comercio  de 

las  Indias.     Cadiz,  [1750.  J 

Ruchamer,  Newe  unbekanthe  landte.    Nuremberg,  1508. 
Ruiz  (I.),  Calendario  Salvadoreno.     San  Salvador,  1873  etseq. 
Russell  (William),  The  History  of  America.     London,  1778.  4to.  2  vols. 

Saavedra  (Doiia  Aldonza  de),  Carta  a  Fray  Bartolome  de  las  Casas,  Mayo  6, 

1562.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  vii. 

Sacaza  (Daniel),  Protesta  de  la  Compaiiia  de  Diligencias.     Granada,  1866. 
Sacro  Bosco  (Giovanni  di),  Sphera  Volgare.     Venetiis,  1537. 
Saenz  (Mate©),  Sermon  predicado  el  Domingo  de  Panes,  18  de  Marzo  de  1860. 

Managua,  1860. 

Sagra,  Histoire  physique  et  politique  de  1'ile  de  Cuba.    Paris,  1838 ;  and  atlas. 
Saint- Amant  (De),  Voyages  en  Californie  et  dans  1'Ordgon.     Paris,  1854. 
Saint  Francis  of  Assisi,  The  Life  of;   and  Sketch  of  the  Franciscan  Order. 

New  York,  1867. 

Salazar  (Francisco  Cervantes),  Mexico  en  1554.     Mexico,  1875. 
Salazar,  Misiones  de  Vera  Paz.     MS.  folio. 

Salazar  (Remijo),  Oracion  Funebre  el  dia  5  de  Octubre  de  1849.    [Leon,  1849.] 
Salazar  y  Olarte  (Ignacio  de),  Historia  de  la  Conquista  de  Mexico.     Segunda 

Parte.     [Continuation   of   Solis.]     Cordova,    1743.    folio;    also   Madrid, 

1786.  4to. 
Salcedo   (Diego   Lopez   de),    Instruccion  y   poder  que  di6  el  Gobernador  a 

Gabriel  tie  Rojaspara  que  fuese  al  descubrimiento  del  Desaguadero,  1527. 

In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiv. 
Salcedo  (Diego  Lopez),  Traslado  Testimoniado  de  una  Ce"dula  del  Emperador 

nombrando  a  Salcedo,  Gobernador  del  Golfo  de  las  Higueras,  Nov.  20, 

1525.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiv. 
Salgaflo  (Juan  Ramon),  Memoria  de  los  Acontecimieiitos   Ocurridos   en   el 

Pueblo.     Leon  de  Nicaragua,  1872. 

Salmas,  Relacion  de  varies  Sucesos.     In  Col.  Doc.  Ined.,  torn.  xxvi. 
Salmon,  Modern  History.     London,  1744.  folio.  3  vols. 
Salvador,  Al  Publico.     [Various  dates  and  signatures.] 
Salvador,  Boletin  Oticial.     San  Salvador,  1875  et  seq. 
Salvador,    Camara  de   Senadores,   "  Comunicacion  de  Dorotos  Vasconzelos, 

Febrero  22  de  1851."     [San  Salvador,  1851.]  folio. 
Salvador,  Coleccion  de  Proclamas.     n.pl.,  n.d.  4to. 
Salvador,    Comunicaciones  entre  el  Supremo  Gobierno  y  el  Consulado  Bri- 

tanico.     [San  Salvador,  1850.]  folio. 
Salvador,  Contestacion  del  Gobierno  a  el  Consul  de  S.  M.  B.     San  Salvador, 

1849.  4to. 
Salvador,  Contestacion  del  Presidente  del  Legislativo  al  Mensaje  del  Presi- 

dente  dj  la  Republica,  Enero  21  de  1875.     San  Salvador,  1875.  folio. 
Salvador,  Correspoiidencia  entre  Negrete  y  Squier.    [San  Salvador,  1853.]  folio. 
Salvador,  Cronica  del  Dia.     Leon,  1865.  4to. 
Salvador,    De  Orden   del   Supremo   Gobierno  y  para   Conocimiento   de   los 

Pueblos.     [San  Salvador,  1851.]  folio. 


Ixiv  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Salvador,  Dialogo  entre  D.  Chepe  y  D.  Nacho,  Noviembre  23  y  28,  1851. 

[San  Salvador,  1851.]  folio. 

Salvador,  Diario  Oficial.     San  Salvador,  1875  et  seq. 
Salvador,  Difficulties  with  the  British  Authorities.     Washington,  1851. 
Salvador,  Discurso  Pronunciado  por  el  Seiior  Senador  Presidente,  Febrero  19 

de  1851.     San  Salvador,  1851. 
Salvador,  Documentos  para  manifestar  la  Justicia  con  que  el  Gobierno  se 

niega  &  reconocer  algunos  creditos  que  reclama  el  Consul  Yngles.     [San 

Salvador,  1849.]  4to. 
Salvador,  Elecciones  Procsimas  "Por  Los  Sal  vadoreuos,"  Noviembre  15,  1851. 


[Cojutepeque,  1851.]  folio. 
Salvador,  El  Gobierno  ( 


del  Salvador  y  la  Curia  Eclesiastica,  San  Salvador, 

1874. 
Salvador,   El  Porvenir  del  Salvador  deducido  del  Analisis  de  los  hechos. 

Leon,  1872. 
Salvador,  El  Senado  y  Camara  de  Diputados  a  sus  Comitentes.     Febrero  22 

do  1851.     San  Salvador,  1851.  folio. 

Salvador,  Estadistica  General,  1858-[1860.]     San  Salvador,  1858-[1860.] 
Salvador,  Gaceta.     San  Salvador,  1849  et  seq. 
Salvador,  Gaceta  do  Gobierno.     San  Salvador,  1850  et  seq. 
Salvador,  Gaceta  Oficial.     San  Salvador,  187G  et  seq. 
Salvador,  La  Justicia  y  la  Razou  "Los  Verdaderos  Imparciales, "  Noviembre 

28,  1851.     [San  Salvador,  1851.]  folio. 
Salvador,  La  Verdad,  "Los  Patriotas  Vicentinos,"  Noviembre  24  de  1851. 

San  Salvador,  [1851.] 

Salvador,  Memorias  [of  different  departments  and  dates]. 
Salvador,  Meiisaje  del  Presidentes.     San  Salvador,  1857  et  seq. 
Salvador,  Ministerio  General,  etc.     [Various  decrees,  cited  by  dates.] 
Salvador,  Modclo  para  llevar  las  Cuentas  de  la  Tesoreria.    San  Salvador,  1800. 
Salvador,    Noticia   Funesta    "  Temblores  en  San  Salvador."     [Comayagua], 

1854.  folio. 
Salvador,    Opinion  del   Estado   del   Salvador  con  relacion  d  los  sucesos  de 

Nicaragua.     San  Salvador,  1851.  folio. 
Salvador,     Plan  Propucsto  para  la  Construccion  de  un  Camino  de  Madera. 

[San  Salvador,  1853.] 

Salvador,  Primera  Replica  d  los  Libelistas  del.     San  Salvador,  1872. 
Salvador,  Protocolo  de  las  Conferencias  entre   los  Comisionados  en  los  dos 

Gobiernos  de  Honduras  y  cl  Salvador.     San  Salvador,  1871. 
Salvador,  Seiiores  Editores  del  Salvador  Rejenerado,  Junio  20  de  1846.    [San 

Salvador,  1847.] 
Salvador,  Tarifa  de  Aforos  para  la  Ecsaccion  de  Derechos  en  el  Comercio. 

San  Salvador,  [1849.]  folio. 

Salvador  y  Honduras,  Manifesto  de  las  Conferencias.  San  Salvador,  1848. 
Samaiio,  Sentencia  contra  el  pilote  Rodrigo  Nino.  In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas, 

Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xi. 

Sammlung  aller  Reisebeschreibungen.     Leipzig,  1874-74.  21  vols.  4to. 
Sampson  (Marmaduke),  Central  America  and  the  Transit.    New  York,  1850. 
Sandoval  (Prudencio),  Historia  de  la  Vida  y  hechos  del  Emperador  Carlos  V. 

Pamplona,  1G34.  folio.  2  vols. 

San  Francisco  Newspapers.     [Cited  by  name  and  date.] 
San  Juan,  La  Ocupacion  de.     [Leon],  1S4S. 
San  Juan  del  Norte  de  Nicaragua,  Documentos  relatives  a  lo  Ocurrido  en  el 

puerto  de.     Leon,  1841. 
San  Martin  (Jose  Maria),  A  sus  Habitantes,  Abril  18  de  1854.    [San  Salvador, 

1854.]  folio.' 

San  Salvador.  TratadodelaFundaciondelConventodolaCiudad.  MS.  folio. 
Sanson  D 'Abbeville  (Lc  S. ),  L'Ameriqve  en  Piusievrs  Cartes.  Paris,  n.d.  4to. 
Santaiigelo  (0.  de  A.),  Circular  to  Members  of  Congress.  New  York,  1844. 
Santangelo  (0.  de  A.),  Las  Cuatro  primeras  discusiones  del  Congreso  de 

Panama.     Mexico,  1826. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  Ixv 

Santarem,  Carta  del  Excmo  Sefior  Vizconde  de  Santarem.    In  Navarrete,  Col. 

de  Viages,  to:n.  ii. 
Santarem  (M.  le  Vicomte),  Memoire  sur  la  question  de  savoir  a  quelle  e'poqtie 

quo  L'Amerique  Mcridionale.     In  Soc.  Geog.,  Bui.,  sdrie  iii.,  torn.  vii. 
Santarem   (M.   le  Vicomte),    Recherches    Historiques,   Critiques   et    Biblo- 

graphiques  sur  Ame"ric  Vespuce  et  ses  Voyages.     Paris,  1842. 
Santiago  de  Vcraguas.     El  Republicano.     Santiago,  1879  et  seq. 
Santos  (Francisco  Juan),  Chronologia  Hospitalaria  y  Resumen  historial  de  la 

sagrada  religion.     Madrid,  1715-16.  folio.  2  vols. 
San  Vicente,  Cronica  de  San  Salvador,  1852. 
Saravia   (Miguel   Gonzalez),    Bosquejo    Politico    Estadistico   de   Nicaragua. 

Guatemala,  1824. 

Sardd  (Jose"),  Decreto  de  contribucion  forzosa.     1829. 
Saturday  Magazine.     London,  1834-41.  8  vols.  folio. 

Scarlett  (P.  Campbell),  South  America  and  the  Pacific.    London,  1838.  2  vols. 
Schedcl  (Hartmann),  Registrum.     Nuremberg,  1493. 
Scherer  (Jean  Benoit),  Recherches  Historiques.     Paris,  1777. 
Scherzer  (Karl),  Bericht  an  die  Kaiserliche  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften, 

1852-5.     Wien,  1856. 

Scherzer  (Karl),  Die  Indianer  von  Istlavacan.     Wien,  1856. 
Scherzer  (Karl),  Narrative  of  the  Circumnavigation  of  the  Globe  by  the  Austrian 

Frigate  Novara.     London,  1861.  3  vols. 

Scherzer  (Karl),  Travels  in  the  Free  States  of  C.  America.  London,  1857.  2  vols. 
Scherzer  (Karl),   Ueber  die  Handschriftlichen  Werke  des  Padre  Ximenez. 

u.pl.,  n.d. 
Scherzer  (Karl),  Wanderungen  durch  die  Mittel-Amerikanischen  Freistaateu. 

Braunschweig,  1857. 
Schmeller,  Ueber  einige  der  handschriftlichen  Seekarten.     In  Akademie  der 

Wissenschaften,  Abhandl.,  torn.  iv. 

Schmidt  (Gustavus),  The  Civil  Law  of  Spain  and  Mexico.     New  Orleans,  1851. 
Schoner  (John),  Luculentissima  quceda  terras  totius  descriptio.     Nuremberg, 

1515. 

Schoner  (John),  Opvscvlvm  Geographicvm.     n.pl.,  [1533.]  4to. 
Schoner  (John),  Orbis  Typvs.     Nuremberg,  1515. 
Schoolcraft  (Henry  R.),  Archives  of  Aboriginal  Knowledge.     Philadelphia, 

1860.  6  vols.  4to. 
Schitlz  ( Johann  Ephraim).     [Letter  in  German ;  Blewfields,  Mosquito  Shore, 

Central  Amerika,  July  20,  1847.]     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Scraps  on  Interoceanic  Communication. 
Scribner's  Monthly  Magazine.     New  York,  1871  et  seq. 
Scrope  (G.  Poulet),  Considerations  on  Volcanoes.     London,  1825. 
Sealsfield  (Charles),  Scenes  and  Adventures  in  Central  America.  London,  1852. 
Seaward  (Edward),  Narrative  of  his  Shipwreck.     London,  1841.  2  vols. 
Seemann  (Berthold),  History  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.     Panama,  1867. 
Seemann  (Berthold),  History  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.   In  Panama  Star  and 

Herald,  1868. 
Selfridge  (Thomas  Ollivcr),  Reports  of  Explorations,  Ship-Canal  by  way  of 

Darien.     Washington,  1874.  4to. 
Selva  (Jos6  Manuel),  Salud  Dii  Jos<3  Manuel  Mayo  10  de  1852,  Segunda  Cap- 

iladd.     (Tegucigalpa,  1852.) 
Selva  (Jose  Manuel),  Vindicacion  relativa  a  la  Calumnia  Forjada.  [Tegucigalpa, 

1852.] 

Seward  (William  II.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  January  31,  1856.    n.pl.,  n.d. 
Sharp  (Ijarth.),  Tho  Voyages  and  Adventures  of.     London,  1684. 
Sharp's  South  Sea  Waggoner.     MS.  folio. 

Shelvocke  (George),  A  Voyage  round  the  World.     London,  1726. 
Shepard  (A.  K.),  Papers  on  Spanish  America.     Albany,  1868. 
Ship-Canal  Question,  State  of  the.     London,  n.d. 
Shufeldt  (Robert  W.),  Reports  of  Explorations,  Ship-Canal  by  way  of  Tehuan- 

tepec.     (42d  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  Ex.  Doc.  6.)    Washington,  1872.  4to. 


Ixvi  AUTIIORITII^  QUOTED. 

Sicard  (Felix),  Simples  Notes  sur  L'Amdrique  Centrale.     Paris.  1SG3. 

SierraLa,  Real  Titnlo  de  Gobernador  de  Costa  Rica  a  Coronado,  Abril  8,  1565. 
In  Paclicco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xi. 

Siglo  (Zl).     San  Salvador,  1851  et  seq. 

Silliman  (3en;amin),  The  American  Journal  of  Science.  New  Haven,  1819 
et  scq.  107  vols. 

Silva  (Juan  dc),  Advertencias  Importantes  acerca  del  Even  Gobierno  de  las 
Indias.  Madrid,  1G21.  folio. 

Siinon  (Pedro),  Primera  Parte  do  las  Noticias  Historiales  de  las  Conquistas  de 
Tierra  Firme.  Cuenca,  1026.  folio. 

Simonin  (L.),  La  Vie  Souterraine.     Paris,  18G7. 

Sintra  (Pictro  di).  La  Nauigation  del,  scritta  per  Meser  Aluise  da  ca  da  Mosto. 
In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn  i. 

Sivers  (Jczur  vcn),  Ueber  Madeira  und  die  Antillen  nach  Mittel-Amerika. 
Leipzig,  1801. 

Sleigh  (Addcrly  W.),  The  Prince  of  Panamd.     [London,  1847.] 

Smithsonian  Institution.  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Regents.  Wash 
ington,  1853  ct  seq. 

Snowdcu  (Richard),  The  History  of  North  and  South  America.  Philadelphia, 
1832. 

Sociedad  de  Amantes  de  la  Pdtria  de  Guatemala.  Catalogo  de  los  Individuos. 
[Xueva  Guatemala,  1709.] 

Sociedad  Econornica  de  Amantes  de  la  Putria  de  Guatemala.  Nueva  Guate 
mala,  1707;  and  other  years. 

Sociedad  Mcxicana  de  Geografia  y  Estadistica,  Boletin.  Mexico,  1801  etseq. 
[Includes  Institute  Nacional.] 

Sociedad  Patriotica  de  Guatemala,  Junta  General.     [Guatemala,  1811  et  seq.] 

Societe  de  Geographic,  Bulletin.     Paris,  1825  ct  seq. 

Soconusco,  Ocupado  Militarmente  de  Orden  del  Gobierno  Mexicano.  Guate 
mala,  1842. 

Sodcn  (Julius),  Die  Spanier  in  Peru  und  Mexiko.     Berlin,  1704.  2  vols. 

Solinus-Camers  (Joannis),  Enarrationes.     Vienna,  1520. 

Solis  (Antonio  de),  Historia  de  la  Conquistade  Mexico.  Madrid,  1G84.  folio; 
also  Madrid,  1843;  and  various  other  editions. 

Solis  (Diaz  de)  and  Yanez  Pinzon,  Reise  des.     In  Sammlung,  torn.  xiii. 

Solorzano  Pcrcyra  (Juande),  De  Indiarum  Jure.  Lugduni,  1072.  2  vols.  folio. 

Solorzano  Pcrcyra  (Juan  de),  Politica  Indiana.  [Translation  of  preceding 
work.]  Madrid,  1770.  2  vols.  folio. 

South  America  and  Mexico,  A  View  of  the.  New  York,  1825.  2  vols.  New- 
York,  1827.  2  vols. 

Southern  Quarterly  Review.     New  Orleans,  1842  et  seq. 

Southey  (Robert),  History  of  Brazil.     London,  1810,  1817,  1819.  4to.  3  •  ols. 

South  Sea  Company,  An  Examination  and  Explanation  of  the.    London,  1 720. 

South  Sea  Company,  A  Further  Examination.     London,  1720. 

South  Sea  Company,  A  View  of  the  Coasts,  Countries,  and  Islands  within 
the  Limits  of  the.  London,  1711. 

Spanish  America,  A  Concise  History  of  the.     London,  1741. 

Spanish  America,  Observations  on  the  Instructions  given  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  etc.  London,  1829. 

Spanish  America  and  the  United  States.  By  a  Merchant  of  Philadelphia. 
Philadelphia,  1818. 

Spanish  Conquests  in  America,  Stories  of  the.     Boston,  1830.  3  vols. 

Spanish  Empire  in  America.     London,  1747. 

Spanish  Lies,  A  Libel  of.     London,  1596. 

Spanish  Settlements  in  America.     Edinburg,  1762. 

Spotorno,  Codice  Diplomatico.     Genoa,  1823. 

Squier  (E.  G.),  Apuntamientos  sobre  Centre-America,  etc.     Paris,  1856. 

Squier  (E.  G. ),  Chemin  de  Fer  Interoc6anique  de  Honduras.     Paris,  1855. 

Squier  (E.  G.),  Collection  of  Rare  and  Original  Documents,  etc.,  concerning 
the  Discovery  and  Conquest  of  America.  Albany,  1860.  4to. 


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Squier  (E.  G.),  Communicacion  a  Costarica,  Octubre  1,  1849.     San  Salvador, 

L    1849. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Compe'ndio  de  la  Historia  Politicade  Centre -America.    Paris, 

1850. 

Squier  (E.  G.),  Die  Staaten  von  Central- Amerika.     Leipzig,  1856. 
Squier  (3.  G.),  Guatemala,     n.pl.,  n.d. 

Squ<er  (E.  G.),  Honduras  and  Guatemala.     [New  York,  1845.] 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Honduras.     Descriptive,  etc.     London,  1870. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Honduras  Inter-Oceanic  Railway.     London,  1857. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Honduras  Inter-Oceanic  Railway,  Preliminary  Report.     New 

York,  1854. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Information  on  the  Coal  Mines  of  the  Lempe  River.    London, 

1850. 

Squier  (E.  G.),  Letter  to  H.  S.  Foote,  New  York,  1850.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Lettre  a  propos  de  la  lettre  de  M.  Brasseur  do  Bourbourg. 

Paris,  1855. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Monograph  of  Authors  who  have  written  on  the  language  of 

Central  America.     New  York,  1801. 
Squier  (S.  G.),  Nicaragua:  Its  People,  Scenery,  Resources,  Condition,  and 

Proposed  Canal.     New  York,  I860;  and  New  York,  185G.  2  vols.;  also 

New  York,  1800. 

Squier  (E.  G.),  Notes  on  Central  America.     New  York,  1855. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Notes  sur  Ics  Etats  de  Honduras.     Paris,  1855. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Report  to  the  Directors  of  the  Honduras  Inter- Oceanic  Rail 
way.     [London,  1858.]  folio. 

Squier  (E.  G.),  Ruins  of  Tcnampua.     1853.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  The  Serpent  Symbol.     New  York,  1851. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  The  State  of  Central  America. "  New  York,  1858. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Travels  in  Central  America,  particularly  in  Nicaragua.    New 

York,  1853.  2  vols. 

Squier  (E.  G.),  Tropical  Fibres.     New  York,  1801. 
Squier  (E.  G.),  Waikna.     See  Bard,  Sam.  A. 
Squier's  MSS.     A  Collection  of  MSS.  relating  to  Central  America.     [Quoted 

separately.] 

Stamlcr  (John),  Dyalogvs.     Augsburg,  1508. 
Steiahowcl,  Chronica  Beschreibung.     Franckenfort,  1535. 
Stephens  (John  L. ),  Incidents  of  ^Travel  in  Central  America.     New  York, 

1841.  2  vols. 

Stephens  (John  L.),  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan.     New  York,  1858.  2  vols. 
Stephens  (John  L.),  Viaje  a  Yucatan  en  1841-2.     Campeche,  1843. 
Stevens  (Henry),  Historical  and  Geographical  Notes  on  the  Earliest  Discover 
ies  in  America,  1453-1530.     New  Haven,  1809. 

Stewart  (William  Frank),  Last  of  the  Filibusters.     Sacramento,  1857. 
Stillman  (J.  D.  B.),  Seeking  the  Golden  Fleece.     San  Francisco,  etc.,  1877. 
Stobnicza'a  Ptolemy.     Cracovise,  1512. 
Stout  (Peter  F.),   Reminiscences  of  Nicaragua.     In  American  Notes  and 

Queiies,  1857. 

Stout  (Peter  F.),  Nicaragua.     Philadelphia,  1859. 
Strain  (J.  G.),  Paper  on  the  History  and  Prospects  of  Inter-Oceanic  Cpmmuni- 

cation,  June  17,  1850.     New  York,  1850. 

Strangeways  (Thomas),  Sketch  of  the  Mosquito  Shore.     Edinburgh,  1S22. 
Streber  (R.),  Exposicion  Documentada  sobre   los   Sucesos  de  Omoa.     San 

Salvador,  1874. 
Suarez  y  Navarro  (Juan),  Historia  de  Mexico  y  del  General  A.  L.  de  Santa 

Anna.     Mexico,  1850. 
Suarez  y  Navarro  (Juan),  Informe  sobre  las  Causas  y  Caracter  de  los  frecuentes 

cambios  politicos  en  el  estado  de  Yucatan.     Mexico,  1801. 
Suchimilrco,  Carta  de  sus  Caciques,  Mayo  2,  1503.     In  Pacheco  and  Cardenas, 

Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiii. 
Suckau(Henri de), LesGrandesVoiesdu Progr^sSuezet Honduras.  Paris,  1809. 


Ixviii  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Suckau  (Henri  de),  Une  Voie  Nouvelle  a  travers  L'Amerique  Centrale.    Paris, 

1806. 
Sue  (Joseph),  Henri  le  Chancelier,  Souvenirs  d'un  Voyage  dans  l'Ame"rique 

Centrale.     Paris,  1857. 
Sumarios  de  las  Cedulas  que  se  han  Despachado  desde  el  ailo  1628  hasta  1G77. 

Mexico,  1678. 
Sutil  y  Mexicana.    Relacion  del  Viage  hecho  por  las  Goletas.    Madrid,  1802  y 

atlas  in  4 to. 
Syllacio,  ad  Sapietissimu . .  .de  isulis,  etc.     Pavia,  1494  or  1495. 

Tapia  (Andre's  de),  Relacion  sobre  la  Conquista  de  Mexico.     In  Icazbalceta, 

Col.  Doc.,  torn.  ii. 

Tapia  (Eugenic  de),  Historia  de  la  Civilizacion  Espanola.  Madrid,  1840.  4  vols. 
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29  de  1853.     [Honduras,  1853.]  folio. 
Tejerino  (Trinidad),  Obscrvaciones  6  Apuntes  para  la  Nacionalidad  de  Centro- 

America.     Leon,  1871. 

Tempsky  (G.  F.  von),  Mitla:  A  Narrative  of  Incidents  and  Personal  Ad 
ventures.     London,  1858. 

Ternaux  (Henri),  Bibliothdque  Ame"ricaine.     Paris,  1837. 
Ternaux-Compans  (Henri),  Recueil  de  Documents  et  Mdmoires  originaux  sur 

1'Histoire  des  Possessions  Espagnoles  dans  l'Am<5rique.     Paris,  1840. 
Ternaux-Compans  (Henri),  Voyages,  Relations  et  Mt-moires  originaux  pour 

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Tevet  (Andrea),  Historia  dell'  India  America.     Vinegia,  1561. 
Tezozomoc  (Alvaro),  Histoire  du  Mexique.     Paris,  1853.  2  vols. 
Tezump  (Francisco  Garcia),  Quiche  MS. 
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Thesaurus  Geographicus.     London,  1709.  folio. 
Thiers  (Adolphe),  The  Mississippi  Bubble.     New  York,  1859. 
Thomas  (Lewis  F.),  Cortez,  the  Conqueror.     Washington,  1857. 
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Thompson  (John),  Speech  in  U.  S.  House  of  Rep.,  January  12,  1858.    Wash 
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Tomes  (Robert),  Panama  in  1855.     New  York,  1855. 
Torfceus,  Grcenlandia  Antiqua.     Haunioe,  1706. 

Torquemada  (Juan  de),  Monarquia  Indiana.     Madrid,  1723.  3  vols.  folio. 
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Twee  Onderscheydene  Togten.     In  Aa,  Naaukeurige  Versam.,  torn.  xi. 
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Uitvcerige  Reys-Togten.     In  Gottfried,  Reysen,  iii. 

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Ulloa  (Francisco  de),  A  Relation  of  the  Discouery,  etc.  [1539.]  In  Hakluyt's 
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American  Colonization  Society  to  Nicaragua.  San  Francisco,  1806. 

Underwood  (W.  L.)  and  F.  A.  Emory,  Report  von  Abgesandten  der  Central  - 
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United  Service  Journal.     London,  1829  et  seq. 

United  States  Catholic  Magazine.     Baltimore,  1844  et  seq. 

United  States  Government  Documents.  [Coast  Survey;  Commerce  and  Navi 
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dates.] 

United  States  Government  Documents.  [Senate  Doc. ,  House  Doc. ,  Journals, 
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United  States  Service  Magazine.     New  York,  1854  et  seq. 

Universidad  Nacional  (La).     San  Salvador,  1875  et  seq. 

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Urricocchea,  Mapoteca  Columbiana.     London,  1860. 

Urruela  (Jose"  Antonio  Ortiz),  Segunda  Replica  a. .  .en  defensa  de  los  Autori- 
dades  de  Salvador.  San  Salvador,  1800. 

Urruela  (Jose  Antonio  Ortiz),  Tercera  Replica.     San  Salvador,  1860. 

Urruela  (Manuel  Ortez),  La  Inglaterra  y  los  Estados-Unidos  en  Centro- 
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Urrutia  (Carlos  de),  Modelo  de  Humanidad.     Guatemala,  1821. 

Uznay  (Chas.),  Informe  de  sobre  el  Establecimiento  de  una  Oficina  de  Ensayar. 
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Vadianus  (Joachim),  Epitome.     Antwerp,  1535. 

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Varnhagen  (F.  A.  de),  Vespuce  et  son  premier  voyage.     Paris,  1858. 
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Viaggi,  torn.  i. 

Varthema,  Itinerario  nello  egitto.     Venetia,  [1520.] 
Vasco  di  Gama.     See  Gama. 
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Julio  12  de  1850.     San  Salvador,  1850.  folio. 


Ixx  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Vassar  (John  Guy),  Twenty  Yenrs  around  the  World.     New  York,  1862. 

Vazquez  (Francisco),  Chronica  de  la  Provincia  del  Santissimo  Nobre  de  Jesvs 
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Vazquez  (Francisco),  Relatione  che  mando  Francesco  Vazquez  di  Coronado. 
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Vega  (G.  de  la).     See  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega. 

Vega  (Manuel  de  la),  Historia  del  Descubrimiento  de  la  America,  poi  Cris 
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Velasquez  (Pedro),  Illustrated  Memoir  of  an  Eventful  Expedition  into  Central 
America.  New  York,  1850;  also  London,  1853. 

Velasquez  (Pedro),  Memoire illustre  d'une  expedition  remarquable.  n.pl.,n.d. 

Venegas  (Miguel),  Natural  and  Civil  History  of  California.     London,  1759. 

2  vols. 

Venegas  (Miguel),  Noticia  de  la  California  y  de  su  Conquista.    Madrid,  1757. 

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Vera  Paz,  Charta  de  Concession  du  Territoire  de.     [Bruxelles,  1840.] 

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Veraguas,  Decretos.     MS.   1827  et  seq. 

Veraguas,  Gobernador  Ant.  del  Rio,  al  Gefe  Politico  de  Santiago.     MS.  Oct. 

1,  1844. 
Veraguas,  Gobierno  de,  al  Congreso  nacional,  sobre  las  Bocas  del  Toro.     MS. 

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Veraguas,  Indice  de  las  ordenanzas  del  ano  de  1853.     MS. 
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Veraguas,  Notas  oficiales  sobre  extrangeros  en  Bocas  del  Toro.     MS.    1833. 
Veraguas,  Ordenanzas  sobre  elecciones  expedidas  por  la  Legislatura  provin 
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Vespucci  (Amerigo),  De  Secundaria?  Navigatinis  Cursu.     In  Navarrete,  Col. 

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Vespucci  (Amerigo),    Eerste  Zee-Togt  van  Alonso  D'Ojeda  en  Amerikim 

Vesputius.     In  Gottfried,  Reysen,  torn.  iii. 
Vespucci  (Amerigo),  Lettera  di.     Florence,  1516. 

Vespucci  (Amerigo),  Lettera,  Sumario,  etc.     In  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  i. 
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Viagero  Universal  (El).    Madrid,  1796-1801.  43  vols. 
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Viages,  torn.  iv. 

Viages  Menores.     In  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 

Vigne  (G.  T.),  Travels  in  Mexico,  South  America,  etc.    London,  1863.  2  vols. 
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Vocabulario  Geografica.     In  Cartas  de  Indias. 
Voyage  de  1'Empereur  de  la  Chine.     Paris,  1685. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  Ixxi 

Voyages,  A  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels  (Churchill  Collection).  London, 

1752.  8  vols.  folio. 
Voyages,  A  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels  (Harleian  Collection).  London, 

1745.  2  vols.  folio. 
Voyages,  A  New  Collection  of  Voyages,  Discoveries,  and  Travels.     London, 

1707.  2  vols.  folio. 
Voyages,  A  New  Universal  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels.    London,  1755. 

3  vols. 

Voyages,  A  Selection  of  Curious,  Hare,  and  Early  Voyages.    London,  1812.  4to. 
Voyages,  An  Historical  Account  of  all  the  Voyages  round  the  World.    London 

1774-81.  6  vols. 

Voyages,  Curious  and  Entertaining.     London,  1790.  4to. 
Voyages,  New  Voyages  and  Travels.     London,  [1818-23.]  9  vols. 
Voyages,  Nouvellc  Bibliotheque  des  Voyages.     Paris,  n.d.   12  vols. 
Voyages,  Recueil  des  Voyages  au  Nord.     Amsterdam,  1715-27.   8  vols. 
Voyages,  The  World  Displayed;  or,  A  Curious  Collection  of  Voyages  and 

Travels.     London,  1760-1.  20  vols. 

Wafer  (Lionel),  A  New  Voyage  and  Description  of  the  Isthmus  of  America. 

London,  1G99;  also  London,  1704. 
Wagner  (Moritz)  and  Karl  Scherzer,  Die  Republik  Costa  Rica  in  Central- 

Amerika.     Leipzig,  1857. 

Walker  (William),  The  War  in  Nicaragua.     Mobile,  I860. 
Walton  (William),  Expose"  of  the  Dissensions  of  Spanish  America.  London,  1814. 
Walton  (William  Jr.),  Present  State  of  the  Spanish  Colonies.     London,  1810. 

2  vols. 
Wappiius  (J.  E. ),  Geographic  und  Statistik  von  Mexiko  und  Central-Amerika. 

Leipzig,  1803. 
Warburton  (Eliot),  Darien,  or  the  Merchant  Prince.     London,  1852.  3  vols. ; 

also  London,  1851. 

Ward  (H.  G.),  Mexico  in  1827.     London,  1828.   2  vols. 
Watt  (Geo.  B.),  Across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.     In  American  Geog.  and 

Stat.  Soc.,  Bulletin,  vol.  i.,  pt.  iii. 
Weatherhcad  ( W.  D. ),  An  Account  of  the  late  Expedition  against  the  Isthmus 

of  Darien.     London,  1821. 
Wells  (William  V.),  Explorations  and  Adventures  in  Honduras.     New  York, 

1857. 

Wells  (William  V.),  Walker's  Expedition  to  Nicaragua.     New  York,  1856. 
West  Indies,  A  Description  of  the  Spanish  Settlements.    London,  1774.  4to. 
West  Indies,  Geographical  and  Historical  Description  of  the  principal  objects 

of  the  present  war  in.     London,  1741. 

West-Indische  Spieghel,  door  Athanasium  Inga.     [Amsterdam,  1624.] 
Westminster  Review.     London,  1824  et  seq. 
West-  und  Ost-Indischer  Lustgart,     Collen,  1618. 

Wheelwright  (William), Observations  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  London,1844. 
Wlripple,  Ewbank,  and  Turner.     In  Pacific  R.  R.  Reports,  vol.  iii. 
Wight  (Samuel  F.),  Adventures  in  California  and  Nicaragua  in  Rhyme. 

Boston,  1860. 

Wilson  (Edward),  The  Golden  Land.     Boston,  1852. 
Wilson  (Robert  Anderson),  A  New  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico. 

Philadelphia,  1859. 

Wilson  (Robert  Anderson),  Mexico  and  its  Religion.     New  York,  1855. 
Wilson  (Robert  Anderson),  Mexico:  Its  Peasants  and  its  Priests.    New  York, 

etc.,  1856. 
Winterbotham  ( W. ),  An  Historical  View  of  the  U.  S.  of  America.    London, 

1795.  4  vols. ;  also  London,  1812.  4  vols. 
Winterfeldt  (L.  von),  Der  Mosquito-Staat.     Berlin,  1845. 
Woodbury  (Levi),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  March  1,  1826.     n.pl.,  n.d. 
Worth  (Joseph),  Adventures  and  Narrow  Escapes  in  Nicaragua.     San  Fran 
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Ixxii  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Wort-ley   (Lady  Emmeline   Stuart),    Travels  in    the   United  States.     New 

York,  1851. 
Wytfliet  (Corn.),  Descriptions  Ptolemaicse  augmentum.     Lovanii,  1598. 

Xahila  (Francisco  Ernandez  Arana),  Cakchiquel  MS. 

Xeres,  Uerdadera  relacion  de  la  conquista  del  Peru.     Seville,.  1534. 

Young  (A.  J;),  The  American  Statesman.     New  York,  1855. 

Young  (Philip),  History  of  Mexico.     Cincinnati,  1850. 

Young  (Thomas),  Narrative  of  a  Residence  on  the  Mosquito  Shore.    London, 

1842. 

Yucatan,  Estadistica  de.     Mexico,  1853. 
Yucatan,  Exposicion  del  Gobierno  al  Supremo  Gobierno  de  Cre'ditos.    Mdrida, 

1868.  4to. 

Zach,  Jonction  de  la  mer.     In  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,  torn.  xxvi. 

Zaguirre  (Pedro  de),  Relacion.     In  Squier's  MSS.,  torn.  vii. 

Zahrtmann,  Remarks  on  the  Voyage  to  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  ascribed  to 

the  Zeni  of  Venice.     In  London  Geog.  Soc.  Journal,  1835,  vol.  v. 
Zamacois  (Niceto),  Historia  de  Mexico.     Barcelona,  etc.,  1877-80.  torn,  i.-ii. 
Zamora    y  Coronado   (Jose  M. ),    Biblioteca   de    Legislacion    Ultramarina. 

Madrid,  1844-46.  4to.   6  vols. 

Zapata  (Francisco  D.),  Al  Senador  Abaunza,  Diciembre  3  de  1851.  MS.  folio. 
Zapata  (Francisco  D.),  Breve  Comp^ndio,  Octubre  24  de  1852.     [Leon],  1852. 
Zapata  (Francisco  D.),  Carta  dirijida  por.     [Comayagua,  1853.] 
Zapata  (Francisco  D.),  Supremo  Director,  Marzo  24,  1853.     MS.  folio. 
Zdrate  (Augustin  de),  Historia  del  Descubrimiento  y  Conquista  del  Peru. 

In  Barcia,  Historiadores  Primitives,  torn.  iii. 
Zavala  (Lorenzo  de),  Ensayo  historico  de  las  Revoluciones  de  Megico.    Paris, 

etc.,  1831.  2  vols. 
Zebadua  (Marcial),   Manifestacion  publica    sobre    su    mision    diplomdtica. 

Guatemala,  1832. 

Zelaya(Jos<§  Maria),  Al  Piiblico,  Diciembre  7, 1853.  [San  Salvador,  1853.]  folio. 
Zelaya  (Jose  Maria),  Junta  Jeneral  del  Hospital  Set.  26,  1852.     [San  Salvador, 

1852.] 
Zeledon  (Pedro),  Contestacion  que  da  al  papel  que  con  fecha  27  de  Enero. 

Leon,  1864. 

Zeno,  Dei  Commentarii  del  viaggio  in  Persia.     Venezia,  1558. 
Zorzi.     See  Montalboddo. 
Zuazo,  al  muy  ilustre  Monsieur  de  Xevres,  Enero  22,  1518.     In  Pacheco  and 

Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  i. 
Zumarraga,  Carta  a  su  Magestad  del  Obispo  electo  D.  Juan  de  Zumdrraga, 

Agosto  27,  1529.     In  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  xiii. 
Zumdrraga,  Botschafft  des  Grossmechtigsten  Kb'nigs  Dauid.     n.pl.,  n.d. 


T     A    if 


olac\\aralc 

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TIERRA   FIRME 


BA.VCKOJ'-T'S    HISTORY   O 


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[{    I'AClVir    STATKS   VOL.1. 


HISTORY 


OP 


CENTRAL  AMERICA, 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTION. 

SPAIN  AND  CIVILIZATION'  AT  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  SIX- 
TEENTH  CENTURY. 

GENERAL  VIEW — TRANSITION  FROM  THE  OLD  TO  THE  NEW  CIVILIZATION — 
HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  SPAIN — SPANISH  CHARACTER — SPANISH  SOCI 
ETY — PROMINENT  FEATURES  OF  THE  AGE  —  DOMESTIC  MATTERS — THE 
NEW  WORLD  —  COMPARATIVE  CIVILIZATIONS  AND  SAVAGISMS — EARLI 
EST  VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY. 

How  stood  this  ever  changing  world  four  hundred 
years  ago  ?  Already  Asia  was  prematurely  old.  Ships 
<  kirted  Africa;  but,  save  the  northern  seaboard,  to  all 
but  heaven  the  continent  was  as  dark  as  its  stolid  in 
habitants.  America  was  in  swaddlings,  knowing  not 
its  own  existence,  and  known  of  none.  Europe  was 
an  aged  youth,  bearing  the  world -disturbing  torch 
which  still  shed  a  dim,  fitful  light  and  malignant 
odor. 

Societies  were  held  together  by  loyalty  and  super 
stition;  kingcraft  and  priestcraft;  not  by  that  coop- 
oration  which  springs  from  the  common  interests  of 
the  people.  Accursed  were  all  things  real;  divine 
the  unsubstantial  and  potential.  Beyond  the  stars 
were  laid  out  spiritual  cities,  each  religion  having 
its  own;  under  foot  the  hollow  ground  was  di* 

HIST.  GEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    1 


2  "•  'INTRODUCTION 

with  the  groans  of  the  departed.  Regions  of  the  world 
outlying  the  known  were  tenanted  by  sea-monsters, 
dragons,  and  hobgoblins.  European  commerce  crept 
forth  from  walled  towns  and  battlemented  buildings, 
and,  peradventure  escaping  the  dangers  of  the  land, 
hugged  the  shore  in  open  boats,  resting  by  night  and 
trembling  amidships  by  day.  Learning  was  but 
illuminated  ignorance.  Feudalism  as  a  system  was 
dead,  but  its  evils  remained.  Innumerable  bur 
dens  were  heaped  upon  the  people  by  the  dominant 
classes,  who  gave  them  no  protection  in  return.  Upon 
the  most  frivolous  pretexts  the  fruits  of  their  industry 
were  seized,  and  such  as  escaped  seigneurial  rapacity 
were  appropriated  by  the  clergy.  It  was  a  praise 
worthy  performance  for  a  hundred  thousand  men  to 
meet  and  slay  each  other  in  battle  fought  to  vindicate 
a  church  dogma,  or  to  gratify  a  king's  concubine. 
Self-sacrifice  was  taught  as  a  paramount  duty  by 
thousands  whose  chief  desire  seemed  to  be  the  sac 
rifice  of  others.  Then  came  a  change.  And  by 
reason  of  their  revised  Ptolemies,  their  antipodal 
soundings  and  New  Geographies,  their  magnetic 
needles,  printing-machines,  and  man-killing  imple 
ments,  their  Reformations  and  revivals  of  learning, 
the  people  began  in  some  faint  degree  to  think  for 
themselves.  But  for  all  this,  divine  deyilishness  was 
everywhere,  in  every  activity  and  accident.  God 
reigned  in  Europe,  more  especially  at  Rome  and 
Madrid,  but  all  the  world  else  was  Satan's,  and  de 
stroying  it  was  only  destroying  Satan. 

Under  the  shifting  sands  of  progress  truth  incu 
bates,  and  the  hatched  ideas  fashion  for  themselves 
a  great  mind  in  which  they  may  find  lodgment; 
fashion  for  themselves  a  tongue  by  which  to  speak ; 
fashion  for  themselves  a  lever  by  which  to  move  the 
world. 

The  epoch  of  which  I  speak  rested  upon  the  con 
fines  of  two  civilizations,  the  Old  and  the  New.  It 


TRANSITIONAL  EPOCH.  .  f  3 

was  a  transition  period  from  the  dark  age  of  fanati 
cism  to  the  brightness  of  modern  thought;  from  an 
age  of  stolid  credulity  to  an  age  of  curiosity  and 
skepticism.  It  was  a  period  of  concretions  and  crys 
tallizations,  following  one  of  many  rarefactions ;  super 
stition  was  then  emerging  into  science,  astrology  into 
astronomy,  magic  into  physics,  alchemy  into  chemistry. 
Saltpetre  was  superseding  steel  in  warfare ;  feudalism, 
having  fulfilled  its  purpose,  was  being  displaced  by 
monarchical  power;  intercourse  was  springing  up 
between  nations  and  international  laws  were  being 
made.  Even  the  material  universe  and  the  realms 
of  space  were  enlarging  with  the  enlargement  of 
mind.  Two  worlds  were  about  that  time  unveiled  to 
Spain,  an  oriental  and  an  occidental;  by  the  capture 
of  Constantinople  ancient  Greek  and  Latin  learning- 
was  emancipated,  and  religion  in  Europe  was  revo 
lutionized;  while  toward  the  west,  the  mists  of  the  ages 
lifted  from  the  ocean,  and,  as  if  emerging  from  primeval 
waters,  a  fair  new  continent,  ripe  for  a  thousand  in 
dustries,  stood  revealed. 

This  was  progress  indeed,  and  the  mind,  bursting 
its  mediaeval  fetters,  stood  forth  and  took  a  new 
survey.  With  the  dawn  of  the  sixteenth  century 
there  appeared  a  universal  awakening  throughout 
Christendom.  Slumbering  civilization,  roused  by  the 
heavy  tread  of  marching  events,  turned  from  dreamy 
incantations,  crawled  forth  from  monastic  cells  and 
royal  prison-houses  of  learning,  and  beheld  with 
wonder  and  delight  the  unfolding  of  these  new  mys 
teries.  The  dust  and  cobwebs  of  the  past,  sacred  to 
the  memory  of  patristic  theologies  and  philosophies 
which  had  so  long  dimmed  the  imagination,  were 
disturbed  by  an  aggressive  spirit  of  inquiry.  The 
report  of  exploding  fallacies  reverberated  throughout 
Europe;  and  as  the  smoke  cleared  away,  and  light 
broke  in  through  the  obscurity,  there  fell  as  it  were 
scales  from  the  eyes  of  the  learned,  and  man  gazed 
upon  his  fellow-man  with  new  and  strange  emotions. 


4  t .  INTRODUCTION. 

For  centuries  reason  and  religion  had  been  chained 
to  the  traditions  of  the  past;  thought  had  travelled 
as  in  a  tread-mill;  philosophy  had  advanced  with  the 
face  turned  backward;  knight-errantry  had  been  the 
highest  type  of  manhood,  and  Christianity  had  ab 
sorbed  all  the  vices  as  well  as  the  virtues  of  mankind. 
The  first  efforts  of  scholastics  in  their  exposition  of 
these  new  appearances,  was  to  square  the  accumu 
lative  information  of  the  day  with  the  subtleties  of 
the  schools  and  the  doctrines  and  dogmas  of  the  past. 
The  source  of  all  knowledge,  and  the  foundation  of 
all  science,  fixed  and  unalterable  as  the  eternal  hills, 
were  in  the  tenets  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  as  interpreted  by  the  Fathers.  Any  con 
ception,  or  invention,  or  pretended  discovery  that 
might  pass  unscathed  this  furnace-fire  of  fanaticism 
was  truth,  though  right  and  reason  pronounced  it 
false.  Any  stray  fact  which  by  these  tests  failed  sat 
isfactorily  to  account  for  itself  was  false,  though  by  all 
the  powers  of  soul  and  sense  men  knew  it  to  be  true. 
All  the  infinite  unrest  of  progressional  humanity, 
the  deep  intuitive  longings  of  the  creature  in  its 
struggle  to  touch  the  hand  of  its  Creator,  went  for 
nothing  beside  the  frigid  lessons  taught  by  the  tradi 
tional  sanctity  of  an  Anastasius  or  a  Chrysostom. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all  darkness  and  nes 
cience  were  swept  away  in  a  breath,  or  that  knowl 
edge  fell  suddenly  on  mankind  like  an  inspiration;  it 
was  enough  for  some  few  to  learn  for  the  first  time 
of  such  a  thing  as  ignorance.  Although  the  change 
was  real  and  decisive,  and  the  mind  in  its  attempt  to 
fathom  new  phenomena  was  effectually  lured  from 
the  mystic  pages  of  antiquity,  there  yet  remained 
enough  and  to  spare  of  bigotry  and  credulity. 
Searchers  after  the  truth  saw  yet  as  through  a  glass 
darkly;  the  clearer  vision  of  face  to  face  could  only 
be  attained  by  slow  degrees,  and  often  the  very 
attempt  to  scale  the  prison-house  walls  plunged  the 
aspirant  after  higher  culture  yet  deeper  into  the 


SPANISH  HISTORY.  5 

ditch ;  but  that  there  were  any  searchings  at  all  was 
no  small  advance.  Shackles  were  stricken  off,  but 
the  untutored  intellect  as  yet  knew  not  the  use  of 
liberty;  a  new  light  was  flashed  in  upon  the  mental 
vision,  but  the  sudden  glare  was  for  the  moment 
bewildering,  and  not  until  centuries  after  was  the 
significance  of  this  transitional  epoch  fully  manifest. 
It  may  be  possible  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of 
this  awakening;  yet  how  exaggerate  the  value  to 
western  Europe  of  Greek  literature  and  the  revival 
of  classic  learning,  of  the  invention  of  printing,  or 
the  influence  for  good  or  evil  on  Spain  of  her  New 
World  discoveries  ? 

Our  history  dates  from  Spain,  at  the  time  when 
Castile  and  Aragon  were  the  dominant  power  of 
Europe.  Before  entering  upon  the  doings,  or  passing 
judgment  upon  the  character,  of  those  whose  fortunes 
it  is  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  follow  into  the 
forests  of  the  New  World,  let  us  glance  at  the  origin 
of  the  Spaniards,  examine  the  cradle  of  their  civiliza 
tion,  and  see  out  of  what  conditions  a  people  so  unlike 
any  on  the  globe  to-day  were  evolved. 

Far  back  as  tradition  and  theory  can  reach,  the 
Iberians,  possibly  of  Turanian  stock,  followed  their 
rude  vocations,  hunting,  fishing,  fighting;  guarded  on 
one  side  by  the  Pyrenees,  and  on  the  others  by  the 
sea.  Next,  in  an  epoch  to  whose  date  no  approxima 
tion  is  now  possible,  the  Celts  came  down  on  Spain, 
the  first  wave  of  that  Aryan  sea  destined  to  submerge 
all  Europe.  Under  the  Celtiberians,  the  fierce  and 
powerful  compound  race  now  formed  by  the  union  of 
Iberian  and  Celt,  broken  indeed  into  various  tribes 
but  with  analogous  customs  and  tongues,  Spain  first 
became  known  to  the  civilized  world.  Then  came 
the  commercial  and  colonizing  Phoenician  and  planted 
a  settlement  at  Cd-diz.  After  them  the  Carthaginians 
landed  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Peninsula  and 
founded  Carthago  Nova,  now  Cartagena.  The  power 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  Carthaginians  in  Spain  was  broken  by  the 
Scipios,  in  the  second  Punic  war,  toward  the  close 
of  the  third  century  B.  c.;  and  yet,  says  Ticknor, 
"they  have  left  in  the  population  and  language  of 
Spain,  traces  which  have  never  been  wholly  oblit 
erated." 

The  Romans,  after  driving  out  the  Carthaginians,  at 
tacked  the  interior  Celtiberians,  who  fought  them  hard 
and  long;  but  the  latter  being  finally  subjugated,  all 
Hispania,  save  perhaps  the  rugged  north-west,  was  di 
vided  into  Roman  provinces,  and  in  them  the  language 
and  institutions  of  Rome  were  established.  Forced 
from  their  hereditary  feuds  by  the  iron  hand  of  their 
conquerors,  the  Celtiberians  rapidly  increased  in  wealth 
and  numbers,  and  of  their  prosperity  the  Empire  was 
not  slow  to  make  avail.  From  the  fertile  fields  of 
Spain  flowed  vast  quantities  of  cerealia  into  the  gran 
ary  of  Rome.  The  gold  and  silver  of  their  metal- 
veined  sierras  the  enslaved  Spaniards  were  forced  to 
produce,  as  they  in  succeeding  ages  wrung  from  the 
natives  of  the  New  World  the  same  unjust  service. 
The  introduction  of  Christianity,  about  the  middle  of 
the  third  century,  brought  upon  the  adherents  of  this 
religion  the  most  cruel  persecutions;  even  as  the 
Christians  in  their  turn  persecuted  others  as  soon  as 
they  possessed  the  power.  Some  say,  indeed,  that 
Saint  Paul  preached  at  Saragossa,  and  planted  a 
church  there;  however  this  may  be,  it  was  not  until 
the  conversion  of  Constantino  that  Christianity  be 
came  the  dominant  religion  of  the  Peninsula. 

The  fifth  century  opens  with  the  dissolution  of  the 
empire  of  the  Romans,  for  the  barbarians  are  upon 
them.  Over  the  Pyrenees,  in  awful  deluge,  sweep 
Suevi,  Alani,  Vandals,  and  Silingi.  The  Suevi, 
in  A.  D.  409,  take  possession  of  the  north-west, 
now  Galicia;  the  Alani  seize  Lusitania,  to-day 
Portugal;  and  the  Vandals  and  Silingi  settle 
Vandalusia,  or  Andalusia,  the  latter  tribe  occu 
pying  Seville.  Blighted  by  this  barbaric  whirlwind, 


ADVENT  OF  THE  MOORS.  7 

civilization  droops;  the  arts  and  sciences  introduced  by 
the  Romans  fall  into  disgrace;  the  churlish  conquer 
ors  will  have  none  of  them;  and  the  culture  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome,  turning  toward  its  original  seat,  flees 
the  inhospitable  west  and  takes  refuge  in  the  capital 
of  the  eastern  empire,  which  thereafter  becomes  the 
depository  of  the  wrecks  of  classic  learning.  In  their 
dilemma  the  Romanized  indigenes  call  to  their  help 
the  less  uncouth  Visigoths.  In  427  the  Vandals  pass 
into  Africa.  Between  455  and  584  the  Visigoths 
conquer  the  Romans  and  subjugate  the  Suevi;  so 
that  now  their  kingdom  stretches  from  the  bank  of 
the  Loire  to  Gibraltar.  Thus  to  the  Latin  is  added 
the  Gothic  element;  the  Latin  language,  corrupted 
as  it  had  become,  gains  upon,  or  rather  for  the  most 
part  holds  its  original  advantage  over  the  Gothic 
tongue,  and  becomes  the  basis  of  the  modern  Cas- 
tilian,  with  such  grammatical  simplifications  as  the 
northern  taste  renders  necessary. 

Still  the  great  Peninsula  seethes  and  bubbles  like 
a  caldron  over  the  furnace-fires  of  its  progressional 
unrest.  Two  centuries  of  contentions  between  states, 
and  between  kings  and  nobles,  aggravated  by  the 
usual  convulsions  incident  to  elective  monarchies, 
suffice  to  bring  upon  them  a  new  foe.  The  crescent 
of  Islam,  resting  on  Mecca  and  threatening  at  once 
the  Bosporus  and  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  flames 
suddenly  out  at  its  western  horn  over  fated  Spain. 
At  Algeciras,  near  Gibraltar,  in  711,  in  great  force, 
the  Mauritanian  Arabs,  or  Moors,  effect  a  landing, 
invited  thither  by  Count  Julian,  commander  of  An 
dalusia,  in  revenge  for  the  violation  of  his  daughter 
by  Rodrigo,  last  of  the  Gothic  kings.  Routing  the 
Visigoths  in  the  battle  of  Jerez  de  la  Frontera,  in 
five  swift  years  the  Saracens  are  masters  of  all  save 
the  mountainous-  north-west;  and  penetrating  Aqui- 
tania,  the  kingdom  of  the  Franks  is  prevented  from 
falling  into  their  hands  only  by  the  decisive  victory 
won  by  Charles  Martel  at  Tours  in  732.  An  emirate 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

under  the  caliphate  of  Bagdad  is  established  at  Cor 
dova,  and  multitudes  of  Syrian  and  Egyptian  Mahom 
etans  flock  to  Spain.  Thus  pressed,  to  the  rugged 
mountains  of  Asturias,  under  Pelayo,  one  of  their 
national  heroes,  flee  such  Christians  as  will  not  sub 
mit.  There  the  wreck  of  the  Yisigothic  kingdom 
takes  refuge;  there  stubborn  patriots  rally  and  nurse 
their  nationality  betimes  in  the  caves  of  the  Pyrenees, 
waiting  opportunity  to  deliver  their  country  from  the 
yoke  of  the  hated  Infidel.  In  755  Abdurrahman,  the 
last  caliph  of  the  dynasty  of  Ommiades,  having  es 
caped  the  massacre  of  Damascus,  wrests  Spain  from 
the  hands  of  the  Abbassides  and  founds  the  caliphate 
of  Cordova,  which  then  formed  one  of  the  four  great 
divisions  of  the  Prophet's  dominions.  Moorish  kings 
now  take  the  place  of  Moorish  emirs,  and  thus  is 
governed  Cordova  till  1238,  and  Granada  till  1492. 

Meanwhile  the  Mahometans  ruled  mildly  and  well. 
The  native  Christians  living  among  them  kept  their 
religion,  churches,  and  clergy,  as  well  as  their  laws 
and  tribunals  except  in  cases  involving  capital  pun 
ishment,  or  where  a  Mahometan  was  a  party  in  the 
suit.  The  usual  consequences  of  race-contact  fol 
lowed;  over  wide  tracts  Arabic  became  the  common 
language,  and  so  remained  even  after  Moslem  power 
had  fallen.  As  late  as  the  fourteenth  century  public 
acts  in  many  parts  of  Spain  were  written  in  Arabic. 
As  the  result  of  this  intermixture,  there  was  the 
linguistic  medley  called  lingua  franca,  a  composite 
of  Arabic,  Gothic,  Latin,  Hebrew,  and  Gallic,  with 
the  Romance,  or  corrupted  Latin  of  Spain,  united 
with  the  Limousin,  the  language  of  the  gay  science 
spoken  in  Languedoc  and  Provence,  as  a  base.  Out 
of  this  came  the  Castilian,  which  after  undergoing 
various  modifications  settled  into  the  Spanish  lan 
guage,  leaving  it  substantially  in  its  present  form, 
though  refined  and  polished  by  subsequent  centuries 
of  civilization.  It  was  not,  however,  until  near  the 
reign  of  Alfonso  X.,  1252-1282,  long  after  the 


THE  EIGHT-CENTURY  WAR.  9 

Christians  had  emerged  from  the  mountains  and  had 
mingled  with  the  reconquered  indigenes,  that  the 
Castilian  became  perfectly  established  as  a  written, 
settled,  and  polite  language.  Nor  were  the  conse 
quences  of  Arabic  occupation  confined  to  language; 
they  tinged  the  whole  life  of  the  nation. 

The  Spaniards  who  under  Pelayo  had  taken  refuge 
in  the  mountains  of  Asturias,  in  716  founded  a  small 
government  called  the  kingdom  of  Oviedo.  There 
the  seeds  of  liberty,  trampled  by  adversity,  took  root, 
and  from  the  patriot  soil  arose  a  nation  that  spread 
its  branches  wide  over  the  land.  Gradually  the 
Christian  kingdoms  enlarged.  First  Galicia,  then, 
two  hundred  years  later,  Leon  and  Castile  were 
added  to  the  little  empire.  The  latter  part  of  the 
tenth  century  the  kingdoms  of  Leon,  -Castile,  and 
Navarre,  held  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Penin 
sula,  while  all  the  rest  was  under  the  dominion  of  the 
caliphate  of  Cordova. 

And  now,  emerged  from  the  mountain  fastnesses 
whither  they  had  fled  before  this  southern  swarm 
of  turbaned  Infidels,  the  sturdy  Christians  press 
heavily  on  their  foe.  Inch  by  inch,  each  step  count 
ing  a  century,  they  fight  their  way  from  the  Pyrenees 
back  to  Granada.  Assuming  the  title  of  caliph, 
Abdurrahman  III.  defeats  the  Christians  at  Za- 
mora  on  the  Douro,  but  is  in  turn  repulsed,  in  938, 
at  Simancas.  In  vain  the  Mahometans  call  to  their 
aid  the  Almoravides  of  Morocco;  their  race  upon 
the  Peninsula  is  run.  As  portions  of  the  country 
are  wrested  from  them,  lands  are  awarded  to  notable 
Christian  leaders,  who  at  intervals  pause  in  their 
holy  crusade,  and  fall  to  warring  on  each  other; 
and  by  these  intestine  brawls  more  Christian  blood 
is  .,  spilt  than  by  all  the  cimiters  of  the  Saracens. 
At  such  times  the  Infidels  might  turn  and  make 
the  Christians  an  easy  prey;  but  centuries  of  opu 
lence,  and,  except  along  their  northern  border,  of 
inaction,  have  sapped  their  strength  and  left  them 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

nerveless.  It  is  the  old  story  alike  of  peoples,  sects, 
and  individuals;  discipline,  begotten  by  necessity,  en 
genders  strength,  which  fattened  by  luxury  swells  to 
weakness. 

The  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century  finds  the 
Christians  occupying  about  half  the  Peninsula,  that 
is  to  say  the  kingdoms  of  Leon,  Castile,  Aragon, 
Navarre,  and  Portugal.  Leon  was  but  another  name 
for  the  kingdom  of  Oviedo,  or  Asturias,  the  birth 
place  of  Spanish  nationality.  Castile — Roman,  cas- 
tella;  Arabic,  circlo-l-kolaa,  land  of  castles,  so  called 
from  the  castillos,  or  forts,  built  there  —  though 
destined  eventually  to  absorb  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  Peninsula,  was  at  first  a  republic,  consisting 
of  a  few  small  towns  or  fortified  castles,  which  had 
united  for  mutual  protection  from  both  Mahometans 
and  contentious  Christian  brethren.  In  1037  Leon 
was  united  by  Ferdinand  I.,  called  the  Great,  to 
Castile;  and  from  its  central  position,  and  the 
strength  arising  from  perpetual  vigilance,  the  new 
kingdom  gradually  widened  and  added  to  its  domin 
ions,  until  eventually  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  Penin 
sula  were  united  under  the  banner  of  Castile. 
Navarre  belonged  to  a  French  count,  whose  successor 
drove  the  Saracens  from  the  territory  adjacent  on 
the  south-west,  and  founded  the  kingdom  of  Aragon. 

In  1085  the  Cid,  a  Castilian  chieftain,  born  at 
Burgos,  and  famous  in  poetry,  romance,  and  war, 
seized  Toledo,  and  overran  Valencia ;  in  1 1 1 8  Alfonso 
of  Aragon  wrested  Saragossa  from  the  Moors.  Port 
ugal,  hitherto  a  province  of  Castile,  assumed  the 
title  of  kingdom  in  1139.  Finally  the  four  king 
doms  of  the  north,  together  with  Portugal,  formed  a 
league  against  the  Infidels,  and  in  a  great  battle 
fought  in  the  Sierra  Morena,  near  Tolosa,  in  1212, 
Mahometan  power  in  Spain  was  effectually  broken. 
In  this  decisive  engagement  the  Christian  confed 
erates  were  commanded  by  Alfonso  III.  of  Castile, 
who  never  rested  till  the  followers  of  the  Prophet 


SPAIN'S  GRANDEUR.  11 

were  driven  from  the  central  plateau.  To  the  king 
dom  of  Castile,  Ferdinand  III.,  1217-1252,  annexed 
Jaen,  Cordova,  and  Seville,  which  with  difficulty  were 
held  by  his  son  Alfonso  X.,  surnamed  the  Wise— 
a  better  scholar  than  soldier,  as  we  see.  Alfonso  XI. 
was  succeeded  by  Pedro  el  Cruel,  who  died  in  1369. 

A-  succession  of  singularly  brilliant  events,  cul 
minating  in  the  empire  of  Charles  V.,  brought  Spain, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  the 
front  rank  among  European  powers.  The  marriage 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  which  in  1479  united  the 
crowns  of  Aragon  and  Castile;  the  conquest  of 
Granada  in  1492,  terminating  eight  centuries  of  al 
most  continuous  warfare;  the  discovery  of  America 
the  same  year;  the  annexation  of  Naples  in  1503, 
and  of  Navarre  in  1512,  after  the  union  of  Spain 
and  the  Netherlands  in  the  marriage  of  Juana, 
daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  with  Philip  the 
Fair,  son  of  the  Emperor  Maximilian  I.,  and  father 
of  Charles  V.,  all  coming  in  quick  succession,  form 
a  train  of  important  incidents  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  nations.  Before  the  death  of  Philip  II. 
in  1598,  the  empire  of  Spain  extended  to  every  part 
of  the  globe — Portugal,  conquered  by  the  duke  of 
Alva  in  1580;  Sicily  and  Sardinia,  Artois  and 
Franche  Comte',  the  Balearic  and  Canary  islands; 
in  Africa — Melilla,  Ceuta,  Oran,  and  Tunis;  in* 
Asia — the  Moluccas  and  the  Philippine  Islands,  to 
gether  with  several  settlements  elsewhere;  beside  a 
large  part  of  the  two  Americas,  which  alone  com 
prised  about  one  fifth  of  the  world. 

But  nations  like  men  must  die.  The  full  measure  of 
prosperity  had  been  meted  out  to  Spain,  and  now  she 
must  lay  it  down — such  is  the  inexorable  law  of  prog 
ress.  It  was  the  very  irony  of  autocracy,  that  one 
man  should  rule  half  the  world !  Spain's  pyramid  of 
greatness,  which  assumed  such  lofty  proportions  during 
the  reign  of  their  Catholic  Majesties,  culminated  during 
the  reigns  of  their  immediate  successors.  A  long  line 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

of  ambitious  and  able  princes  had  raised  the  empire 
to  a  giddy  height;  but  with  an  illiterate  populace,  and 

/a  grasping  clergy,  no  sooner  did  the  rulers  become 
f   incompetent  than  the  nation  fell  in  pieces.     In  the 

v  height  of  his  grandeur  Spain's  grandest  monarch  sur 
feited  of  success  and  abdicated;  and  with  the  death 
of  his  son  Philip  the  glory  of  the  empire  departed. 

Then  might  her  epitaph  be  written Nine  centuries 

of  steady  growth — a  long  and  lusty  youth,  more  than 
falls  to  the  lot  of  most  nations — and  in  three  brief 
centuries  more  she  rose,  and  ripened,  and  rotted. 

It  is  not  with  death,  however,  but  life,  we  have  to 
do.  Intellectual  sparks  were  lighting  up  the  dark 
corners  of  the  earth,  and  a  series  of  brilliant  epochs 
began  with  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella — 
modern  Golden  Ages  they  might  be  called.  The 
golden  age  of  Spain,  dating  from  1474  to  1516,  was 
followed  by  Germany's  golden  age,  which  was  during 
the  reign  of  Charles  V,  1519-1558.  Then  came  En 
gland  with  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  1558-1603;  then 
France  under  Louis  XIV.  and  Louis  XV.,  1640-1740; 
Russia  under  Peter  the  Great,  1672-1725;  and  Prus 
sia  under  Frederick  the  Great,  1740-1786.  During 
this  time  European  civilization  was  bursting  its  nar 
row  confines  and  encircling  the  hitherto  unknown 
world  in  every  direction. 

The  Spaniards  we  would  know  and  judge.  We 
shall  judge  them,  even  though  we  know  them  not. 
We  love  to  judge  our  fellows,  and  to  think  how  much 
better  are  we  than  they.  Little  attention  we  give  it, 
though  it  is  a  self-evident  proposition,  that  to  judge  a 
people  by  any  other  standard  than  that  to  which  they 
have  been  taught  to  conform  is  to  do  them  great  in 
justice.  If  we  may  believe  psychology,  thought,  in 
its  higher  phases,  develops  only  with  the  development 
of  language;  the  conceptions  of  the  mind  can  not 
rise  much  higher  than  forms  of  speech  will  enable  it 
to  express.  Apply  this  postulate  to  the  measure  of 


MEASUREMENTS  OF  CHARACTER.  13 

character,  and  the  corollary  is,  that  to  interpret 
fairly,  \ve  must  restrict  our  imagination  to  such 
ideas,  our  mind  to  such  beliefs,  and  our  tongue  to 
such  formulas  as  belong  to  those  we  judge.  This, 
however,  is  no  easy  matter.  In  the  present  age  of 
intellectual  progress  and  changing  activity,  when  old 
delusions  are  being  rapidly  dispelled  by  science,  and 
new  discoveries  are  constantly  opening  new  channels 
to  distinction,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  place  ourselves 
within  the  narrow  limits  of  medieval  restrictions,  in 
which  thought  and  opinion  were  not  allowed  to  ger 
minate,  but  were  passed  unchanged  from  one  generation 
to  another.  "It  often  happens,"  as  John  Stuart  Mill 
remarks,  "that  the  universal  belief  of  one  age  of  man 
kind — a  belief  from  which  no  one  was,  nor,  without  an 
extra  effort  of  genius  or  courage,  could  at  that  time 
be,  free — becomes  so  palpable  an  absurdity,  that  the 
only  difficulty  then  is  to  imagine  how  such  a  thing 
can  ever  have  appeared  credible."  Not  only  were  the 
Church  dogmas  of  the  Middle  Age  accepted  as  truth, 
but  at  that  time  to  hold  opinions  antagonistic  to  estab 
lished  creeds  was  seldom  so  much  as  deemed  possible. 
From  the  foregoing  premises  it  clearly  follows,  that 
rightly  to  measure  the  character  of  those  who  carried 
European  civilization  into  the  wilds  of  America,  we  must, 
in  so  far  as  we  may,  divest  ourselves  of  the  present, 
and  enter  into  the  spirit  of  their  times.  We  must  fix 
in  our  minds  the  precise  epoch  in  the  history  of  human 
progress  to  which  the  discovery  of  this  New  World 
belongs.  We  must  roll  up  four  brilliant  centuries  of 
the  scroll  of  science,  cloud  nine  tenths  of  the  world  in 
obscurity,  throw  a  spell  upon  the  ocean ;  then  wall  the 
imagination  within  the  confines  of  this  narrow  horizon 
and  conceive  the  effect.  We  must  know  something, 
not  alone  of  national  polities  and  the  attitude  of 
kings,  but  we  must  enter  the  society  of  individuals, 
and  study  the  impulses  of  the  people.  We  must  call 
up  the  inscrutable  past,  surround  ourselves  with  those 
influences  that  give  the  stamp  to  character  and  the 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

color  to  creed.  We  must  familiarize  ourselves  with 
scenes  familiar  to  the  people  we  discuss;  we  must 
walk  their  streets,  look  through  their  eyes,  think  their 
thoughts;  we  must  personate  them  and  practically 
construe  them.  We  should  fill  our  breast  with  the 
aspirations  that  impelled  them,  our  imagination  with 
the  fears  that  restrained  them,  and  feel  those  subtle 
forces  which  for  generations  had  been  developing  in 
tellect  and  moulding  opinion.  We  should  dare  even 
to  gain  access  to  their  domestic  and  religious  pene 
tralia,  to  invade  the  sanctity  of  the  hearth  and  altar, 
to  sound  the  hidden  chords  of  domestic  life,  to  walk 
softly  through  vaulted  aisles  and  convent  corridors, 
bending  the  ear  to  catch  the  whisperings  of  the  con 
fessional  ;  we  should  enter  with  the  monk  his  cloister- 
cell,  with  the  gallant  the  presence  of  his  lady-love, 
and  learn  whence  the  significance  and  whither  the 
tendency  of  their  strange  conceits.  If,  at  the  outset, 
with  the  political  position,  we  also  thus  firmly  grasp 
their  inner  social  life,  much  that  were  otherwise  enig 
matical  or  diabolical  appears  in  a  clearer  light;  and 
we  can  then  behold  their  chivalrous  but  cruel  deeds 
with  the  same  charity  in  which  we  hope  posterity 
may  shroud  our  own  enormities.  Thus  only  may  we 
be  led  to  understand  the  various  processes  by  which 
this  phase  of  civilization  was  evolved. 

The  configuration  and  climate  of  the  Peninsula 
assist  in  giving  variety  to  the  character  of  its  inhab 
itants.  The  interior  is  one  vast  table-land,  higher  than 
any  other  plateau  in  Europe,  being  from  two  to  three 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  On  either 
side  precipitous  mountain  ranges  interpose  between 
the  table-land  and  the  shores,  and  through  these 
numerous  streams  thread  their  way.  The  table-land 
is  for  the  most  part  dry  and  treeless,  hot  in  summer 
and  cold  in  winter;  Asturias  is  wet  and  wooded; 
the  valleys  of  the  Guadalquivir,  Douro,  Ebro,  Tagus, 
and  other  rivers,  are  in  places  quite  fertile.  In  the 


SPANISH  CHARACTER.  15 

southern  provinces  of  Andalusia  and  Murcia,  autumn 
and  winter  are  mild  and  pleasant,  and  spring  is  surpass 
ingly  lovely;  but  the  solano  which  during  summer 
blows  from  the  heated  plains  of  Africa  is  intolerable  to 
any  but  the  acclimated.  From  the  snow-clad  Pyrenees 
the  piercing  blasts  of  winter  sweep  over  Leon,  Castile, 
and  Estremadura,  at  the  north  protracting  the  long 
winter  and  making  cold  and  humid  the  spring,  and 
arrive  at  the  middle  provinces  stripped  of  their  moist 
ure,  but  not  of  their  raw  unwelcome  chilliness. 

During  the  eleven  convulsive  centuries  preceding 
our  epoch  we  have  seen  mix  and  agglutinate  the  sev 
eral  ingredients  of  Spanish  character — Iberian,  Celt, 
Phoenician;  Roman,  Goth,  and  Moor,  all  contribut 
ing  their  quota.  Christian,  Infidel,  and  Jew%  with 
their  loves  and  hates,  season  the  mass;  and  thus  soci 
ety  becomes  an  olla  podrida,  and  Spain  presents  the 
anomalous  race  of  the  world. 

In  different  provinces  different  race-elements  pre 
ponderate,  that  of  Rome  tincturing  the  whole  more 
strongly  than  any  other.  Under  analysis  these  sev 
eral  social  ingredients  may  be  easily  detected.  By 
comparison  with  Strabo,  Arnold  traces  many  of  the 
social  characteristics  of  the  Spaniards  back  to  the 
Iberians.  "The  grave  dress,  the  temperance  and  so 
briety,  the  unyielding  spirit,  the  extreme  indolence, 
the  perverseness  in  guerilla  warfare,  and  the  remark 
able  absence  of  the  highest  military  qualities  ascribed 
by  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers,"  he  affirms,  "are 
all  more  or  less  characteristic  of  the  Spaniards  of 
modern  times.  The  courtesy  and  gallantry  of  the 
Spaniard  to  women  has  also  come  down  to  him  from 
his  Iberian  ancestors." 

So  in  the  volatile,  dark-haired  Celt,  where  reckless 
courage  and  indifference  to  human  life  reached  their  \ 
height,  where  quick  perception  and  ready  wit  supplied    \ 
the  place  of  sober  thought  and  logical  deductions,    J 
where   man   was    courageous   and    changeable,    and   ' 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

woman  was  at  once  fickle,  chaste,  and  passionate — 
in  these  fierce  barbarians  we  see  a  multitude  of  traits 
handed  by  them  to  their  descendants.  Of  Phoenician 
and  Iberian  influence,  traces  are  seen  in  their  skill  in 
scientific  mining;  of  Gothic,  in  their  comparatively 
liberal  forms  of  government,  their  attachment  to 
military  display,  and  in  their  good  faith,  integrity, 
and  morality — would  these  latter  had  been  a  trifle 
more  Gothic;  of  Roman,  in  their  love  of  ecclesi 
astical  forms,  church  and  state  loyalty,  in  their  stately 
dignity  and  sobriety  of  deportment;  of  Arab,  in  their 
hatred  of  work,  their  love  of  freedom,  their  re 
ligious  enthusiasm,  their  tactics  in  war,  and  in  their 
language,  poetry,  art,  and  architecture.  Some  of  these 
terms  appear  paradoxical,  but  human  nature,  in  its 
ingredients,  is  ever  paradoxical.  In  the  Spanish  lan 
guage  Brace  discovers  that  the  principal  "  terms  for 
agriculture  arid  science  are  Latin;  for  the  Church, 
Latin  or  Greek;  for  arms,  riding,  and  war,  Teutonic; 
and  for  arts  and  plants  in  southern  Spain,  Arabic." 
From  the  north  and  east  and  south  the  boldest  of  the 
nations  had  congregated  on  this  frontier  peninsula, 
waiting  the  outburst  which,  after  a  thousand  years 
of  fermentation,  broke  over  its  western  slope. 

Buckle,  in  support  of  a  theory  referring  the  origin 
of  character  to  physical  causes,  ascribes  the  supersti 
tion  of  Spain  to  famine  and  disease,  to  earthquakes 
and  the  awe-producing  phenomena  of  wild  scenery; 
their  fickleness  he  attributes  to  climate,  the  heat  and 
dryness  in  Spain  interrupting  labor  and  leading  to  des 
ultory  habits;  their  love  of  romance  and  adventure 
he  traces  to  pastoral  life,  which  prevailed  to  the 
neglect  of  agriculture  during  the  Moorish  invasion. 

The  fall  of  Granada  left  the  Peninsula  occupied 
essentially  as  follows  :  In  the  north  and  west  were 
the  descendants  of  Goths  and  Celts  who,  unmolested 
by  Roman  or  Moor,  retained  in  a  measure  their  an 
cestral  characteristics.  Low  of  stature,  thick-set  and 
awkward,  as  strong  and  as  hairy  almost  as  bears,  the 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SPANISH  NATION.  17 

men  of  Asturias  and  Galicia,  of  Leon  and  Biscay, 
century  after  century  come  and  go,  living  as  their 
fathers  lived,  neither  better  nor  worse,  caring  nothing 
for  Arab  or  Dutchman,  and  little  even  for  the  Spanish 
kings;  proud  as  ever  of  Pelayo,  of  the  mountains 
that  cradled  Spanish  liberty,  of  their  great  antiquity, 
which  they  boast  as  greater  than  that  of  any  living 
nation;  superstitious,  irritable,  and  impetuous,  but 
honest,  frank,  and  sincere;  implacable  as  enemies,  but 
faithful  as  friends.  Their  boast  is  that  never  have 
they  been  subdued  by  Moor.  Their  chiefs  were  of 
the  ancient  Gothic  blood,  blue  blood  they  called  it, 
not  being  tainted  with  Arabic  like  that  of  their 
darker  southern  neighbors;  of  such  material  were 
early  founded  the  kingdoms  of  Leon  and  Castile. 

On  their  eastern  side  was  the  kingdom  of  Na 
varre,  founded  by  the  counts  of  tho  French  marches. 
Though  at  one  time  these  two  sections  had  been 
united,  the  usual  partition  of  heritage  had  soon  dis 
membered  them.  Portugal,  an  offshoot  of  Castile, 
was  permanently  separated;  Aragon,  founded  by 
Navarre,  became  also  independent.  Upon  the  east 
ern  seaboard  the  people  of  Catalonia  and  Valencia, 
though  diluted  with  the  Limousin  element,  yet  retain 
traces  of  their  foreign  relationships.  "Of  the  modern 
evidences  of  race  in  the  different  provinces,"  says 
Brace,  "travellers  tell  us  that  in  Valencia  the  people 
resemble  both  their  Keltiberian  and  Carthaginian 
ancestors,  being  cunning,  perfidious,  vindictive,  and 
sullen.  The  burning  sun  has  tanned  their  skin  dark 
and  aided  to  for.m  in  them  an  excitable  and  nervous 
temperament;  they  have,  too,  the  superstitious  tend 
encies  that  characterize  the  people  of  a  hot  climate. 
The  Valencian  women  are  fairer  than  the  men,  and 
are  conspicuous  for  their  beauty  of  form.  They  wear 
the  hair  and  the  ornaments  of  the  head  after  the  old 
Homish  style.  The  Catalan  is  rude,  active  and  in 
dustrious,  a  good  soldier,  and  fond  of  his  independ 
ence,  resembling  both  Kelts  and  Iberians  in  his 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    2 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

covetous,  bold,  cruel,  and  warlike  character.  The 
Aragonese  are  true  children  of  the  Goths  in  their 
force  of  will,  their  attachment  to  constitutional  lib 
erties,  and  their  opposition  to  arbitrary  power." 

The  tall,  tough,  agile  eastern  mountaineer  presents 
as  marked  a  contrast  to  the  stubby  Asturian  as  does 
the  sparkling  Andalusian  to  the  grave  Castilian. 
For  a  long  time  the  people  of  Andalusia  were  semi- 
Moorish  in  their  character.  There,  where  the  soft 
air  of  Africa  comes  fresh  from  the  Mediterranean/ had 
dwelt  the  dusky,  graceful  Arab ;  glorifying  Mahomet 
as  the  Castilian  glorified  Christ;  tolerating  Christian 
and  Jew,  as  Christians  tolerated  Mahometan  and 
Jew,  the  dominant  power  always  exacting  tribute 
from  the  others.  Scattered  along  the  banks  of  the 
G  uadalquivir,  and  in  separate  quarters  of  many  towns 
of  southern  Spain,  were  bands  of  that  anomalous  race 
the  gypsies.  Short,  dark,  ugly,  with  long,  coarse, 
wavy  hair,  mixing  with  other  men  as  light  and  dark 
ness  mix,  they  plied  their  trade  of  buying,  stealing, 
and  selling.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  war  they 
occupied  themselves  in  bringing  horses  from  Africa 
and  selling  them  to  Moors  or  Christians. 

In  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  Toledo  there  yet 
lived  a  remnant  of  Silingi  stock,  known  as  almoyd- 
vares,  who  had  never  bent  knee  to  Infidel;  who, 
throughout  the  long  contest  which  waged  on  every 
side  of  them,  had  kept  green  their  liberty  and  their 
faith  — a  Christian  oasis  in  the  broad  pagan  desert. 
There,  too,  a  broken  band  of  the  chosen  Israel,  now 
fairly  launched  upon  their  eternal  wanderings,  found 
a  momentary  resting-place.  Before  the  arrival  of  the 
Visigoths,  it  is  said,  a  colony  of  Hebrews  planted 
themselves  near  Toledo,  and  by  their  industry  and 
superior  financial  ability,  became  at  length  the  royal 
bankers,  and  notwithstanding  bitter  prejudices,  they 
/  rose  high  in  influence,  even  to  the  honor  of  having 
daughters  enrolled  among  the  king's  mistresses. 
Thus  for  a  time  the  several  parts  of  the  Peninsula 


RESULTS  OF  INTERMIXTURES.  19 

differ  widely  in  language,  manners,  and  institutions; 
but  at  length,  by  wars  and  political  combinations, 
race-barriers  are  broken  down,  and  opposing  clan 
ships  welded  by  an  intenser  hatred  for  some  common 
enemy.  The  south  through  its  Mediterranean  trade 
soonest  attains  eminence,  but  warlike  Castile  sub 
sequently  acquires  predominance.  Meanwhile  the 
masses  retain  their  old  ways  better  than  their  leaders. 
The  nobility,  and  frequenters  of  courts,  mingling  more 
witn  the  world,  adopt  the  fashions  of  courts,  and 
change  with  their  changes.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
border  provinces  feel  the  influences  of  the  war  com 
paratively  little ;  upon  the  great  central  plateau,  how 
ever,  there  meet  and  mix  almost  all  the  stocks  and 
creeds  of  the  then  known  world.  Aryan  and  Se 
mite;  Roman,  Goth,  and  Mauritanian;  Mahometan, 
Christian,  and  Jew;  planting  and  plucking,  building 
up  and  tearing  down,  fattening  and  starving,  fighting 
and  worshipping  and  burning  — the  whole  table-land 
of  Spain  turned  into  a  battle-arena  of  the  nations, 
into  a  world's  gladiatorial  show;  its  occupants  alter 
nately  marrying  and  battling,  Moslem  with  Chris 
tian,  Moslem  with  Moslem,  Christian  with  Christian, 
Christian  and  Moslem  uniting  now  against  Christian 
and  now  against  Moslem,  while  the  slaughter  of 
Jew,  heretic,  and  gypsy  fills  the  interlude.  So  pass 
centuries ;  and  from  this  alembic  of  nations  is  distilled 
the  tall,  symmetrical,  black-haired,  bright-eyed,  sharp- 
featured  Castilian  and  Estremaduran. 

Out  of  this  heterogeneous  medley  of  opposing 
qualities  we  have  now  to  draw  general  characteristics. 

In  demeanor  the  Spaniard  is  grave,  punctilious, 
reserved  with  strangers,  jealous  of  familiarity  or  en 
croachment  on  his  dignity;  but  among  his  acquaint 
ances,  or  with  those  who  are  ready  to  recognize  what 
he  conceives  to  be  his  due,  he  throws  off  restraint, 
and  becomes  an  agreeable  companion  and  a  firm 
friend.  While  impatient  and  resentful  of  fancied 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

slights,  he  is  easily  won  by  kindness,  and  is  always 
dazzled  by  skill  in  arms  and  personal  valor. 

In  disposition  he  is  serious  almost  to  melancholy, 
firm  to  stubbornness,  imperturbable,  lethargic,  inert, 
moody;  yet  when  roused  there  breaks  forth  the 
deepest  enthusiasm  and  the  most  ungovernable 
passion.  So  punctilious  is  his  sense  of  honor,  so 
zealous  and  truthful  is  he  in  his  friendships,  so  affec 
tionate  and  humane  in  all  his  private  relations,  that  at 
one  time  the  term  Spanish  gentleman  was  synonymous 
with  everything  just,  generous,  and  high-minded 
throughout  Europe.  In  intellect  he  is  contemplative 
rather  than  profound,  apt  in  emergencies,  but  lacking 
breadth  and  depth.  In  habits  he  is  temperate  and 
frugal,  easily  satisfied,  indolent.  To  live  without 
work  is  his  ideal  of  enjoyment.  Dissoluteness  and 
intemperance  can  not  be  ranked  among  his  vices,  nor 
do  travellers  place  hospitality  in  his  list  of  virtues. 
There  is  no  such  word  as  rowdy  in  his  vocabulary. 
Turbulent  from  imposition  he  may  be,  and  after 
injury  vengeful;  but  brawler,  disturber  of  peace  and 
social  order,  he  is  not.  Though  taciturn,  he  is  deep 
in  feeling;  in  his  love  of  country  he  is  provincial 
rather  than  national.  Though  hard  to  be  driven  he 
is  easily  led;  acting  collectively,  officially,  he  is  given 
to  venality,  when  personally  thrown  upon  his  honor 
he  is  scrupulous  and  trusty. 

In  manners  the  Spaniard  is  proverbial  for  high 
breeding,  courtesy,  and  decorum.  Whether  beggar 
or  courtier,  his  politeness  seldom  deserts  him.  "Dios 
guarde  a  usted,"  May  God  protect  you;  " Vaya  usted 
con  Dios,  caballero,"  God  be  with  you,  sir;  are  the 
usual  valedictions.  In  reply  to  the  importunities 
of  a  beggar  the  cavalier  exclaims,  "Perdone  usted, 
por  Dios,  hermano,"  For  the  love  of  God  excuse  me, 
my  brother.  To  the  highest  noble  and  to  the  meanest 
peasant  the  greeting  is  the  same.  Sedate,  sober- 
minded,  reserved,  the  Spaniard  is  but  the  modified 
result  of  his  several  exemplars.  "All  Spaniards," 


CASTILIAN  PRIDE  AND  POLITENESS.  21 

remarks  Ford,  "are  prodigal  to  each  other  in  cheap 
names  and  titles  of  honor;  thus  even  beggars  address 
each  other  as  seiior  y  caballero,  lord  and  knight. 
The  most  coveted  style  is  excelencia,  your  excel 
lency."  Nicknames  are  common.  No  one  rises  to 
distinction  without  carrying  with  him  one  or  more 
appellations  significant  of  the  skill  or  occupation  of 
his  early  days. 

The  Castilian  has  less  ingenuity  in  mechanics,  less 
skill  in  trade,  less  taste,  less  delicacy  of  perception, 
than  the  Italian,  but  far  more  pride,  firmness,  and 
courage;  a  more  solemn  demeanor,  and  a  stronger 
sense  of  honor. 

Every  Spaniard  of  whatever  class  considers  himself 
a  caballero,  a  well-born  and  Christian  gentleman,  the 
superior  of  most,  the  equal  of  any,  the  inferior  of 
none.  Profuse  in  proffers  of  kindness,  he  is  no  less 
slow  to  fulfil  them  than  to  accept  favors  from  others. 
He  is  very  vain;  vain  of  personal  appearance,  vain  of 
his  ancestry,  his  breeding;  vain  of  his  ignorance  and 
superstition ;  proud  of  many  things  he  should  be 
ashamed  of,  and  ashamed  of  nothing.  Thieving  was 
never  prominent  as  a  national  vice.  As  a  rule  Span 
iards  are  too  proud  to  steal;  the  impulse  of  wounded 
affection  or  injured  pride  nerves  the  arm  that  strikes, 
often er  than  the  desire  for  plunder. 

The  old  German  cosmographer  Sebastian  Munster 
quaintly  writes,  Basel,  1553:  "The  Spaniards  have 
good  heads,  but  with  all  their  studying  they  learn 
but  little,  for  after  having  half  learned  a  thing  they 
think  themselves  very  wise,  and  in  their  talk  try  to 
show  much  learning  which  they  do  not  possess." 
Comparing  them  with  the  French,  the  same  chron 
icler  says:  "The  Frenchmen  are  taller,  but  the  Span 
iards  more  hardy.  In  war,  the  Spaniards  are  delib 
erate,  and  the  French,  impetuous.  The  French  are 
great  babblers,  but  the  Spaniards  can  well  keep  a 
secret.  The  French  are  joyous  and  light  of  thought; 
they  like  to  live  well;  but  the  Spaniards  are  melan- 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

choly,  serious,  and  not  given  to  carousing.  The 
French  receive  their  guests  friendlily  and  treat  them 
well,  but  the  Spaniards  are  cross  to  strangers,  so  that 
one  must  go  from  house  to  house  in  search  of  enter 
tainment.  The  cause  of  this  is  that  Spaniards  have 
travelled  little,  and  do  not  like  to  spend  their  money 
for  food." 

In  Castile,  more  than  elsewhere,  was  seen  the 
perfect  central  type,  which  in  its  earlier  stages 
was  so  remarkable  for  practical  sagacity,  for  an  in 
sight  into  causes  and  motives,  and  skill  in  the  adap 
tation  of  means  to  ends.  In  the  wars  of  the  New 
World,  affirms  Macaulay,  "where  something  different 
from  ordinary  strategy  was  required  in  the  general, 
and  something  different  from  ordinary  discipline  of 
the  soldier,  where  it  was  every  day  necessary  to  meet 
by  some  new  expedient  the  varying  tactics  of  a  bar 
barous  enemy,  the  Spanish  adventurers,  sprung  from 
the  common  people,  displayed  a  fertility  of  resource, 
and  a  talent  for  negotiation  and  command,  to  which 
history  scarcely  affords  a  parallel."  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  however,  that  the  New  World  adventurer 
was  not  always  a  national  type. 

Graham  declares  that  "the  history  of  the  expedi 
tions  which  terminated  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico 
and  Peru  displays,  perhaps,  more  strikingly  than  any 
other  portion  of  the  records  of  the  human  race,  what 
amazing  exertions  the  spirit  of  man  can  prompt  him  to 
attempt,  and  sustain  him  to  endure."  And  again — 
"The  masses,"  says  Ford,  who  has  studied  them  well, 
"the  least  spoilt  and  the  most  national,  stand  like  pil 
lars  amid  ruins,  and  on  them  the  edifice  of  Spain's 
greatness  must  be  reconstructed."  "All  the  force  of 
Europe,"  exclaims  Peterborough,  "would  not  be  suffi 
cient  to  subdue  the  Castiles  with  the  people  against  it." 

So  great  is  their  reverence  for  antiquity,  that  they 
appear  to  live  almost  as  much  in  the  past  as  in  the 
present.  Age  is  synonymous  with  wisdom ;  the  older 
the  habit  or  opinion,  the  more  worthy  of  belief  it  is. 


REVERENCE  FOR  ANTIQUITY.  23 

Innovation  they  abhor  as  dangerous;  the  universe  of 
knowledge  stands  already  revealed;  there  is  nothing 
more  to  learn.  Their  premises  they  know  to  be 
sound,  their  conclusions  correct,  their  beliefs  true; 
what  necessity  then  for  further  troubling  themselves? 
Children  in  everything  but  teachableness,  with  them- 
.  selves  and  their  traditions  they  are  content.  Their 
education  is  finished.  This  is  the  most  hopeless  form 
of  ignorance.  Their  legends  they  carefully  preserve, 
old-time  customs  they  love  to  practise,  and  they  dwell 
with  devoted  enthusiasm  on  the  exploits  of  their  an 
cestors.  To  this  day,  twelve  centuries  after  the 
occurrence,  the  peasantry  of  Asturias  are  divided  be 
tween  the  descendants  of  those  who  aided  the  patriot 
Pelayo  against  the  Moors,  and  those  who  did  not  - 
the  latter  being  stigmatized  as  vaqueros;  while  the 
Andalusian  Morisco  keeps  alive  the  story  of  Granada's 
grandeur,  and  dreams  of  Moslem  warriors,  of  Aben- 
cerrage  knights,  and  the  restoration  of  former  great 
ness.  So  strong  is  the  influence  of  tradition  and  dead 
ancestry. 

Speaking  of  the  quality  of  firmness,  and  tenacity  of 
purpose,  says  Bell,  "So  obstinate  is  the  Spaniard,  and 
in  some  provinces  so  remarkably  self-willed,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  one  part  of  Spain  make  a  jest  of  the 
others  on  that  account.  Thus  the  obstinate  Biscayan 
is  represented  as  driving  a  nail  into  the  wall  with  his 
head,  whilst  the  still  more  obstinate  Aragonian  is  fig 
ured  in  the  same  act  and  attitude,  but  with  the  point 
of  the  nail  turned  outward!"  With  the  poniard  at 
his  throat,  many  a  prostrate  foe  will  die  rather  than 
yield,  and  as  surely  will  the  victor  plunge  in  the  fatal 
weapon  if  the  cry  for  quarter  be  not  quickly  uttered. 
In  Andalusia  there  was  a  fashion  prevalent  among 
duellists,  when  determined  to  fight  their  quarrel  to  the 
end,  of  firmly  binding  together,  below  the  elbows,  the 
left  arms  of  the  combatants;  then,  with  knives  in 
their  right  hands,  they  fought  until  one  or  both  were 
dead. 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

Notwithstanding  their  slavish  superstition,  their 
excessive  loyalty,  their  love  of  antiquity,  and  their 
hatred  of  change ;  and  notwithstanding  the  oppression 
of  princes  and  priests,  the  condition  of  the  lower 
classes  in  Spain  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century 
was  far  above  that  of  the  same  class  in  any  other  Eu 
ropean  country.  This  was  owing,  not  to  any  special, 
consideration  on  the  part  of  their  political  or  ecclesi 
astical  rulers,  but  to  that  greatest  of  scourges,  war. 
While  the  rulers  were  absorbed  in  conquering,  and  in 
keeping  themselves  from  being  conquered,  except 
within  the  immediate  battle-arena  the  people  were 
left  much  alone.  Besides,  armies  must  have  supplies, 
and  producers  were  held  in  esteem  by  the  military 
consumers. 

Inequalities  of  power  and  wealth,  unless  arrested 
by  extrinsic  causes,  ever  tend  to  wider  extremes.  In 
Spain,  the  increase  of  wealth  in  the  hands  of  priests 
and  princes  was  checked  by  long-continued  war.  The 
products  of  the  country  must  be  used  to  feed  the 
soldiery,  and  the  power  of  the  nobility  must  be 
employed  against  the  common  enemy.  There  was 
neither  the  time  nor  the  opportunity  to  grind  the 
people  to  the  uttermost.  Though  the  war  bore 
heavily  upon  the  working  classes,  it  proved  to  them 
the  greatest  blessing;  while  the  masses  elsewhere 
throughout  Europe  were  kept  in  a  state  of  feudalistic 
serfdom,  the  necessity  of  Spain  being  for  men  rather 
than  for  beasts,  elevation  followed.  Further  than 
this,  race-contact,  and  the  friction  attending  the  in- 
terminglings  of  courts  and  camps,  tended  in  some 
degree  towards  polishing  and  refining  society.  "  Since 
nothing  makes  us  forget  the  arbitrary  distinctions  of 
rank,"  says  Hallam,  "so  much  as  participation  in  any 
common  calamity,  every  man  who  had  escaped  the 
great  shipwreck  of  liberty  and  religion  in  the  mount 
ains  of  Asturias  was  invested  with  a  personal  dignity, 
which  gave  him  value  in  his  own  eyes  and  those  of 
his  country.  It  is  probably  this  sentiment  trans- 


CASTE  AND  SOCIAL  STRATA.  23 

mitted  to  posterity,  and  gradually  fixing  the  national 
character,  that  had  produced  the  elevation  of  manner 
remarked  by  travellers  in  the  Castilian  peasant." 

And  yet  there  was  caste  and  social  stratification 
enough.  The  stubborn  manliness  of  the  lower  orders 
did  not  make  them  noble.  Except  the  mercenary 
and  political  priesthood,  only  royalty  was  divine. 
The  nobles  loved  money,  yet  for  them  to  traffic  was 
disgraceful.  Priests  engaged  in  manufacturing,  yet 
with  them  it  was  only  one  way  more  by  which  to 
make  avail  of  another's  labor.  Work  was  well 
enough  for  Moor,  and  Jew,  and  Indian;  but  he 
whose  line  of  fighting  ancestors  had  not  beginning 
within  the  memory  of  man,  must  starve  rather  than 
stain  his  lineage  by  doing  something  useful. 

The  several  social  strata,  moreover,  were  jealously 
kept  distinct.  The  first  distinction  was  that  which 
separated  them  from  foreigners.  In  the  days  of 
Csesar  and  Cicero,  Home  was  master  of  the  world; 
Rome  was  the  world;  were  any  not  of  Rome  they 
were  barbarians.  So  it  was  with  Spaniards.  To  be 
of  Castile  was  to  be  the  most  highly  favored  of 
mortals;  to  be  a  Spaniard,  though  not  a  Castilian, 
was  something  to  be  proud  of;  to  be  anything  else 
was  most  unfortunate. 

The  next  distinction  was  between  the  Spaniard 
of  pure  blood  and  the  Christianized  native  of 
foreign  origin.  No  amount  of  ecclesiastical  white 
washing  could  wholly  cleanse  a  Moor  or  Jew. 
Moriscos  the  Church  might  make;  heretics  the 
Inquisition  might  reconstruct;  but  all  Spain  could 
not  make  from  foreign  material  a  Christian  Spaniard 
of  the  pure  ancient  blood.  About  foreign  fashions, 
foreign  inventions,  foreign  progress,  foreign  criticism, 
they  cared  nothing.  And  probably  nowhere  in  mod 
ern  times  was  this  irrational  idea  of  caste  carried  to 
such  an  absurd  extent  as  in  the  New  World.  Chil 
dren  of  Spanish  parentage,  born  in  America,  were 
regarded  socially  as  inferior  to  children  of  the  same 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

parents  who  happened  to  be  born  in  Spain.  To  be 
born  a  Spanish  peasant  was  better  than  hidalgo,  or 
cavalier,  with  American  nativity;  for  at  one  time  the 
former,  on  migrating  to  America,  was  entitled  by 
virtue  of  that  fact  to  the  prefix  'Don/  Under  the 
viceroys  native  Mexicans,  though  of  pure  Castilian  an 
cestry,  were  too  often  excluded  from  the  higher  offices 
of  Church  and  State;  and  this  notwithstanding  that 
both  canonical  and  civil  law,  if  we  may  believe  Be- 
tancur  y  Figueroa,  provided  that  natives  should  be 
preferred  in  all  ecclesiastical  appointments  from  the 
lightest  benefice  to  the  highest  prelacy.  "But  not 
withstanding  such  repeated  recommendations,"  says 
Robertson,  "preferment  in  almost  every  different  line 
is  conferred  on  native  Spaniards."  Mr.  Ward,  En 
glish  consul  at  Mexico  in  1825-7,  affirms  that  "the 
son,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  born  of  a  Creole 
mother,  was  considered  as  an  inferior,  in  the  house 
of  his  own  father,  to  the  European  book-keeper  or 
clerk,  for  whom  the  daughter,  if  there  were  one,  and 
a  large  share  of  the  fortune  were  reserved.  'Eres 
criollo  y  basta;'  You  are  a  Creole  and  that  is  enough, 
was  a  common  phrase  amongst  the  Spaniards  when 
angry  with  their  children."  Truly  it  was  a  good 
thing  in  those  days  to  be  at  once  'of  Christ'  and 
'of  Spain/  It  was  positively  believed  by  some  that 
blood  flowed  in  accordance  with  the  majesty  of  law, 
and  that  the  quality  of  one  was  inferior  to  the  quality 
of  another.  The  blood  of  the  Indian  was  held  as 
scarcely  more  human  than  the  blood  of  beasts,  and 
was  often  shed  as  freely. 

Then,  too,  there  was  a  distinction  between  the  pro 
fession  of  arms  and  all  other  professions.  Following 
republican  Rome  again,  the  education  of  no  man 
aspiring  to  a  public  career  was  complete  until  he  had 
served  as  a  soldier.  No  one  can  truthfully  charge 
the  Spaniards  of  the  sixteenth  century  with  lack  of 
courage.  Military  skill  was  the  highest  type  of  man 
hood.  Of  danger  they  made  a  plaything,  not  only 


JEWS  AOT)  MOORS.  27 

in  their  wars  but  in  their  sports.  Life  was  dull 
unless  brightened  by  blood. 

In  Aragon  the  barons  were  limited  to  a  few  great 
families  who  traced  their  descent  from  twelve  peers, 
called  ricos  homes  de  natura.  Although  obliged  to 
attend  the  king  in  his  wars,  in  every  other  respect 
they  were  independent.  They  were  themselves  ex 
empt  from  taxation  and  punishment,  and  held  abso 
lute  authority  over  the  lives  and  property  of  their 
vassals.  The  next  lower  order  of  nobility  in  Aragon 
was  called  infanzones,  corresponding  to  the  hidalgos 
of  Castile.  The  caballeros,  or  knights,  were  the  im 
mediate  •  followers  of  the  ricos  homes ,  and  were  pos 
sessed  of  important  privileges. 

In  La  Mancha  the  peasantry  were  of  a  quality 
different  from  those  sent  by  Castile  and  Estreinadura 
to  the  New  World.  Quintana  writes  of  them,  "He 
who  travels  through  La  Mancha  will  see  the  scaffold 
before  he  sees  the  town.  They  are  lazy,  dirty,  quar 
relsome,  and  never  suffer  from  hunger,  for  when  they 
wish  to  become  the  owners  of  anything  they  take  it;" 
and  remarks  another,  "They  live  on  parched  gar- 
banzos,  and  pass  the  winter  lying  on  their  bellies  like 
reptiles  in  the  sun."  See  Murillo's  matchless  pictures. 

Another  class  and  race,  broken  fragments  of  which 
we  have  before  encountered,  secured  more  rest  in 
Spain  than  elsewhere,  yet  from  a  different  cause. 
Homeless  Israel  in  the  Arab  found  a  friend.  Not 
that  the  Mahometans  loved  the  Jews,  but  because 
the  Christians  hated  them,  was  their  condition  made 
so  tolerable  in  Spain  under  Saracen  rule.  Then, 
and  until  their  expulsion,  they  occupied  an  important 
position,  being  the  chief  money-handlers,  merchants, 
and  bankers.  Overcome  in  their  dislike  for  each 
other  by  a  more  bitter  hatred  against  their  common 
enemy,  the  Jews  and  Moors  lived  upon  terms  some 
what  approaching  equality.  The  Jews  surpassed  their 
Moorish  masters  in  wealth,  and  were  but  little  in 
ferior  to  them  in  arts  and  letters.  They  were  not 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

only  usurers,  but  husbandmen,  artisans,  and  doctors. 
As  Christian  domination  extended  southward,  this 
comparatively  happy  state  of  the  Spanish  Jews  dis 
appeared.  Under  pretext  of  justice,  their  moneys 
were  wrested  from  them  by  the  nobles ;  under  pretext 
of  religion,  they  were  killed  by  the  clergy;  and  with 
the  capitulation  of  Granada  and  the  loss  of  their 
Moorish  allies,  the  condition  of  the  Jews  became  piti 
able  in  the  extreme.  Two  incidents  of  the  crowning 
of  Pope  John  XXIII.,  in  1410,  as  related  by  Mon- 
strelet,  will  show  what  the  vicegerent  of  the  Jews' 
creator  thought  fit  treatment  for  Jews.  In  his 
progress  through  Home,  these  people  presented  him 
with  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  Old  Testament.  He, 
"having  examined  it  a  little,  threw  it  behind  him, 
saying,  'Your  religion  is  good,  but  this  of  ours  is 
better."1  And  again,  "  There  were  before  and  behind 
him  two  hundred  men-at-arms,  each  having  in  his 
hand  a  leathern  mallet,  with  which  they  struck  the 
Jews  in  such  wise  as  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see." 

With  such  an  example,  to  what  good  Christian 
were  not  the  Jews  fair  game?  As  for  the  Spaniards, 
they  bettered  the  instruction,  as  was  sufficiently 
proved  by  their  expulsion-edict  of  March,  1492 — an 
edict  forbidding  unbaptized  Jews  to  be  found  within' 
the  limits  of  Spain  at  the  end  of  four  months;  an 
edict  allowing  them  in  that  time  to  sell  their  prop 
erty,  but  forbidding  them  at  the  end  of  that  time  "to 
carry  away  with  them  any  gold,  silver,  or  money 
,  whatsoever;"  "an  edict,"  says  the  Catholic  historian, 
Lafuente,  "that  condemned  to  expatriation,  to  misery, 
to  despair,  and  to  death,  many  thousands  of  families 
born  and  bred  in  Spain." 

In  almost  every  medieval  town  there  was  a  Jewish 
district,  in  which,  says  M.  Dcpping,  their  historian, 
"Jews  like  troops  of  lepers  were  thrust  away  and 
huddled  together  into  the  most  uncomfortable  and 
most  unhealthy  quarters  of  the  city,  as  miserable  as 
it  was  disgusting;"  or,  as  Paul  Lacroix  describes  it, 


THE  CHARGE  OF  CRUELTY.  29 

"a  large  enclosure  of  wretched  houses,  irregularly 
built,  divided  by  small  streets  with  no  attempt  at  uni 
formity.  The  principal  thoroughfare  is  lined  with 
stalls,  in  which  are  sold  not  only  old  clothes,  furniture, 
and  utensils,  but  also  new  and  glittering  articles." 
Within  their  prescribed  limits,  all  their  necessities 
were  supplied,  and  a  dirt-begrimed  prison-like  syna 
gogue  usually  occupied  the  center.  Upon  the  slight 
est  provocation  the  most  horrible  atrocities  were  com 
mitted  upon  them  by  the  Christians.  If  converted, 
the  strictest  watch  was  kept  on  them  by  the  Inqui 
sition,  and  if  suspected  of  heresy,  they  were  slain. 
In  Abrantes,  a  town  of  Portugal,  in  1506,  the  bap 
tized  Jews  were  all  massacred.  To  be  at  once  mur 
derers  of  Christ,  and  accumulators  of  money,  was  too 
much  for  the  zeal  and  cupidity  of  the  Christians. 

The  Spaniards  of  the  sixteenth  century  have  been 
called  a  cruel  people;  and  so  they  were.  Yet  they 
were  no  more  cruel  than  other  nations  of  their  day, 
and  no  more  cruel  relatively,  according  to  the  progress 
of  humanity,  than  are  we  to-day.  Time  evolves  in 
many  respects  a  more  refined  civilization,  but  the 
nature  of  man  changes  not.  Individuals  may  be  less 
beastly;  society  may  be  regulated  more  by  law  and  less 
by  passion ;  between  nations  in  their  wars  and  diplomacy 
there  may  be  less  systematic  torture,  less  unblushing 
chicanery;  but  the  world  has  yet  to  find  a  weightier 
right  than  might.  I  fail  to  discover  in  America,  by 
Catholic  Spaniards  or  heathen  savages,  deeds  more 
atrocious  than  some  committed  in  India  and  China 
within  the  century  by  Protestant  England,  the  world's 
model  of  piety  and  propriety;  and  yet  'the  treatment 
of  Indians  in  North  America  by  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  has  been  far  more  just  and  humane  than  their 
treatment  by  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

Before  such  a  charge  as  that  of  excessive  cruelty 
can  be  made  good  against  a  people,  there  are  several 
things  to  be  considered.  And  first  the  motive.  The 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

surgeon  who  amputates  a  limb  to  save  a  life  is  not 
called  cruel.  Now  the  Spaniards  were  the  spiritual 
surgeons  of  their  day.  Nine  tenths  of  all  their  bru 
talities  were  committed  conscientiously  and  religiously. 
They  scourged  to  save  souls ;  and  the  more  of  the  in 
convertible  they  killed,  the  greater  the  service  to 
God.  Secondly,  the  quality  of  cruelty  is  not  pro 
nounced,  but  relative.  There  are  cruelties  of  the 
heart,  of  the  sensibilities,  no  less  cruel  than  bodily 
tortures.  The  age  of  savagism  is  always  cruel; 
and  so  is  the  age  of  Christian  civilization. 
Cruelty  springs  from  ignorance  rather  than  from  in 
stinct.  Childlike  and  thoughtless  things,  things 
tender  by  instinct,  are  cruel  from  disingenuous  per 
versity.  A  clouded,  unreasoning,  unreasonable  mind, 
even  when  hiding  beneath  it  a  tender  heart,  begets 
cruelty;  while  a  sterner  disposition,  if  accompanied 
by  a  clear,  truth-loving  intellect,  delights  in  no 
injustice — and  cruelty  is  always  unjust.  This  is 
why,  if  it  be  true  as  has  been  charged,  that 
notwithstanding  boys  are  more  cruel  than  girls, 
women  are  more  cruel  than  men.  Children,  women, 
and  savages  are  cruel  from  thoughtlessness;  though 
the  cruel  boy  may  be  very  tender  of  his  puppy,  the 
cruel  woman  of  her  child,  the  cruel  savage  of  his 
horse.  The  Christianity,  the  enforced  precepts  of 
peace  and  good -will,  the  faith  and  sweet  charity  of 
that  day  were  intensely  cruel.  I  will  cite  a  few  in 
stances  of  European  cruelty,  not  confined  to  Span 
iards,  which  will  show  not  only  that  Spain  was  not 
more  cruel  than  other  nations,  except  as  she  possessed 
more  piety  and  power,  but  that  the  savages  of  Amer 
ica  were  not  more  cruel  than  the  Europeans  of  their 
day.  Both  tortured  to  the  uttermost  where  they 
hated,  even  as  men  do  now ;  the  chief  difference  was, 
the  Europeans,  being  the  stronger,  could  torture  the 
harder.  Civilization  changes,  not  the  quantity  of 
cruelty,  but  the  quality  only. 

"  Caesar  Borgia,"  writes  Sebastiano  de  Branca  in 


THE  BARBARISMS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  31 

his  diary,  about  the  year  1500,  "Caesar  Borgia  was 
the  cruelest  man  of  any  age."  To  serve  his  pious 
purposes  he  did  not  hesitate  to  use  poison  and  per 
jury.  He  was  treacherous,  incestuous,  murderous, 
even  keeping  a  private  executioner,  Michilotto,  to  do 
his  bidding.  Louis  XI.  of  France,  and  other  princes, 
kept  a  court  assassin.  The  times  of  Pope  Alexan 
der  VI.  were  lurid  with  atrocities.  Rodrigo  Lenzu- 
oli,  the  father,  Lucretia,  the  daughter,  and  Csesar, 
the  son,  comprised  the  Borgia  'trio,  distinguished  no 
less  for  their  intellect,  beauty,  wealth,  and  bravery, 
than  for  their  craft,  lust,  treachery,  and  cruelty.  And 
yet,  in  some  respects,  this  same  Alexander  was  one  of 
the  best  men  that  ever  sat  in  a  pontifical  chair.  Do 
we  not  boast  our  modern  death  implements,  which, 
by  making  slaughter  easy,  are  to  lessen  cruelty? 
And  so,  may  not  Alexander  have  found  that  the 
kindest  way  to  cure  a  social  ulcer  was  to  cut  it  out? 
Says  Lecky:  "Philip  II.  and  Isabella  the  Catholic 
inflicted  more  suffering  in  obedience  to  their  con 
sciences  than  Nero  or  Domitian  in  obedience  to 
their  lusts." 

In  1415  John  Huss  was  burned  for  his  religion, 
and  in  1431  Joan  of  Arc  for  her  patriotism.  In  like 
manner  perished  thousands  of  others.  Mahomet  II., 
disputing  with  the  Venetian  artist  Gentile  Bellini 
as  to  the  length  of  John  the  Baptist's  neck  after  de 
collation,  called  a  slave,  and  striking  off  his  head  with 
one  blow  of  his  cimeter,  exclaimed:  "There!  did 
not  I  say  yours  is  too  long  ?" 

Princes  made  bloodshed  a  pastime.  Edward  IV. 
put  to  death  a  tradesman  for  perpetrating  a  pun; 
caused  a  gentleman  to  be  executed  for  speaking 
against  a  favorite;  and  condemned  his  own  brother 
to  death  in  a  fit  of  petulance.  In  an  interview  be 
tween  this  same  Edward  of  England  and  the  king  of 
France,  the  monarchs  were  brought  together  in  huge 
iron  cages,  each  distrustful  of  the  other.  Louis  XII. 
confined  Ludovico  Sforza,  duke  of  Milan,  in  an  iron 


32  INTRODUCTION. 

cage  for  ten  years,  and  until  his  death.  This  was  a 
punishment  common  at  that  time  in  Italy  and  Spain. 
Pedro  el  Cruel  is  charged  by  Hallam  with  having 
murdered  his  wife  and  mother,  most  of  his  brothers 
and  sisters,  many  of  the  Castilian  nobility,  and  multi 
tudes  of  the  commonalty. 

The  Church  smiled  on  any  atrocity  done  for  its 
glory.  Nor  could  the  half-skinned  monk  imagine 
why  the  bodies  of  heretics  should  not  be  lacerated  for 
the  good  of  their  souls  as  well  as  his  own.  Yet  that 
all  things  might  be  done  decently  and  in  order,  the 
Council  of  Constance  anathematized  all  assassins,  ex 
cept  those  who  had  first  obtained  an  ecclesiastical 
mandate  for  the  commission  of  the  crime. 

Yet  the  Spaniards,  I  say,  were  bad  enough.  The 
cruelties  following  the  capitulation  of  Malaga,  in  1487, 
were  more  befitting  fiends  than  a  man  and  wotnan 
who  prided  themselves  in  the  title  of  Catholic  king 
and  queen.  Since  the  establishment  of  the  Inquisi 
tion,  heretic-burning  had  become  an  amusement  most 
gratifying  to  the  national  taste.  On  this  occasion  at 
Mdlaga,  the  apostate  Moors  were  first  caught  and 
burned.  Twelve  renegade  Christians  were  then  fast 
ened  to  stakes  in  an  open  place  and  made  the  barba 
rous  sport  of  Spanish  cavaliers,  who,  mounted  on  fleet 
horses,  hurled  at  their  naked  bodies  pointed  reeds 
while  rushing  past  at  full  speed.  This  Christ-like 
pastime  was  continued  until  the  torn  and  bleeding 
flesh  was  filled  with  darts,  and  the  wretched  victims 
expired  under  the  most  excruciating  torments.  Then, 
of  the  rest  of  the  Moorish  prisoners,  three  divisions 
were  made ;  one  for  the  redemption  of  Christian  cap 
tives,  one  to  be  distributed  among  the  victors  as 
slaves,  and  one  to  be  publicly  sold  into  slavery.  One 
hundred  were  sent  to  Rome  as  a  present  to  Pope  In 
nocent  VIII.  Christian  knights  returned  from  their 
incursions  against  the  Moors  with  strings  of  turbaned 
heads  hanging  from  their  saddle-bows,  which,  as  they 
passed  along,  they  threw  to  the  boys  in  the  streets,  in 


CIVILIZED  TORTURES.  33 

order  to  inspire  their  youthful  minds  with  hatred  to 
the  foes  of  their  religion. 

From  making  slaves  of  prisoners  of  war,  a  traffic  in 
human  flesh  springs  up.  A  slave-trade  association  was 
formed  in  Portugal  in  1443.  Gonzalez  brought  slaves 
to  Seville;  Columbus  sent  to  Spain  a  cargo  of  Indian 
slaves  in  1495;  in  1503  the  enslavement  of  American 
Indians  was  authorized  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella ;  and 
in  1508  the  African  slave-trade  unfolded  in  all  its  hid 
eous  barbarity.  The  slave-trade,  however,  was  toler 
ated  by  these  sovereigns  from  mistaken  kindness, 
rather  than  from  cruelty.  It  was  to  shield  the 
Indian,  who  died  under  the  infliction  of  labor,  that 
Isabella  permitted  the  importation  of  Africans  into 
the  colonies. 

Cruelty  was  a  prominent  wheel  in  the  machinery 
of  government,  as  well  as  in  religious  discipline. 
Torture  was  deemed  inseparable  from  justice,  either 
as  preparatory  to  trial  to  elicit  a  confession  of  guilt, 
or  as  part  of  an  execution  to  increase  the  punishment. 
Hippolite  de  Marsilli,  a  learned  jurisconsult  of  Bo 
logna,  mentioned  fourteen  ways  of  inflicting  torture, 
which  are  given  by  Lacroix.  Among  them  were 
compressing  the  limbs  with  instruments  or  cords ;  the 
injection  of  water,  vinegar,  or  oil;  application  of  hot 
pitch;  starvation;  placing  hot  eggs  under  the  arm 
pits;  introducing  dice  under  the  skin;  tying  lighted 
candles  to  the  fingers  which  were  consumed  with  the 
wax,  and  dropping  water  from  a  great  height  upon 
the  stomach.  Josse  Damhoudere  mentioned  thirteen 
modes  of  execution  or  punishment  — fire,  the  sword, 
mechanical  force,  quartering,  the  wheel,  the  fork,  the 
gibbet,  dragging,  spiking,  cutting  off  the  ears,  dis 
membering,  flogging,  and  the  pillory.  Every  country 
had  its  peculiar  system  of  torture. 

In  1547  English  vagrants  were  branded  with  a  V 
and  enslaved  for  two  years.  Should  the  unfortunate 
attempt  escape,  a  hot  S  was  burned  into  the  flesh 
and  he  was  a  slave  for  life.  A  second  attempted 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    3 


34  INTRODUCTION. 

escape  was  death.  In  those  days  wife-whipping  was 
a  common  and  respectable  domestic  discipline ;  culprits 
in  the  pillory  and  stocks  were  stationed  in  the  market 
place  where  all  the  people  might  strike  them;  pris 
oners  were  stripped  of  their  clothes,  confined  in  filthy 
dungeons  half  filled  with  stagnant  water,  and  there 
not  unfrequently  left  to  starve,  while  slimy  reptiles 
crawled  over  the  naked  body,  or  drove  their  poisonous 
fangs  into  the  quivering  flesh. 

The  sports  of  the  Spaniards  we  now  regard  as 
cruel,  as  ours  will  be  regarded  four  hundred  years 
hence.  Although  delighting  in  games,  in  pantomimic 
dance,  in  fencing,  wrestling,  running,  leaping,  hunting, 
hawking,  with  the  gentler  pastime  of  song  and  guitar, 
the  more  popular  amusements  were  cock-fights,  dog 
and  bull  fights,  bull  and  bear  fights,  bear  and  dog 
fights,  enjoyed  alike  by  high  and  low,  by  women, 
boys,  and  men,  by  laity  and  clergy.  Sometimes 
fighters  would  enter  the  arena  blindfolded  and  en 
gage  in  deadly  encounter.  Yet  how  much  more  cruel 
were  these  sports  than  modern  horse-racing,  cock- 
fighting,  dog-fighting,  prize-fighting,  rope-walking, 
lion-taming,  steeple-chases,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
more  gentlemanly  cruelty  of  raising  foxes  to  be 
hunted,  and  worried,  and  finally  torn  in  pieces  by 
dogs,  let  posterity  judge.  I  do  not  say  that  the  six 
teenth-century  sports  of  Spain  were  not  more  cruel 
than  the  English  sports  of  to-day.  I  think  they 
were.  But  that  Spaniards  were  inherently  more 
cruel,  that  is  to  say,  that  their  hearts  were  more 
wickedly  wanton,  their  sympathies  more  inhumane, 
or  that  they  enjoyed  a  more  ardent  pleasure  in  inflict 
ing  pain  upon  others  than  men  do  now,  I  do  not  believe. 
The  Spaniards  were  a  nation  of  soldiers,  and  soldiers 
are  necessarily  cruel.  Men  go  to  war  to  hurt  the 
enemy,  not  to  be  kind  to  him.  Unquestionably  the 
effect  of  bull-fights,  like  the  gladiatorial  shows  of 
imperial  Rome,  were  debasing,  tending  to  excite  a 
love  of  the  bloody  and  terrible,  and  to  render  insipid 


SPANISH  DOMESTIC  LIFE.  35 

tamer  and  more  refined  amusements.  This  to  them 
was  a  misfortune,  although  the  repulsive  sport  did 
foster  a  spirit  of  courage  and  endurance. 

The  corrida  de  toros,  bull-run,  or  bull-fight,  the 
national  sport  of  Spain,  is  a  relic  of  Moorish  chivalry, 
yet  no  less  Spanish  than  Arabic;  for  the  institution 
as  it  exists  in  Spain  is  found  neither  in  Africa  nor  in 
Arabia.  Originally,  as  in  the  ancient  tournament, 
in  the  sport  engaged  only  cavaliers,  or  gentlemen,  in 
whom  were  combined  such  skill  and  strength  that  the 
head  of  a  bull  was  sometimes  stricken  off  by  a  single 
blow  of  the  montante.  Since  which  time  the  tourna 
ment  has  degenerated  into  a  prize-ring,  and  the  chiv 
alrous  bull-fight  which  in  principle  was  a  display  of 
courage  combined  with  skill  in  horsemanship,  and  in 
the  use  of  the  lance,  has  become  a  sort  of  dramatic 
shambles,  where  the  actors  are  low-born  and  mer 
cenary  professionals. 

The  home  life  of  the  Spaniard,  which  pictures  his 
softer  shades  of  character,  and  shows  the  more  deli 
cate  tracings  of  his  mental  and  moral  sensibilities, 
must  not  be  disregarded.  There  alone  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is,  stripped  of  the  paraphernalia  attending 
his  appearance  before  men,  with  the  intents  and 
purposes  of  heart  and  mind  laid  open  before  us. 

We  have  noticed  how  the  genius  of  the  Mahometan 
clung  to  the  soil  long  after  he  was  driven  away;  to 
this  day  southern  Spain  is  more  Arabic  than  Gothic. 
The  towns  of  Andalusia — of  which  Cd,diz,  with  its 
whitewashed  antiquity  and  its  streets  and  walls  clean 
as  a  taza  de  plata,  is  the  key;  and  Seville,  radiant 
with  sunny  gardens  and  glittering  towers,  is  the 
pride — consist  of  narrow,  tortuous  streets  walled  by 
Moorish  mansions  enclosing  cool  courts.  Shutterless 
windows,  through  which  half-muffled  lovers  whisper 
soft  nothings  to  bar-imprisoned  senoritas,  open  with 
out;  fresh  young  love  and  musty  antiquity  thus  min 
gling  in  harmonious  contrast.  Then,  favored  by  the 


36  INTRODUCTION. 

voluptuous  air  of  spring,  or  broiling  beneath  the  ener 
vating  heat  of  summer,  are  Granada,  Cordova,  and 
Malaga,  where  glory  and  shame,  heroic  virtue  and 
unblushing  vice,  erudition  and  ignorance,  Christianity 
and  paganism  were  so  blended  that  the  past  and 
present  seem  almost  one.  As  if  proud  of  their  Moor 
ish  origin,  these  cities  of  southern  Spain  battle  with 
time,  and  hold  in  fast  embrace  the  shadows  of  de 
parted  grandeur.  The  better  class  of  Moorish  houses 
are  yet  preserved;  and  the  otherwise  unendurable 
heat  of  this  so-called  oven  of  Spain  is  rendered  sup 
portable  by  the  narrow,  crooked  streets  — so  narrow, 
indeed,  that  in  some  of  them  vehicles  can  not  pass 
each  other  — and  by  the  irregular,  projecting  stories 
of  the  terrace-roofed  houses. 

Though  widely  separate,  much  there  is  alike  in 
these  grave  and  haughty  sheiks,  and  in  the  Spaniards, 
of  the  Semitic  race  — in  their  genius  and  in  their  fate. 
To  both  Arab  and  Spaniard  were  given  conquest, 
wealth,  and  opportunity.  Both  struggled  blindly  but 
bravely,  rising  to  a  bright,  dizzy  pinnacle  of  glory; 
sinking  into  that  superstition  and  bigotry  which  closed 
in  round  them  slowly,  blackly,  like  a  rotting  pesti 
lence.  Allah  akbar!  God  is  great,  and  Mahomet 
is  his  prophet ;  Pater  noster !  Virgen  santisima ! 
Death  to  infidels  and  heretics !  Little  to  choose 
between  them;  and  both  having  fulfilled  their  des 
tiny  sink  into  their  own  mire  of  blind  ignorance  and 
fanatic  cruelty.  Where  now  is  the  might  of  Mauri 
tania  ?  Where  the  power  and  pride  that  caused 
Egypt  to  dream  again  of  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs 
and  the  Ptolemies  ?  Syria  and  Palestine  are  deso 
late,  Bedouinized.  To  Bagdad  remains  but  the  mem 
ory  of  ancient  splendor;  her  palaces  are  heaps.  No 
more  the  good  Haroun  al  Kaschid  walks  her  streets; 
no  more  the  universities  of  Kufa  and  Bassora,  Samar- 
cand  and  Balkh  enlighten  the  world.  The  sons  of 
Hagar  have  had  their  day ;  their  work  is  done.  What 
Spain  and  her  colonies  now  are,  need  not  here  be  told. 


DWELLINGS  AM)  FURNITURE.  37 

Every  Spanish  town  has  its  plaza,  great  square,  or 
public  market-place,  which  every  day  presents  a  busy 
scene.  Thither  in  early  morning  resort  the  improvi 
dent — though  not  specially  lazy — common  people  for 
their  daily  supply  of  food.  Then  there  is  the  paseo, 
or  public  promenade,  or,  as  it  is  more  frequently 
called,  the  alameda,  from  alamo,  poplar,  a  beautiful 
walk,  shaded  on  either  side  by  trees.  There  may  be 
seen  every  pleasant  day  after  the  siesta,  or  midday 
sleep,  groups  of  either  sex,  and  all  classes,  high  and 
low,  rich  and  poor,  walking  to  and  fro,  chatting, 
smoking,  flirting,  drinking  in  health  and  content  and 
merriment  with  the  cool,  delicious  evening  air;  while 
ladies  in  carriages  and  cavaliers  on  curveting  steeds 
occupy  and  enliven  the  roadway. 

Numberless  kinds  of  dwellings  obtain  in  various 
parts,  conspicuous  among  which  are  the  Asturian 
caverns,  the  subterranean  abodes  of  La  Mancha,  the 
forts  of  Castile,  and  the  Moorish  palaces  of  Anda 
lusia.  Stone,  hewn  and  unhewn,  is  the  material  em 
ployed  in  mountainous  districts;  adobe,  or  sun-dried 
brick,  with  thatched  roof,  upon  the  plains.  A  com 
mon  class  of  architecture  is  a  windowless  parallelo 
gram  divided  into  two  rooms,  one  for  the  family,  and 
the  other  for  the  cattle,  the  attic  being  used  as  a 
barn.  Houses  of  this  kind  are  built  in  one  and  two 
stories.  An  out-house  for  stores,  which  is  also  used 
as  a  sleeping-place  for  the  women,  perched  on  pillars 
eight  feet  high,  sometimes  stands  adjacent.  Across 
one  end  of  the  family  room,  which,  of  necessity,  is  used 
for  all  domestic  purposes,  extends  a  fire-place,  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  in  length  and  six  feet  in  depth,  over  which 
is  a  large  bell-shaped  chimney  extending  out  into  the 
middle  of  the  room.  This  style  of  building  might 
be  elaborated,  wings  added,  or  the  form  changed. 
Tiled  roofs  are  common,  and  overhanging  eaves. 
Some  houses  are  of  three  or  four  stories;  others  run 
out  long  and  low  upon  the  ground.  More  pretentious 
dwellings  are  often  in  the  form  of  a  hollow  square, 


38  INTRODUCTION. 

with  a  patio  and  garden  within.  Of  such  are  con 
vents  with  cloisters,  and  over  them  ranges  of  corri 
dors  and  rooms. 

Among  the  upper  classes  the  apartments  of  the 
lady  consist  of  an  antechamber,  or  drawing-room,  a 
boudoir,  a  bed-room,  a  dressing-room,  and  an  oratory. 
The  drawing-room  is  furnished  with  tapestry  hang 
ings  on  which  are  represented  battles  and  biblical 
scenes — war  and  religion  even  here;  polished  oak  or 
mahogany  high-backed  chairs,  clumsy,  and  elaborately 
carved;  in  the  corners  of  the  room  triangular  tables 
on  which  stand  heavy  silver  or  gold  candlesticks  with 
sperm  candles,  the  light  from  which  is  reflected  by 
small  oval  Venetian  mirrors,  in  fantastically  wrought 
gold  or  silver  frames;  cupboards  with  glass  doors  for 
plate,  etc.  In  the  boudoir  is  a  toilet-table  before 
Venetian  mirrors  profusely  draped  in  handsome  lace; 
a  book-case,  work-table,  arm-chairs,  sacred  paintings 
and  family  portraits;  in  the  sleeping-room,  a  tall 
heavy  bedstead  with  damask  or  velvet  curtains,  a 
crucifix — the  image  of  silver  or  gold,  and  the  cross 
of  ivory — with  a  little  basin  of  holy  water  near  it, 
a  priedieu  and  prayer-book;  in  the  dressing-room  a 
wardrobe,  and  all  necessary  toilet  appliances;  in  the 
oratory  an  altar,  a  crucifix,  two  or  more  priedieux, 
and,  if  mass  is  said,  as  is  often  the  case  in  the  houses 
of  the  great  or  wealthy,  images  of  saints  by  the 
masters,  with  all  the  accompanying  ornaments  of  de 
votion. 

The  dwellings  of  southern  Spain,  large  and  small, 
lean  toward  the  Arabic  in  architecture — Arabic  dec 
orations,  with  second-story  balconies;  the  rooms  rich 
in  carved  ceilings,  wainscoting,  and  arabesque;  the 
entrance  from  the  street  in  city  houses  being  through 
a  vestibule  and  an  ornamented  iron-grated  gate. 
During  the  summer,  when  the  sun's  rays  strike  like 
poisoned  darts,  the  family  live  for  the  most  part  in 
the  patio.  There  upon  the  marble  pavement,  beside 
the  cooling  fountain,  and  amidst  fragrant  orange, 


WOMEN  AND  DRESS.  39 

palm,  and  citron  trees,  visitors  are  received,  chocolate 
drank,  and  cigarettes  smoked.  There  too  they  dance 
to  the  music  of  the  guitar,  play  cards,  and  take  their 
siesta. 

To  oriental  customs  may  be  attributed  the  jealous 
privacy  by  which  the  women  of  Spain  were  guarded 
by  husbands  and  fathers.  Besides  her  natural  weak 
ness,  woman  was  yet  inferior,  inept,  characterless,  not 
to  be  trusted.  The  fortress-like  houses  of  the  better 
sort,  which  are  scattered  all  over  the  table-land  of  the 
Peninsula,  with  their  spacious  inner  court  and  iron- 
barred  windows,  were  so  arranged  that  the  part 
occupied  by  the  female  members  of  the  household 
was  separate  from  the  more  public  rooms  of  the  men. 
This  precinct  was  unapproachable  by  any  but  the 
most  intimate  friend  or  invited  guest.  Their  domestic 
policy,  like  every  other,  was  suspicious  and  guarded. 

This  is  further  illustrated  by  the  mode  of  entering 
a  house,  which  also  shows  the  effect  of  centuries  of 
warfare  upon  manners.  In  outer  doors,  and  in  those 
of  distinct  floors,  and  apartments,  was  inserted  a  small 
grate  and  slide.  On  knocking,  the  slide  moved  back, 
and  at  the  grating  appeared  the  lustrous,  searching 
eyes  of  the  inmate.  "Quien  es  ?"  Who  is  it?  was  the 
salutation  from  within.  "Gente  de  paz."  Peaceful 
people,  was  the  reply. 

Extreme  sensitiveness  with  regard  to  dress  charac 
terizes  Spaniards  of  the  bettor  sort,  and  rather  than 
appear  in  public  unbecomingly  attired,  they  remain 
hidden  at  home,  only  stealing  out  for  necessities  at  night 
fall,  or  perhaps  in  the  early  morn,  and  then  back  to  their 
home  for  the  day.  In  this  we  see  a  strong  mixture 
of  pride  and  bienseance,  in  which  there  is  more  sensi 
tiveness  than  sense.  But  man  can  not  live  by  reason 
alone.  He  who  in  this  factitious  world  is  guided 
only  by  the  instincts  of  a  sound  mind,  regardless  of 
the  frivolities  of  fashion,  of  convenance,  indifferent  to 
his  neighbor's  ideas  of  propriety,  and  to  any  taste 


40  INTRODUCTION. 

except  his  own,  commits  a  mistake.  Though  he  alone 
is  wise,  and  all  the  world  fools,  yet  of  necessity  he 
must  become  foolish,  else  he  is  not  wise. 

Males,  in  their  costume,  were  the  birds  of  gay 
plumage  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
So  fantastically  clad  w^as  the  English  nobleman  in  his 
laced  doublet  and  open  gown,  that  he  was  scarcely  to 
be  distinguished  from  a  woman.  In  the  time  of 
Charles  V.  courtiers  dressed  in  bright  colors,  but 
with  his  sombre  son  Philip,  all  was  black  — black 
velvet  trimmed  with  jet;  and  stiff — stiff  collars,  and 
stiff  black  truncated  cone  hats,  with  brim  scarcely  an 
inch  wide,  in  place  of  the  soft  slouchy  sombrero. 

The  national  and  characteristic  garment  of  both 
sexes  in  Spain  for  about  three  centuries  was,  for  the 
outer  covering,  the  copa,  or  cloak,  of  the  cavalier,  and 
the  mantilla  of  the  lady.  In  the  reign  of  Charles 
V.  the  former  was  a  short  cape,  and  the  latter 
simply  a  head-dress;  but  with  time  both  enlarged 
until  one  reached  below  the  knee,  and  the  other  below 
the  waist.  Some  writers  give  to  these  garments  a 
remote  antiquity.  They  point  to  ancient  coins  where 
Iberia  is  represented  as  a  veiled  woman,  and  ignoring 
sex  claim  that  to  the  Iberians  the  Romans  gave  the 
toya,  and  that  for  fifteen  centuries  the  fashion  con 
tinued.  Others  deny  such  connection.  It  is  un 
doubtedly  true  that  the  capa  of  the  sixteenth  century 
was  much  shorter  than  the  cloak  of  to-day,  being  a 
cape  rather  than  a  cloak,  and  not  at  all  resembling 
the  Roman  toga.  Sebastian  Franc  in  his  Weltbuch, 
Tubingen,  1534,  writes :  "  Their  women  wear  a  curious 
dress  around  the  neck;  they  have  an  iron  band  to 
which  are  fastened  bent  prongs  reaching  over  the 
head,  over  which,  when  they  desire  it,  they  draw  a 
cloth  for  the  protection  of  the  head,  and  this  they 
hold  to  be  a  great  ornament."  To  the  men  and 
women  of  Spain  this  garment  is  as  the  shell  to  the 
turtle;  within  it,  though  on  a  crowded  thoroughfare, 
they  may  at  any  moment  retire  from  the  world,  and 


THE  MANTILLA  AND  CAPA.  €  41 

ensconce  themselves  within  themselves.  The  cavalier 
with  a  peculiar  fling,  utterly  unattainable  by  a  for 
eigner,  throws  the  skirt  over  the  breast  and  shoulder 

O  ' 

so  as  to  partially  or  completely  hide  the  face  accord 
ing  to  his  pleasure.  On  the  way  to  and  from  church 
the  lady's  face  is  covered;  and  the  gallant  sighing 
for  a  glimpse  of  features  divinely  fair,  is  obliged  to 
enter  the  sanctuary,  hide  behind  a  column  near '  the 
altar;  then  as  one  female  after  another  approaches, 
kneels,  and  unveils,  he  may  feast  his  eyes  on  the  faces 
before  him.  The  mantilla  serves  as  a  bonnet,  veil, 
and  shawl;  formerly  it  wras  but  an  oblong  piece  of 
cloth,  with  velvet  or  lace  border;  later  a  lace  veil  was 
added  as  part  of  it;  and  now  the  Spanish  female 
face  is  becoming  more  and  more  visible  in  public. 

The  capa  is  indispensable  to  the  Spaniard;  it  fits 
his  nature  like  a  glove,  and  is  almost  a  part  of  him. 
It  may  be  worn  over  a  rich  dress,  or  it  may  conceal 
rags  or  nakedness;  it  may  cover  a  noble,  generous 
heart,  or  a  multitude  of  sins.  Hidden  beneath  it,  in 
secret  the  wearer  may  work  out  his  purpose,  though 
in  the  market-place.  It  keeps  out  the  cold;  it  may 
hide  the  assassin's  dagger;  it  serves  as  a  disguise  in 
love  intrigues,  and  is  a  grateful  protection  from  im 
portunate  creditors.  Twisted  round  the  left  arm,  it 
is  a  shield;  at  night,  it  is  a  bed;  and  with  a  sword, 
capa  y  espada,  it  not  unfrequently  constitutes  the  en 
tire  earthly  possessions  of  the  haughty,  poverty- 
stricken  cavalier.  Whatever  be  the  character  or  con 
dition  of  the  wearer,  dignity  is  lent  him  by  its  ample 
folds,  and  comeliness  by  its  graceful  drapery.  It  is 
an  unpardonable  breach  of  decorum  for  a  muffled 
cavalier  to  address  a  person,  or  for  any  one  to  speak 
to  him  while  so  muffled.  Politeness  teaches  him  to 
throw  open  to  his  friend  both  his  garment  and  his 
heart,  that  it  may  be  plain  that  no  concealed  weapon 
is  in  the  one,  or  malice  in  the  other.  A  son  dare 
not  speak  to  his  own  father  when  his  face  is  covered 
by  his  cloak. 


42  .  INTRODUCTION. 

The  peasantry  flaunted  the  gayest  and  most  pic 
turesque  attire  on  holiday  occasions;  the  majo,  a 
rustic  beau,  wore  a  figured  velvet  waistcoat  with 
square  velvet  buttons,  and  brilliant  with  colored  rib 
bons;  embroidered  stockings,  silver-buckled  shoes, 
and  a  colored  capa  thrown  gracefully  over  the  left 
shoulder.  The  dress  of  Figaro  in  the  play,  is  that  of 
an  Andalusian  dandy.  The  costume  of  Valencia  is 
more  Asiatic,  or  Asiatic-antique  it  might  be  called, 
partaking  somewhat,  as  it  does,  of  the  ancient  Greek 
costume  — wide  linen  drawers,  linen  shirt,  hempen 
sandals,  footless  stockings,  wide  red  woollen  belt,  gay 
velvet  jacket  with  silken  sash,  with  a  colored  capa 
over  all.  The  long  hair  is  bound  by  a  silken  band 
in  the  form  of  a  turban.  The  female  peasant  dress  is 
no  less  showy;  a  red  velvet  bodice,  with  scarlet  or 
purple  petticoat,  all  profusely  embroidered,  a  gay- 
colored  square-cut  mantilla  fastened  by  a  silver 
brooch,  with  chains  and  jewels  and  colored  stones 
according  to  the  purse  of  the  wearer. 

The  ordinary  peasant  dress  of  Estremadura  con 
sists  of  wide  cloth  knee-breeches,  closely  resembling 
those  of  the  Moors,  a  gabardine  of  cloth  or  leather, 
and  cloth  leggings.  The  men  wear  the  hair  long. 
The  women  have  a  fashion  of  putting  on  a  great 
number  of  petticoats;  the  rustic  belles  of  Zamar- 
ramala,  a  village  of  Estremadura,  manage  to  carry 
from  fourteen  to  seventeen.  In  Andalusia  the  men 
have  short  jackets  ornamented  with  jet  or  steel  beads, 
knee-breeches,  and  highly  ornamented  leathern  leg 
gings;  the  women  wear  short  embroidered  and 
flounced  petticoats,  and  a  Moorish  sleeveless  jacket 
embroidered  with  gold  or  silver  and  laced  in  front. 
Asturian  peasants  have  wooden  shoes  with  three 
large  nails  in  the  soles,  which  keep  them  from  the 
ground;  leathern  shoes  they  frequently  carry  in  their 
travels,  and  to  and  from  church,  under  their  arms,  or 
on  their  heads,  putting  them  on  just  before  entering 
the  village  or  church.  The  women  wear  ear-rings 


VARIOUS  COSTUMES.  43 

and  necklaces  of  glass  imitation  of  coral;  a  handker 
chief,  folded  triangularly,  covers  the  head;  at  funerals, 
a  large  black  mantle  is  worn.  The  Castilians  wear 
sandals,  called  abarcas,  tied  to  the  ankle  by  narrow 
strips  of  rawhide.  The  Estremadurans  wear  a  hat, 
very  broad-brimmed;  the  Catalonians,  a  red  Phry 
gian  cap;  the  Valencians,  a  kind  of  Greek  cap;  the 
Asturians,  a  three-cornered  black  or  dark  blue  cap 
with  velvet  facings;  the  Biscayans,  a  flat  red  woollen 
cap;  the  Andalusians,  a  turban-like  hat,  or  a  silk 
handkerchief.  In  Aragon,  as  well  as  in  some  of  the 
southern  provinces,  the  broad-brimmed  slouching  som 
brero  obtains.  Hats  were  invented  by  a  Swiss,  Pan- 
sian,  in  1404,  and  a  Spaniard  first  manufactured  them 
in  London  in  1510.  Jews  in  Spain  were  obliged  to 
wear  yellow  hats;  in  Germany  bankrupts,  in  like 
manner,  were  required  to  wear  hats  of  green  and 
yellow. 

The  general  costume  of  a  Spanish  nobleman  con 
sisted  of  a  silk  gabardine,  with  sleeves  close-fitting  at 
the  wrist  but  puffed  and  slashed  between  the  elbow 
and  shoulder  so  as  to  show  the  fine  linen  shirt  be 
neath;  chamois-skin  doublet,  thick  but  flexible;  silk 
hose,  and  silk  trowsers  slashed;  long  bell-shaped 
boots  with  golden  spur-supporters;  broad,  polished 
leathern  belt,  from  which  hung  a  long  sword  on  the 
left  side,  and  a  long  dagger  in  a  leathern  or  velvet 
scabbard  on  the  right;  a  round,  soft,  broad-brimmed 
beaver  hat,  with  an  ostrich-feather  fastened  by  a  dia 
mond  brooch  on  the  side  or  in  front;  a  cape  or  cloak 
embroidered  or  laced  with  gold  or  silver  thread,  fast 
ened  with  cord  and  tassel,  and  worn  hanging  from 
the  left  shoulder,  or  thrown  around  the  body  so  as  to 
cover  part  of  the  face.  Within  doors,  the  cloak  was 
laid  aside;  a  velvet  doublet  was  substituted  for  the 
leathern  one;  and  instead  of  boots,  shoes  of  leather 
or  velvet,  slashed  over  the  toes,  were  worn.  The 
dress  of  the  lady  was  a  heavy,  flowing  brocade  or 
velvet  skirt,  open  in  front,  displaying  an  underdress 


44  INTRODUCTION. 

of  light  silk  or  satin;  a  chemisette  with  slashed 
sleeves ;  a  stomacher  with  long  ends  hanging  in  front, 
and  a  velvet  sleeveless  jacket  laced  with  gold  or  silver 
cord.  The  breast  was  covered  with  lace,  and  the 
neck  and  shoulders  were  bare,  except  when  covered 
by  the  toca,  a  kind  of  head-dress,  out  of  which  by 
elongation  grew  the  characteristic  mantilla.  Her 
shoes  were  of  velvet,  her  stockings  of  silk  or  wool; 
from  the  waist  on  the  right  side  hung  a  reticule,  a 
silver  or  gold  whistle  for  calling  servants,  and  a 
poniard.  Her  duena,  wore  a  black  skirt,  and  a  large 
black  mantle  completely  covering  the  head,  face, 
and  shoulders  down  to  the  waist.  Swords  formed 
no  part  of  domestic  dress  prior  to  the  fifteenth 
century. 

Black  was  the  color  of  the  church,  certain  clerical 
orders  excepted.  Those  of  the  learned  professions 
wore  black.  The  ladies  usually  attended  church 
in  black,  and  indeed  were  sometimes  seen  in  sombre 
hues  upon  the  alameda.  Black  robes  and  a  canoe- 
shaped  hat  covered  the  Basque  priest;  and  the  friar, 
sackcloth  and  gray,  bound  round  the  waist  with  a 
twisted  cord.  Alguaciles,  or  constables,  followed  the 
ancient  cavalier  costume — broad-brimmed  hat,  black 
cloak,  short  knee-breeches,  black  stockings,  silver- 
buckled  shoes,  Vandyke  ruffles,  and  white  lace  collar. 
This  in  the  Basque  provinces  only.  Friars  ap 
peared  in  a  hooded  robe,  extending  to  the  ankles, 
over  woollen  breeches  and  jacket.  A  cord  was  tied 
round  the  waist  from  which  hung  a  rosary.  Hempen 
or  leathern  shoes  were  worn,  and  by  some  orders 
broad  hats.  The  robe  of  the  friar  was  of  coarse  wool ; 
that  of  the  clergyman  serge,  with  a  cloak,  low  leathern 
shoes  with  buckle,  black  stockings,  knee-breeches,  a 
white  collar,  and  a  black  hat  with  broad  brim  turned 
up  at  the  sides.  The  robes  of  vicars,  parish  curates, 
and  other  church  dignitaries  were  of  silk.  The  Fran 
ciscan's  robe  was  of  a  yellowish  gray  color,  the 
Dominican's  white,  the  Carmelite's  reddish  gray,  the 


EXCESSIVE  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING.  45 

Capuchin's    silver    gray,    the    Jesuit's    black.     The 
bishop's  color  was  violet,  the  cardinal's  red  or  purple. 

Domestic  routine  in  Spain,  with  allowances  for 
class,  season,  and  locality,  was  substantially  as  follows. 
The  noble  or  wealthy  master  of  a  household  was 
served  before  rising  with  chocolate,  which  service  was 
called  the  desayuno.  He  then  rose  and  dressed; 
after  which,  kneeling  before  the  crucifix,  he  said  a 
prayer;  then  he  proceeded  to  the  avocations  of  the 
day,  taking  las  once,  or  the  eleven  o'clock  luncheon 
of  cake  and  wine,  either  at  home  or  at  the  house  of  a 
friend,  or  wherever  he  happened  to  be.  After  a 
twelve  or  one  o'clock  dinner  came  the  siesta.  At 
five  o'clock  there  was  to  be  eaten  the  merienda,  con 
sisting  of  chocolate,  preserved  fruit,  and  ices ;  and  be 
tween  nine  and  eleven,  supper.  In  the  private  chapel 
of  the  grandees  mass  was  said.  The  middle  class 
usually  attended  church  about  sunrise;  after  which 
breakfast,  and  at  noon  dinner. 

The  religious  training  of  children  was  excessive. 
At  daybreak  the  angelus  was  prayed,  then  to  chapel 
or  church  to  mass,  after  which  the  child  might  break 
fast;  at  noon  angelus  and  dinner;  after  the  siesta 
vespers  at  church,  and  rosary  at  home;  at  six  o'clock 
angelus  and  chocolate;  prayers  at  eight;  supper  at 
nine;  after  which  more  prayers  and  to  bed.  The 
child  was  compelled  to  attend  all  these  devotions,  the 
night  prayer  perhaps  excepted,  the  youngest  children 
being  sent  to  bed  after  the  rosary.  And  this  not 
alone  Sunday,  but  every  day. 

A  national  dish,  centuries  old,  common  to  Spain 
and  all  Spanish  countries,  called  the  olla  podrida, 
constitutes  a  staple  food  with  almost  all  classes. 
It  is  made  of  meat  and  vegetables  boiled  together, 
but  usually  served  in  two  dishes,  and  its  constituents 
depend  upon  the  resources  of  the  cook,  for  every 
thing  eatable  is  put  into  it  that  can  be  obtained. 
Beef,  mutton,  pork,  and  fowl;  beans,  peas,  potatoes, 


46  INTRODUCTION. 

onions,  cabbage,  and  garlic;  the  water  in  which  the 
mess  is  boiled  is  served  as  soup  with  rice  or  bread, 
and  the  two  courses  constitute  the  whole  of  every 
meal  of  the  lower  classes.  On  the  tables  of  the 
wealthy,  after  the  olla  podrida,  fish,  roast  meats,  and 
a  profuse  dessert  of  sweetmeats,  jellies,  preserves, 
and  bonbons  are  served.  The  Andalusians  make  a 
salad  of  cucumbers,  tomatoes,  lettuce,  green-peppers, 
chiccory,  with  oil,  vinegar,  salt,  pepper,  and  stale 
bread,  which  with  them  is  a  staple  dish,  called  gaz- 
pacho. 

It  was  a  gluttonous,  sensual  age,  that  of  the 
century  preceding  our  epoch;  but  from  these  vices 
Spain  was  probably  more  free  than  any  other  civilized 
nation  of  Europe.  There  the  discipline  of  war  ab 
sorbed  the  attention  which  elsewhere  was  given  to 
luxurious  living.  We  find  nothing  in  Spain  such  as 
we  are  told  about  in  England,  where  the  households 
of  the  great  were  composed  of  brawling  retainers, 
ill-mannered  clowns,  and  riotous  serving  men  and 
women  who  terminated  many  a  feast  with  bloodshed ; 
where  guests  snatched  and  scrambled  for  food,  gorg 
ing  themselves  with  whatever  they  could  lay  hands 
on;  where  drunken  broils  were  of  daily  occurrence, 
and  the  master  of  the  household  was  not  unfrequently 
obliged  to  sheath  his  sword  in  the  body  of  some  con 
tumacious  servant  grown  dangerous  by  the  unbridled 
license  in  which  he  had  been  indulged. 

What  shall  we  say  of  the  monks  now  fattened  on 
the  spoils  of  their  piety  ?  The  inmates  of  the  monas 
teries  were  taking  a  respite  after  their  centuries  of 
excessive  discipline.  Not  only  were  their  cupboards 
loaded  with  rich  viands  in  which  they  daily  indulged, 
but  every  feast-day  was  a  feast  in  good  earnest,  and 
every  important  event  was  celebrated  by  gluttony 
and  drunkenness.  A  cardinal's  table  in  the  time  of 
Adrian  VI.,  1522,  beside  being  loaded  with  every 
delicacy  the  world  could  contribute,  was  surrounded 
by  musicians  of  every  kind  that  could  be  found  in 


FOOD  AND  FILTHINESS.  47 

Rome.  There  were  men  singers  and  women  singers, 
accompanied  with  flute,  harpsichord,  lute,  and  violin, 
sounding  harmonious  music.  There  were  court  jest 
ers,  half  wit,  half  fool,  in  the  opulent  households  of 
'Spain;  but  that  coarse  buffoonery  which  obtained  in 
England  and  licensed  the  fool  to  utter  the  most  in 
decent  jests — and  the  more  indecent  the  louder  the 
applause — was  not  tolerated  in  Spain. 

Two  persons  often  ate  from  one  plate,  using  their 
fingers  for  forks.  A  sheath-knife,  or  dagger,  which 
they  carried  upon  the  person,  served  to  cut  the  food. 
Among  the  first  books  printed  in  Venice  was  a  folio 
volume  on  cookery,  issued  in  1475.  In  the  English 
metrical  Stans  Puer  ad  Mensam,  following  Wright, 
the  guest  is  told  to  "  bring  no  knyves  unskoured 
to  the  table ; "  in  other  words,  his  sheath  knife 
should  be  clean,  and  he  is  also  informed  that  polite 
persons  will  not  pick  their  teeth  with  it  while  at 
table.  It  was  considered  a  breach  of  good  manners 
to  blow  the  nose  with  the  same  fingers  used  in  con 
veying  food  to  the  mouth.  Hats  were  worn  by  the 
men,  and  head-dresses  by  the  women,  on  all  domestic 
occasions.  In  France,  the  metrical  Contenances  de 
Table,  or  manual  of  table  manners,  shows  but  little 
more  refinement  there  than  elsewhere.  Among  other 
directions  the  reader  is  told  first  to  examine  his  seat 
whether  it  be  clean: 

"Enfant,  prens  de  regarder  peine 
Sur  le  siege  ou  tu  te  fierras, 
Se  aucune  chose  y  verras 
Qui  soit  deshonneste  ou  vilaine." 

He   is   forbidden   to   spit  upon   the   table  while  at 
dinner : 

"Ne  craiohe  par  dessus  la  table 
Car  c'est  chose  desconvenable." 

Or  to  spurt  water  from  his  mouth  into  the  basin  used 
in  common  by  the  company : 

"  Quant  tu  bouche  tu  laveras 
Ou  bacin  point  ne  cracheras. " 


48  INTRODUCTION. 

Or  leave  sops  in  his  wine  glass: 

"  Se  tu  fais  souppes  en  ton  verre 
Boy  le  vin  ou  le  gette  a  terre." 

But  by  implication  he  may  spurt  and  throw  remnants 
on  the  floor,  as  much  as  he  pleases. 

Even  in  their  use  of  tobacco,  of  which  they  are  ex 
cessively  fond,  the  Spaniards  are  temperate.  Though 
they  smoke  it  almost  constantly,  it  is  in  such  small 
quantities,  and  in  so  mild  a  form,  that  tobacco  does 
them  less  injury  than  it  inflicts  on  many  other  na 
tions.  It  was  the  custom  to  carry  a  daily  supply 
wrapped  in  a  lettuce  or  cabbage  leaf  to  preserve  it 
moist.  The  cigarette  was  prepared  for  smoking  by 
taking  a  small  quantity  of  tobacco,  finely  cut,  rolling 
it  in  a  piece  of  corn-husk  or  paper,  and  lighting  with 
flint,  steel,  and  punk.  Though  the  tobacco  may  be 
strong,  prepared  in  this  way  the  effect  is  less  injuri 
ous  than  when  rolled  in  larger  quantities  into  a  cigar, 
or  cut  from  a  plug  and  smoked  from  a  pipe  or 
chewed. 

Noble  youths  of  both  sexes  were  accustomed,  to 
serve  a  sort  of  apprenticeship  for  a  number  of  years 
in  the  king's  household.  In  like  manner  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  gentlemen  served  in  the  houses  of 
the  nobility,  and  common  people  in  the  houses  of 

fentlenien,   that   each   might    be   benefited   by   the 
nowledge  and  refinement  of  his  superior. 

Spaniards,  as  I  have  said,  are  called  inhospitable; 
but  this  charge  must  be  taken  with  allowance. 
Every  phase  of  human  nature  has  its  generous 
quality;  locked  in  every  heart  is  a  wealth  of  kindli 
ness  which  opens  to  him  who  holds  the  key.  By 
nature  these  people  are  reserved,  suspicious.  They 
carry  no  window  in  their  breast.  In  their  domestic 
affairs  they  are  specially  reticent  before  strangers. 
Their  wives  and  daughters  they  hide  away;  their 
troubles  they  cover  within  the  ashes  that  preserve 
them ;  their  sensibilities  shrink  from  cold  contact  with 
the  world.  If  some  find  certain  Spaniards  at  given 


AMUSEMENTS.  49 

periods  inhospitable,  others  at  other  times  and  places 
find  them  very  generous.  In  early  times  inns  were 
not  common  in  Spain,  and  we  are  told  that  in  certain 
places  every  private  house  had  its  guest's  quarters 
consisting  of  one  or  more  rooms  according  to  the 
opulence  of  the  owner.  To  this  apartment  every 
stranger  of  whatsoever  degree  was  welcome.  There 
he  lived  as  long  as  he  pleased,  fed  and  cared  for  by 
the  host;  and — you  may  call  it  pride — if  through 
poverty  provisions  grew  scarce,  the  family  would 
undergo  the  greatest  privation  rather  than  the  guest 
should  suffer  want,  or  be  forced  to  hasten  his  de 
parture.  Furthermore  all  was  free;  to  offer  pay  for 
entertainment  was  deemed  an  insult,  though  a  present 
might  be  given  and  accepted. 

While  called  a  melancholy  people,  amusement 
appeared  at  times  to  be  the  life  of  the  nation. 
Royalty  and  religion  at  rest,  peace  here  and  hereafter 
secured,  there  was  nothing  more  of  life  than  to  enjoy 
it.  To  labor  when  one  might  repose;  to  sigh  when 
one  might  sing ;  to  undergo  the  pains  of  culture  when 
sweet  pleasure  temptingly  proposed  a  holiday — ah 
no!  Fools  attempt  to  better  their  condition  and 
make  it  worse.  Let  those  who  need  improving  scour 
themselves;  we  know  enough. 

So  lazily  lapped  in  stupidity,  beside  their  feast-days 
and  bull-fights,  their  passions  and  passion-plays,  they 
lolled  upon  the  greensward  and  danced  to  tambourine 
and  castanets,  and  wrestled,  and  ran  races;  they 
fenced,  fought,  played  cards,  shook  dice,  and  enliv 
ened  home  monotony  by  all  sorts  of  games  and  gym 
nastic  exercises.  Dancing  was  carried  to  such  excess 
as  to  lead  to  dissoluteness  and  occasional  death,  even 
as  it  does  to-day.  The  dances  of  the  peasantry  in 
many  instances  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  those 
of  the  native  races  of  America.  In  Asturias,  men, 
and  sometimes  men  and  women,  form  a  circle  joining 
hands  by  the  little  finger.  A  leader  sings  in  plaintive 

Hisr.  CKN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    1 


50  INTRODUCTION. 

monotone  a  description  of  some  Spanish  feat  of  arms 
prior  to  the  eleventh  century,  or  of  a  tournament  of 
later  days,  or  of  some  unhappy  love  adventure,  or  of 
a  thrilling  incident  in  the  conquest  of  America.  At 
the  end  of  every  strophe,  all  sing  in  chorus  the  refrain 
which  sometimes  terminates  in  an  invocation,  as  for 
example,  May  Saint  Peter  be  with  me!  May  the 
Magdalen  protect  us !  The  dance  is  a  long  step  for 
ward,  and  two  short  steps  backward  and  laterally  to 
the  right,  so  that  the  circle  keeps  constantly  moving 
in  that  direction,  meanwhile  keeping  time  to  the 
music  with  arms  as  well  as  feet.  These  dances 
take  place  on  Sunday  afternoons,  and  on  feast-days, 
and  when  the  priest  is  present  men  and  women  are 
separated  in  the  dance.  The  fandango,  danced  by 
two  persons  with  castanets  to  the  music  of  the  guitar, 
is  peculiar  to  the  south  of  Spain. 

Between  the  eras  proper  of  tournaments  and  bull 
fights,  a  species  of  tilting  called  correr  la  sortija  was 
greatly  in  vogue.  A  gold  finger-ring  was  suspended 
by  a  thread  from  the  top  of  a  pole,  and  at  it  charged 
the  cavalier  with  lance  in  rest  and  horse  at  full  speed. 
The  smallness  of  the  object,  its  constant  motion,  and 
its  proximity  to  the  pole  rendered  it  an  exceedingly 
difficult  feat  to  accomplish. 

Cards  and  dice  were  at  this  time  in  the  height  of 
their  fascination.  Every  class,  age,  profession,  and 
sex  were  filled  with  a  passion  for  gambling — a  most 
levelling  vice,  at  tin's  juncture,  bringing  in  contact 
noble  and  commoner,  bishop  and  baron,  women, 
priests,  and  trades-people.  An  English  poet  about 
the  year  1500  thus  laments  the  degeneracy  of  the 
nobles : 

"  Before  thys  tyme  they  lovycl  for  to  juste, 

And  in  shotynge  chef  el  y  they  sett  thcr  mynde; 
And  ther  landys  and  possessyons  now  sett  they  moste, 
And  at  cardes  and  dyce  ye  may  them  ffynde." 

From  her  low  estate  of  mediaeval  drudge  or  play 
thing,  woman  was  lifted  by  the  exaltation  of  the 


FEMALE  CHASTITY. 


Virgin, — lifted  too  high  by  chivalry;  then  fell  too 
low  with  the  sensual  reaction.  Finally,  after  many 
waverings,  she  rises  again,  and  in  the  more  favored 
spheres  takes  her  rightful  place  beside  her  lord, 
his  confidant  and  equal.  At  the  time  of  which  I 
write,  however,  she  was  less  respected  than  now,  and 
hence  less  respectable;  less  trusted,  and  consequently 
less  trustworthy.  Her  virtue,  fortified  by  bolts  and 
bars  at  home,  was  watched  by  servants  abroad. 
Falling  into  the  customs  of  the  invaders  during 
Moslem  domination,  Castilian  ladies  became  more 
and  more  retired,  until  the  dwelling  was  little  better 
than  a  nunnery.  The  days  of  tournaments,  and 
jousts,  and  troubadours  were  over,  and  indifference 
succeeded  chivalric  sentimentality. 

Seldom  has  Spanish  society  been  conspicuous  for  its 
high  moral  tone.  Female  chastity  was  an  abstract 
quality,  the  property  of  the  father  or  husband,  rather 
than  an  inherent  virtue  for  the  safe-keeping  of  which 
the  female  possessor  was  responsible.  The  master  of 
a  household  exercised  sovereign  authority  therein, 
claiming  even  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  the 
members  of  his  family.  He  was  addressed  in  the 
third  person  as  '  your  worship;'  sons  dare  not  cover 
their  head,  cross  their  legs,  or  even  sit  in  his  presence 
unless  so  directed;  daughters  were  betrothed  without 
their  knowledge,  and  to  men  whom  they  had  never 
seen;  the  selection  of  a  husband  rested  entirely  with 
the  father,  and  the  daughter  had  only  to  acquiesce. 
Female  decorum  and  purity  were  placed  under 
espionage.  A  duena  kept  guard  over  the  wife  and 
daughter  at  home,  and  closely  followed  at  their  heels 
whenever  they  stepped  into  the  street.  Ladies, 
closely  veiled,  marched  solemnly  to  church,  preceded 
by  a  rodrigon,  or  squire,  with  cushion  and  prayer- 
book,  and  followed  by  a  duena.  At  service,  her  place 
was  in  front,  and  men  took  up  their  station  behind 
her.  Teach  woman  first  that  she  is  inferior,  next 
that  she  is  impotent;  add  to  this  intellectual  inanity 


52  INTRODUCTION. 

and  implied  moral  unaccountability,  and  you  have  a 
creature  ripe  for  wickedness. 

This  excess  of  caution  defeated  its  own  purpose. 
Women,  left  much  alone  within  their  cloister-like 
homes,  waited  not  in  vain  for  opportunity.  The  gay 
mistress  could  often  too  easily  win  over  her  attendant, 
and  make  of  her  duena  a  go-between;  yet  if  we  may 
believe  the  record,  infidelity  was  rare,  and  for  two 
reasons.  First,  woman  in  her  seclusion  escaped  many 
temptations;  and  secondly,  a  wholesome  fear,  the  cer 
tainty  that  vengeance,  swift  and  sure,  would  follow 
the  offence,  resulting  in  the  death  of  one  or  both  of 
fenders,  placed  a  curb  on  passion.  Females  of  the 
lower  classes,  left  alone  to  take  care  of  their  virtue  as 
best  they  might,  with  faces  open  and  actions  free, 
were  less  given  to  transgression  than  their  wealthier 
sisters. 

Lewd  women  could  not  testify  in  criminal  cases. 
Respectable  women  were  permitted  to  testify,  but 
the  judge  was  obliged  to  wait  on  them  at  their 
homes,  as  they  were  not  allowed  to  attend  court. 
Learning  to  write  was  discouraged  in  females,  as  they 
could  then  have  it  in  their  power  to  scribble  love- 
letters  to  their  gallants.  Queen  Isabella  did  much 
to  elevate  and  purify  both  religion  and  morals.  The 
court  of  Enrique  IV.,  her  predecessor,  has  been  de 
scribed  as  but  little  better  than  a  brothel,  where  "the 
queen,  a  daughter  of  Portugal,  lived  openly  with  her 
parasites  and  gallants,  as  the  king  did  with  his  min 
ions  and  mistresses."  Maids  of  honor  were  trained 
courtesans,  and  the  noblemen  of  the  court  occupied 
their  time  in  illicit  amours  and  love  intrigues.  All 
who  could  afford  it,  priests  as  well  as  people,  kept  a 
mistress. 

Ware  states  that  within  a  century  the  widows  of 
Madrid  were  "  compelled  to  pass  the  whole  first  year 
of  their  mourning  in  a  chamber  entirely  hung  with 
black,  where  not  a  single  ray  of  the  sun  could  pene 
trate,  seated  on  a  little  mattress  with  their  legs 


EUROPEAN  SOCIETY  IN  GENERAL.  53 

always  crossed.  When  this  year  was  over,  they  re 
tired  to  pass  the  second  year  in  a  chamber  hung  with 
grey."  This  savagism  is  paralleled  by  the  Thlinkeets 
of  Alaska,  who  at  certain  times  confine  women  in  a 
little  kennel  for  six  months,  giving  them  one  a  size 
larger  for  the  second  six  months;  likewise  by  the 
Tacullies  of  New  Caledonia,  who  make  the  widow 
carry  the  deceased  husband's  ashes  upon  her  back  in 
a  bag  for  one  or  two  years. 

A  glance  at  English  and  French  society  shows  us, 
however,  that  the  character  of  the  Spanish  women  of 
this  epoch  compared  favorably  with  that  of  their 
northern  sisters.  Though  perhaps  no  chaster  than 
the  French,  they  were  not  street-brawlers  like  the 
English  women.  These  latter,  we  are  told,  from 
whom  the  men  would  separate  themselves  in  their 
debauches,  would  likewise  assemble  at  the  public 
house,  drink  their  ale,  talk  loudly  and  lewdly,  and 
gossip,  swear,  and  fight.  In  a  religious  play  of  the 
period,  representing  the  deluge,  Noah,  when  ready  to 
enter  the  ark.  seeks  his  wife,  and  finds  her  carousing 

<^ 

with  her  gossips  at  the  public  drink-house. 

"  Young  ladies,  even  of  great  families,"  says 
Wright,  "  were  brought  up  riot  only  strictly  but  even 
tj^rannically  by  their  mothers,  who  kept  them  con 
stantly  at  work,  exacted  from  them  almost  slavish 
deference  and  respect,  and  even  counted  upon  their 
earnings."  A  mother  in  those  days  was  accounted  a 
little  severe  who  beat  her  daughter  "  once  in  the 
week,  or  twice,  and  sometimes  twice  a  day,"  and 
"  broke  her  head  in  two  or  three  places,"  or  still  worse, 
permitted  her  to  "  speak  with  no  man,  whosoever 


come." 


Witness  the  wooing  of  Matilda  of  Flanders  by 
William  the  Conqueror.  Having  had  the  audacity 
to  refuse  him,  the  noble  suitor  entered  her  home, 
seized  her  long  tresses,  dragged  her  about  the  floor, 
struck  her;  then  flinging  her  from  him,  he  spurned 
her  with  his  foot.  Matilda  at  once  accepted  him, 


54  INTRODUCTION. 

saying:    "He  must  be  a  man  of  courage  who  dare 
beat  me  in  my  father's  palace." 

In  M.  de  Montaiglon's  Doctrinal  des  Filles,  a 
metrical  hand-book  of  etiquette  published  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century,  young  women 
are  cautioned  against  holding  any  intercourse  with 
the  clergy  except  at  confessional,  and  especially  never 
to  allow  themselves  to  be  in  a  room  alone  with  a 
priest.  "This  affirmation,"  says  Wright,  "written 
and  published  in  a  bigoted  Roman  Catholic  country, 
by  a  man  who  was  evidently  a  staunch  Romanist, 
and  addressed  to  young  women  as  their  rule  of  be 
havior,  presents  perhaps  one  of  the  strongest  evi 
dences  we  could  have  of  the  evil  influences  exercised 
by  the  Romish  clergy  on  social  morals;  a  fact,  how 
ever,  of  which  there  are  innumerable  other  proofs." 
In  the  National  Library  of  Paris  is  a  manuscript 
bible  of  the  fifteenth  century,  containing  a  picture 
of  a  monastic  feast,  in  which  ecclesiastics  and  women 
are  brought  together  in  such  intimate  abandon  as 
speaks  ill  for  the  continency  of  the  monks.  Among 
Les  souliaits  des  homines  in  M.  de  Montaiglon's 
Reeueil  de  poesies  Francoises  des  XVe  et  X  VP  Siecles, 
after  kings,  dukes,  counts,  knights,  judges,  and  ad 
vocates  are  represented,  each  as  having  expressed  a 
wish  for  something  characteristic  of  their  office,  the 
clergy  are  made  to  express  a  longing  for  "good  cheer 
and  handsome  women."  Spain  was  "probably  the 
only  country  in  Christendom,"  says  Prescott,  "where 
concubinage  was  ever  sanctioned  by  law."  This  in 
stitution  was  in  fact  fully  recognized  by  the  old  fueros 
of  Castile;  and  the  bastard  issue  of  the  clergy  in 
herited  regularly,  if  no  other  disposition  of  property 
had  been  made.  Again,  following  Lafuente,  Pedro  el 
Cruel,  by  a  law  of  1351,  fixed  the  dress  in  which  the 
priests'  mistresses  were  to  appear  in  public.  This 
Pedro,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  Castile,  of 
Toledo,  of  Leon,  of  Galicia,  of  Seville,  of  Cordova, 
of  Murcia,  of  Jaen,  of  Algarve,  of  Algeciras,  and 


SUMPTUARY  LAWS.  55 

lord  of  Molina,  set  himself  diligently  at  work  to 
make  his  people  better;  to  do  good  in  the  only  way 
then  known,  not  by  precept  and  example,  but  by 
edict.  He  held  good,  and  commanded,  under  heavy 
penalties,  that  no  one  of  the  laboring  classes,  man  or 
woman,  who  was  able  to  work,  should  be  found  beg 
ging.  He  fixed  the  day's  wage  of  every  class  with 
the  most  punctilious  exactitude.  Shoemakers,  tailors, 
armorers,  and  others  who  worked  by  the  job,  had  a 
definite  price  attached  to  the  making  of  every  article. 
A  shoe  of  such  and  such  leather,  made  after  such  a 
fashion,  with  a  double  or  single  sole ;  a  cloak,  lined  or 
unlined;  a  weapon  of  an  ordinary,  or  of  a  superior 
temper  and  finish — each  in  fabrication  was  to  cost 
just  so  much  and  no  more.  It  was  an  age  of  govern 
mental  and  priestly  interference  in  the  affairs  of  men. 
It  was  in  these  trade  regulations,  and  in  sumptuary 
laws,  the  superstition  of  political  economy  and  social 
statics,  that  the  science  of  ignorance  culminated.  It 
was  then  that  learned  men  threw  dust  into  the  air, 
cast  a  cloud  about  their  own  intellect,  and  labored 
hard  to  inculcate  the  principles  of  nescience  into  the 
minds  of  men.  In  England  the  number  of  servants 
a  nobleman  might  have  was  fixed  by  law,  as  was  also 
costume,  and  the  number  of  courses  at  dinner.  Soup 
and  two  dishes  legally  constituted  a  Frenchman's 
dinner  in  1340. 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  were,  perhaps,  the  most 
parentally  inclined  of  all.  No  affair,  religious,  moral, 
political,  judicial,  economical,  literary,  industrial, 
mechanical,  or  mercantile  could  escape  their  atten 
tion.  From  the  regulation  and  organization  of  the 
high  councils,  and  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
tribunals,  to  the  ordinances  for  the  leather-dressers 
and  cloth-shearers;  from  the  decrees  concerning  the 
universities  and  the  literary  and  scientific  bodies, 
to  the  orders  that  prescribed  the  weight  of  horse 
shoes;  from  the  general  laws  on  commerce  and 
navigation,  to  those  which  fixed  the  expenditure 


56  INTRODUCTION. 

at  weddings  and  baptisms,  and  the  amount  of  wax  to 
be  burned  at  funerals;  from  the  highest  interests  and 
rights  of  religion  and  of  the  throne,  down  to  the  most 
humble  and  mechanical  industries — all  were  consid 
ered,  legislated  upon,  and  seen  to  by  their  Catholic 
Majesties,  with  infinite  pains  and  vigilance.  In  1510, 
thinking  the  colonists  of  Espaiiola  too  fond  of  osten 
tation  and  extravagance,  Ferdinand  issued  a  procla 
mation,  forbidding  them  to  wear  rich  silks,  brocades, 
or  gold  or  silver  lace.  Owners  of  vessels,  in  times  of 
peace,  were  forced  to  engage  at  fixed  prices  in  peril 
ous  voyages  of  discovery  or  commerce. 

In  England  it  appears  that  the  dress  of  the 
men  commanded  the  special  attention  of  their  rulers. 
Spaniards  made  men  and  women  alike  to  feel  the  iron 
heel  of  sumptuary  legislation;  while  the  English,  in 
laws  of  nearly  coincident  date,  for  the  most  part 
omitted  the  sex.  By  distinctive  qualities,  Edward 
IV.,  1461-1483,  regulated  the  dress  of  his  people — 
from  the  royal  cloth-of-gold  down  to  the  two-shillings- 
a-yard,  and  under,  cloth  of  the  laboring  classes;  but, 
if  we  may  believe  Sanford,  he  took  care  to  exempt  his 
women  subjects  from  the  provisions  of  this  act,  save 
only  the  wives  of  the  two- shillings -a-yard  boor, 
who  might  be  expected  to  have  other  things  to 
attend  to. 

The  continental  ladies,  it  appears,  could  flaunt  it 
bravely  upon  occasion,  at  least  in  France  and  Flan 
ders.  For  through  these  countries  crusaded,  in  1428, 
Thomas  Conecte,  a  Carmelite  friar,  preaching  against 
the  evils  of  the  age,  or  what  he  considered  as  such. 
Among  these,  dress  held  a  place,  and  many  other 
things  not  generally  condemned  at  present.  His 
manner  of  going  to  work  was  peculiar,  and  is  pretty 
well  described  by  Monstrelet. 

In  his  audiences  he  always  separated  the  men  from 
the  w*omen  by  a  cord,  "  for  he  had  observed  some  sly 
doings  between  them  while  he  was  preaching."  Hav 
ing  taken  these  wise  precautions,  he  was  accustomed 


COMPARISONS.  57 

earnestly  to  admonish  his  hearers  "  on  the  damnation 
of  their  souls  and  on  pain  of  excommunication,  to 
bring  to  him  whatever  backgammon-boards,  chess 
boards,  nine-pins,  or  other  instruments  for  games  of 
amusement  they  might  possess."  Right  bitterly 
would  he  then  attack  the  luxurious  apparel  of  ladies 
of  rank;  especially  the  monstrous  head-gear  in  fashion 
at  that  time.  He  promised  to  the  delighted  urchins 
of  his  congregations  certain  days  of  pardon  should 
they  tear  away  the  obnoxious  ornaments  from  such 
ladies  as  they  met;  all  of  which  bred  trouble,  as  may 
be  imagined. 

But  there  were  much  graver  faults  than  these 
abroad  in  this  fifteenth  century;  and  poor  Conecte, 
and  such  men,  were  for  the  most  part  only  intensify 
ing  and  establishing  them.  The  black  superstition- 
cloud,  with  its  smallest  of  silver  linings,  was  actually 
becoming  unbearable  to  great  parts  of  Europe.  The 
common  people  were  more  ignorant,  more  brutish, 
and  more  bigoted  than  the  so-called  pagan  Greeks 
and  Komans  of  a  former  day.  They  trotted  before 
their  priests  like  driven  swine,  with  only  isolated 
gruntings  of  rebellion.  They  hated  Jews  as  they 
hated  Moslem,  and  they  hated  heretics  more  than 
both  together.  The  people  were  indeed  little  worse 
than  their  leaders. 

This  then  was  Spain  and  Spanish  character,  as 
nearly  as  I  have  been  able  to  picture  them  in  the 
short  space  allotted,  at  or  prior  to  the  dawn  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  We  have  found  Spaniards  the 
noblest  race  on  earth  at  that  time ;  their  men  brave, 
their  women  modest.  Before  them  opened  a  career 
more  brilliant  than  the  world  has  ever  seen  before  or 
since.  To  follow  them  in  some  parts  of  that  career 
is  the  purpose  of  these  volumes. 

We  have  found  these  people  after  all  not  so  very 
different  from  ourselves — more  loyal  than  we,  but 
more  ignorant;  more  religious,  but  more  supersti- 


58  INTRODUCTION. 

tious;  more  daring,  but  more  reckless;  more  enthusi 
astic,  but  more  chimerical.  They  were  endowed  with 
the  virtues  and  vices  of  their  age,  as  we  are  with  the 
virtues  and  vices  of  ours.  They  were  sincere  in  their 
opinions,  and  honest  in  their  efforts;  but  we  have  the 
advantage  of  them  by  four  centuries  of  recorded  ex 
periences.  Our  knowledge,  our  advantages,  are  su 
perior  to  theirs;  do  we  make  superior  use  of  them? 
Spain  lighted  a  hemisphere  of  dark  waters,  brought 
forth  hidden  islands  and  continents,  and  presented 
half  a  world  to  the  other  half.  With  all  our  boasted 
improvement,  have  we  done  more? 

It  is  the  custom  of  historical  commentators  to 
praise  and  to  blame  ad  libitum.  This  is  right  if  it 
be  done  judiciously.  We  should  praise  discreetly, 
and  blame  with  steadiness.  But  there  is  really  little 
to  praise  or  to  blame  in  history,  and  most  of  it  that 
is  done  is  simply  praising  or  blaming  the  provi 
dence  of  progress.  Would  you  blame  the  Spanish 
people  for  being  superstitious,  ignorant,  cruel  ?  They 
were  as  God  and  circumstances  made  them.  Would 
you  blame  princes  and  priests  for  domineering  them  ? 
They  were  as  the  people  and  circumstances  made 
them.  The  people  were  indignant  if  their  rulers  did 
not  impose  upon  them.  Says  Grenville,  writing  in 
his  memoirs  so  late  as  1818:  "The  Regent  drives  in 
the  park  every  day  in  a  tilbury,  with  his  groom 
sitting  by  his  side;  grave  men  are  shocked  at  this 
undignified  practice." 

Meanwhile,  amidst  the  many  so-called  spirits 
which  in  this  epoch  hovered  over  man,  the  spirit  of 
discovery  was  not  the  least  potent.  Curiosity,  the 
mother  of  science,  became  the  mother  of  new  worlds; 
gave  birth  to  continents,  islands,  and  seas ;  gave  form 
and  boundary  to  earth.  Over  the  sea,  the  mists  of 
the  Dark  Age  had  rested  with  greater  density  even 
than  on  land.  The  aurora  of  progress  now  illumined 
the  western  horizon  as  of  old  it  did  the  eastern. 
Hitherto  the  great  ocean,  beyond  a  few  leagues  from 


EUROPE  AND  AMERICA.  59 

shore,  was  a  mystery.  As  may  be  seen  depicted  on 
ancient  charts,  it  was  filled,  in  the  imaginations  of 
navigators,  with  formidable  water-beasts  and  monsters, 
scarcely  less  terrible  than  those  that  ^Eneas  saw  as 
he  entered  the  mouth  of  Hades: 

"  Multaque  prseterea  variarum  monstra  ferarura: 
Centauri  in  foribus  stabulant,  Scyllceque  biforraes, 
et  centumgeminus  Briareus,  ac  belua  Lernae 
horrendum  stridens,  flammisque  armata  Chimsera, 
Gorgones  Harpyiseque  et  forma  tricorporis  umbrae." 

Ancient  geographers  affirmed  that  the  heat  of  the 
torrid  zone  was  intolerable,  that  men  and  ships  enter 
ing  it  would  shrivel.  This  belt  of  consuming  heat 
presented  an  impenetrable  barrier  between  the  known 
and  the  unknown. 

What  wonder  that  intellect  was  stunted,  civiliza 
tion  dwarfed,  restricted  as  was  human  knowledge  to 
the  narrow  grave-like  walls  of  western  Europe !  No 
sooner  were  these  ancient  boundaries  burst,  and  the 
black  and  dreadful  fog-banks  which  lay  upon  primeval 
ocean  pierced,  than  fancy,  like  a  freed  bird,  bounded 
forth,  swept  the  circumference  of  the  earth,  soared 
aloft  amid  the  stars,  and  dared  even  to  ask  of  religion 
a  reason. 

One  glance  westward.  On  either  side  of  an  un- 
swept  sea,  a  Sea  of  Darkness  it  was  called  by  those 
that  feared  it,  there  rested  at  the  opening  of  this 
history  two  fair  continents,  each  unknown  to  the 
other.  One  was  cultivated;  its  nations  were  well 
advanced  in  those  arts  and  courtesies  that  spring 
from  accumulated  experiences;  the  other,  for  the 
most  part,  unmarred  by  man,  lay  revelling  in  primeval 
beauty,  fresh  as  from  the  Creator's  hand.  The  leaven 
of  progress  working  in  one,  brought  to  its  knowledge 
the  existence  of  the  other;  the  Sea  of  Darkness  with 
its  uncouth  monsters  was  turned  into  a  highwa}^  and 
civilized  Europe  stood  face  to  face  with  sylvan 
America.  This  world  newly  found  was  called  the 


60  INTRODUCTION. 

New  World;  though  which  is  the  new  and  which  the 
old;  which,  if  either,  peopled  the  other,  is  yet  unde 
termined.  One  in  organism  and  in  the  nature  human, 
the  people  of  the  two  worlds  were  in  color,  customs, 
and  sentiment  several.  The  barbarous  New  World 
boasted  its  civilizations,  while  the  civilized  Old  World 
disclosed  its  barbarisms;  on  Mexican  and  Peruvian 
highlands  were  nations  of  city-builders  as  far  superior 
in  culture  to  the  islanders  and  coast-dwellers  seen 
by  Columbus,  as  were  the  European  discoverers  su 
perior  to  the  American  highlanders.  Of  probable 
indigenous  origin,  this  lesser  civilization  shows  traces 
of  high  antiquity;  even  the  ruder  nations  of  the 
north  leave  far  behind  them  absolute  primevalism. 

I  do  not  say  with  some  that  in  America  were  seen 
in  certain  directions  marks  of  as  high  culture  as  any 
in  Europe.  There  were  no  such  marks.  But  this 
unquestionably  is  true;  that,  as  in  Europe,  we  here 
find  that  most  inexplicable  of  phenomena,  the  evolu 
tion  of  civility;  man's  mental  and  spiritual  necessities, 
like  his  physical  wants,  appear  everywhere  the  same. 
The  mind,  like  the  body,  craves  nutriment,  and  the 
dimmed  imprisoned  soul  a  higher  sympathy;  hence, 
we  see  men  of  every  cliine  and  color  making  for 
themselves  gods,  and  contriving  creeds  which  shall 
presently  deliver  them  from  their  dilemma.  The 
civilizations  of  America,  unlike  well-rooted  saplings 
of  Egypt,  Greece,  and  Rome,  were  sensitive-plants 
which  collapsed  upon  the  first  foreign  touch,  leaving 
only  the  blackness  of  darkness;  hence  it  was  the  wild 
tribes,  far  more  than  the  cultivated  nations,  that 
influenced  the  character  of  subsequent  American  so 
cieties. 

In  her  civil  and  religious  polities  America  was 
every  whit  as  consistent  as  Europe.  Neither  was 
altogether  perfect  or  wise;  and  we  wonder  at  the 
blindness  and  stupidity  of  one  as  of  the  other. 
Although  we  could  catch  but  a  glimpse  of  the  Amer 
icans  before  they  vanished,  yet  we  might  see  that 


COMPARATIVE  RELIGIONS.  61 

intellect  was  not  stationary,  but  growing,  and  that 
society  was  instinct  with  intelligent  and  progressional 
activity.  In  their  religions  the  Americans  paralleled 
the  rest  of  mankind.  Every  religion  derives  its  form 
and  color  from  the  mind  of  the  worshippers,  so  that 
by  their  gods  we  may  know  them.  From  elevated 
natures  emanate  chaste  and  refined  conceptions  of 
the  deity;  from  brutish  natures  coarse  conceptions. 
Christianity  is  the  highest  and  purest  of  all  religions ; 
but  if  we  study  the  moral  precepts  of  the  foremost 
American  nations,  we  shall  see  that  in  many  respects 
they  were  not  far  behind,  and  were  indeed  in  some 
instances  in  advance  of  Christianity.  True,  the 
Aztecs  practised  human  sacrifice,  with  all  its  attend 
ant  horrors;  but  what  were  the  religious  wars,  the 
expulsion  of  Jews,  the  slaughter  of  Infidels,  the  burn 
ing  of  heretics,  but  human  sacrifice  ?  Of  wars  for 
purposes  of  proselyting,  and  of  that  most  iniquitous 
of  crimes,  persecution  for  opinion's  sake,  we  hear 
little  in  the  New  World.  Moreover,  while  Christians, 
with  their  Inquisitions  and  autos  de  fe,  taxed  to  the 
utmost  their  ingenuity  for  the  contrivance  of  the 
most  excruciating  engines  of  torture,  and  with  the 
body  killed  likewise  the  soul,  or  doomed  it,  as  they 
devoutly  believed,  to  eternal  agonies,  the  Mexicans 
treated  their  victims  as  gods,  and  sent  them  happily 
home,  though  in  truth  somewhat  before  their  natural 
time. 

There  was  little  in  the  social  or  political  systems 
of  Europe  of  which  the  counterpart  could  not  be 
found  in  America;  indeed,  the  economical,  social, 
and  political  condition  of  every  civilization  finds  its 
counterpart  in  every  other  civilization;  and  there 
were  institutions  then  existing  in  America  at 
whose  feet  Europe  might  have  sat  with  benefit. 
Among  the  wilder  tribes  we  find  prevalent  the 
patriarchal  state,  with  its  hundreds  of  languages  and 
theologies;  a  slight  advance  from  which  are  those 
associations  of  families  banded  for  safety,  thus  pre- 


62  INTRODUCTION. 

senting  a  state  of  society  not  unlike  that  of  European 
feudalism.  From  this  point,  every  quality  and  grade 
of  government  presents  itself  until  full-blown  mon 
archy  is  attained,  where  a  sole  sovereign  becomes  an 
emperor  of  nations  with  a  state  and  severity  equal  to 
that  of  the  most  enlightened.  The  government  of  the 
Nah.ua  nations,  which  was  monarchical  and  nearly 
absolute,  denotes  no  small  progress  from  primordial 
patriarchy. 

Like  their  cousins  of  Spain  and  England,  the  sov 
ereigns  of  Mexico  had  their  elaborate  palaces,  with 
magnificent  surroundings,  their  country  residence  and 
their  hunting-grounds,  their  botanical  and  zoological 
gardens,  and  their  harems  filled  with  the  daughters 
of  nobles,  who  deemed  it  an  honor  to  see  them  thus 
royally  defiled.  There  were  aristocratic  and  knightly 
orders;  nobles,  plebeians,  and  slaves;  pontiffs  and 
priesthoods;  land  tenures  and  taxation;  seminaries 
of  learning,  and  systems  of  education,  in  which  vir 
tue  was  extolled  and  vice  denounced;  laws  and  law 
courts  of  various  grades,  and  councils  and  tribunals 
of  various  kinds;  military  orders  with  drill,  engineer 
corps,  arms,  and  fortifications;  commerce,  caravans, 
markets,  merchants,  pedlers,  and  commercial  fairs, 
with  a  credit  system,  and  express  and  postal  facil 
ities. 

They  were  not  lacking  in  pleasures  and  amusements 
similar  to  those  of  the  Europeans,  such  as  feasts  with 
professional  jester,  music,  dancing;  and  after  dinner 
the  drama,  national  games,  gymnastics,  and  gladiatorial 
combats.  They  were  not  without  their  intoxicating 
drink,  delighting  in  drunkenness  while  denouncing  it. 
Their  medical  faculty  and  systems  of  surgery  they 
had,  and  their  burial-men;  also  their  literati,  scholars, 
orators,  and  poets,  with  an  arithmetical  system,  a 
calendar,  a  knowledge  of  astronomy,  hieroglyphic 
books,  chronological  records,  public  libraries,  and  na 
tional  archives. 

The  horoscope  of  infants  was  cast;  the  cross  was 


AMERICAN  ABORIGINALS.  63 

lifted  up;  incense  was  burned;  baptism  and  circum 
cision  were  practised.  Whence  arose  these  customs 
so  like  those  of  their  fellow-men  across  the  Atlantic, 
whom  they  had  never  seen  or  heard  of? 

The  conquerors  found  all  this  when  they  entered 
the  country.  They  examined  with  admiration  the 
manufactures  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  tin,  and  lead, 
wrought  to  exquisite  patterns  with  surprising  skill. 
They  gazed  with  astonishment  on  huge  architectural 
piles,  on  monumental  remains  speaking  louder  than 
words;  on  temples,  causeways,  fountains,  aqueducts, 
and.  light-houses,  surrounded  as  they  were  with  statues 
and  intricate  and  costly  stone  carvings.  They  found 
that  the  Americans  made  cloth,  paper,  pottery,  and 
dyes,  and  were  proficient  in  painting.  Their  mosaic 
feather- work  was  a  marvel. 

There  are  many  points  of  interest,  well  worth 
examination,  which  I  have  not  space  here  properly 
to  mention.  The  interested  reader,  however,  will  find 
all  material  necessary  to  careful  comparison  in  my 
Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States.  He  will  there 
find  described  conditions  of  society  analogous  to 
feudalism  and  chivalry;  he  will  find  municipal  gov 
ernments,  walled  towns,  and  standing  armies.  There 
were  legislative  assemblies  similar  to  that  of  the 
Cortes,  and  associations  not  unlike  that  of  the  Holy 
Brotherhood.  To  say  that  trial  by  combat  some 
times  occurred  is  affirming  of  them  nothing  com 
plimentary;  but  upon  the  absence  of  the  Inquisition 
they  were  to  be  congratulated. 

Although  living  lives  of  easy  poverty,  the  wild  tribes 
of  America  everywhere  possessed  dormant  wealth 
enough  to  tempt  the  cupidity  alike  of  the  fierce 
Spaniard,  the  blithe  Frenchman,  and  the  sombre 
Englishman.  Under  a  burning  tropical  sun,  where 
neither  animal  food  nor  clothing  was  essential  to 
comfort,  the  land  yielded  gold,  while  in  hyperborean 
forests  where  no  precious  metals  were  discovered, 
the  richest  peltries  abounded;  so  that  no  savage  in 


64  INTRODUCTION. 

all  this  northern  continent  was  found  so  poor  that  grasp 
ing  civilization  could  find  nothing  of  which  to  rob  him. 

When  Europe  undertook  the  mastery  of  America, 
she  found  the  people,  as  a  rule,  ready  to  be  friendly. 
Some  at  first  were  startled  into  the  seizure  of  their 
arms,  the  first  impulse  of  the  wild  man  on  meeting 
anything  strange  being  to  defend  himself.  But  their 
fears  were  easily  allayed,  their  confidence  easily 
gained,  and  their  pledges  of  good  faith  were  usually 
to  be  depended  upon. 

The  variations  between  them  and  their  brethren 
across  the  Atlantic  were  less  of  kind  than  of  quality. 
They  were  more  children  than  wild  beasts.  Phys 
ically  they  were  complete,  but  mentally  they  were  not 
fully  developed.  Their  minds  were  not  so  broad,  nor 
so  strong  or  subtle  as  those  of  white  men.  Their 
cunning  partook  more  of  brute  instinct  than  of  civ 
ilized  artifice.  There  was  mind-power  enough,  but  it 
lacked  shape  and  consistency.  They  were  naturally 
no  more  blood-thirsty,  or  cruel,  or  superstitious  than 
their  conquerors,  but  their  cruelty  and  superstitions 
were  of  coarser,  cruder  forms.  The  American  abo 
riginal  character  has  been  greatly  misconstrued,  and 
is  to-day  but  imperfectly  understood. 

The  chief  difference,  or  cause  of  difference,  between 
the  people  of  Europe  and  the  more  advanced  nations 
of  America,  it  seems  to  me,  lay  in  the  ignorance  of 
some  few  things,  apparently  insignificant  in  them 
selves,  yet  mighty  enough  to  revolutionize  Christen 
dom;  such  as  the  use  of  iron,  gunpowder,  and  mov 
able  types.  The  absence  of  horses,  and  other  of  the 
more  useful  domestic  animals,  was  also  a  disad 
vantage. 

After  reading  of  the  Europeans  of  that  day  it  is 
irony  to  call  the  Americans  superstitious,  revengeful, 
treacherous,  cruel.  Where  was  it  possible  to  find 
men  more  superstitious  or  revengeful  than  the  very 
ministers  of  Christ  who  crossed  the  ocean  to  give  the 
heathen  eternal  life;  where  shall  we  find  greater 


COMPARATIVE  CHARACTERISTICS.  65 

treachery  or  cruelty  than  in  these  refined  and  en 
lightened  exterminators  of  the  Indians? 

Catalogue  crime  and  place  the  white  beside  the 
red.  Seldom  was  the  Indian  treacherous  until  he 
had  been  deceived.  The  Indians  tortured  their  pris 
oners;  so  did  the  white  men,  hunting  them  with 
bloodhounds,  enslaving  them,  branding  them  with  hot 
irons,  beating  and  roasting  them,  making  them  work 
in  the  mines  until  death  relieved  them  by  thousands, 
butchering  wives  and  children  because  the  husband 
and  father  dared  strike  a  blow  in  their  defence.  It  is 
well  to  call  them  brutal  in  warfare  when  the  white 
man  so  quickly  adopts  their  most  brutal  customs;  it 
is  well  to  call  them  beasts  of  prey,  when  the  white 
man  crosses  the  ocean  to  prey  upon  those  very  beasts 
which  he  pretends  to  slur. 

In  speaking  of  the  Indians,  it  has  become  the 
custom  wilfully  to  misapply  terms.  If  a  tribe  resist 
an  injury,  it  is  called  an  outbreak;  if  successful  in 
war,  it  is  a  massacre ;  if  successful  in  single  combat,  it 
is  a  murder.  Thus  soldiers  speak  to  cover  the  dis 
grace  of  defeat,  and  thus  reports  are  made  by  men 
who  regard  not  decency  in  speaking  of  a  savage,  to 
say  nothing  of  fairness.  It  is  enough  that  we  have 
exterminated  this  people,  without  attempting  to  ma 
lign  them  and  exalt  our  own  baseness.  What  should 
we  do  were  a  foreign  power  to  come  in  ships  to  our 
shore  and  begin  to  slaughter  our  animals,  to  stake 
off  our  land  and  divide  it  among  themselves?  We 
should  drive  them  away  if  we  were  able;  but  if  we 
found  them  the  stronger,  we  should  employ  every  art 
to  destroy  them,  and  in  so  doing  regard  ourselves  as 
patriots  performing  a  sacred  obligation.  This  is  the 
Indian's  crime;  and  in  so  doing  we  call  him  cunning, 
revengeful,  hateful,  diabolical.  But  the  white  man 
brings  him  blankets,  it  may  be  said,  brings  him  medi 
cine,  tells  him  of  strange  arts,  teaches  him  civiliza 
tion.  These  things  are  exactly  what  the  savage  does 
not  want,  and  what  he  is  much  better  off  without. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    5 


66  INTRODUCTION. 

The  white  man's  comforts  kill  him  almost  as 
as  do  his  cruelties ;  and  the  teachings  of  Christ's  min 
isters  are  abhorrent  when  coupled  with  the  examples 
of  lecherous  and  murderous  professors  of  Chris 
tianity. 

These,  however,  were  by  no  means  all  that  white 
men  gave  the  Indian.  We  might  enumerate  alcohol, 
small-pox,  measles,  syphilis,  and  a  dozen  other  dis 
gusting  adjuncts  of  civilization  of  which  the  savage 
before  knew  nothing.  Can  savagism  boast  greater 
achievements  ?  White  men  have  killed  fifty  Indians 
where  Indians  have  killed  one  white  man,  and  this, 
notwithstanding  that  nine  tenths  of  all  injuries  in 
flicted  have  been  perpetrated  by  white  invaders. 
A  thousand  Indian  women  have  been  outraged  by 
men  whose  mothers  had  taught  them  the  Lord's 
prayer,  where  one  white  woman  has  been  injured  by 
these  benighted  heathen.  At  any  time  in  the  his 
tory  of  America  I  would  rather  take  my  chances  as  a 
white  woman  among  savages,  than  as  an  Indian 
woman  among  white  people. 

Brethren  by  procreation,  but  by  destiny  foes, 
as  we  behold  them  there  the  so-called  New  and 
Old  thus  so  strangely  brought  together,  naturally 
enough  we  ask  ourselves,  Whence  came  the  one,  and 
whither  tends  the  other  ?  Whence  came  these  dusky 
denizens  of  the  forest,  and  for  how  many  thousands 
of  ages  has  the  feeble  light  of  their  intelligence  strug 
gled  with  the  darkness,  dimly  flickering,  now  gather 
ing  strength,  now  falling  back  into  dense  obscurity; 
how  long  and  in  what  manner  has  the  divine  spark  thus 
wrestled  with  its  environment  ?  And  whither  tends 
this  fierce  flame  of  human  advancement  which  just 
now  bursts  its  ancient  boundaries,  sweeps  across  the 
Sea  of  Darkness,  absorbs  all  lesser  lights,  and  dazzles 
and  consumes  a  hemisphere  of  souls  ?  More  espe 
cially,  when  we  look  back  toward  what  we  are  accus 
tomed  to  call  the  beginning,  and  mark  the  steady 
advance  of  knowledge,  the  ever-increasing  power  of 


SIGNIFICATIONS  OF  PROGRESS.  G7 

mind ;  when  we  consider  the  progress  of  even  the  last 
half-century,  and  listen  to  the  present  din  and  clatter 
of  improvement,  do  we  raise  our  eyes  to  the  future 
and  ask,  Whither  tends  all  this  ?  Whither  tends 
with  so  rapidly  accelerating  swiftness  this  self-beget 
ting  of  enlightenment,  this  massing  of  human  ac 
quirements  ;  whither  tends  this  perpetually  increas 
ing  domination  of  the  intellectual  over  the  material  ? 
Within  the  past  few  thousand  years,  which  are  but 
as  a  breath  in  the  whole  life  of  man,  we  have  seen 
our  race  emerge  from  the  wilderness,  separate  from 
the  companionship  of  wild  beasts,  and  coalesce  into 
societies.  We  have  seen  nations  cease  somewhat  their 
hereditary  growlings,  and  brutal  blood -sheddings, 
and  mingle  as  brethren;  we  have  seen  wavy  grain 
supplant  the  tangled  wildwood,  gardens  materialize 
from  the  mirage,  and  magnificent  cities  rise  out  of 
the  rocky  ground.  Thus  we  have  seen  the  whole 
earth  placed  under  tribute,  and  this  mysterious  rea 
soning  intelligence  of  ours  elevating  itself  yet  more 
and  more  above  the  instincts  of  the  brute,  and  assert 
ing  its  dominion  over  nature;  belting  the  earth  with 
an  impatient  energy,  which  now  presses  outward 
from  every  meridian,  widening  its  domain  as  best  it 
may  toward  the  north  and  toward  the  south,  build 
ing  equatorial  fires  under  polar  icebergs.  All  this 
and  more  from  the  records  of  our  race  we  have  seen 
accomplished,  and  yet  do  see  it;  civilization  working 
itself  out  in  accordance  with  the  eternal  purposes  of 
Omnipotence,  unfolding  under  man's  agency,  yet  in 
dependent  of  man's  will;  a  subtile,  extraneous,  unify 
ing  energy,  stimulated  by  agencies  good  not  more 
than  by  agencies  evil,  yet  always  tending  in  its  re 
sults  to  good  rather  than  to  evil ;  an  influence  beyond 
the  reach  or  cognizance  of  man,  working  in  and  round 
persons  and  societies,  turning  and  overturning,  now 
clouding  the  sky  with  blackness  and  dropping  dis 
order  on  floundering  humanity,  but  only  to  be 
followed  by  a  yet  more  fertilizing  sunshine;  laying 


68  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

waste  and  building  up,  building  up  by  laying  waste, 
civilizing  as  well  by  war  and  avarice  as  by  good-will 
and  sweet  charity,  civilizing  as  surely,  if  not  as  rap 
idly,  with  the  world  of  humanity  struggling  against 
it,  as  with  the  same  human  world  laboring  for  it. 

Slowly  rattles  along  the  dim  present,  well-nigh 
buried  in  its  own  dust ;  it  is  only  the  past  that  is  well- 
defined  and  clear  to  history. 


SUMMARY    OF   GEOGRAPHICAL    KNOWLEDGE   AND    DISCOVERY    FROM    THE 
EARLIEST  RECORDS  TO  THE  YEAR  1540. 

Before  entering  upon  the  narration  of  events  composing  this  history,  it 
seems  to  me  important,  in  order  as  well  properly  to  appreciate  the  foregoing 
Introduction  as  to  gain  from  succeeding  chapters  something  more  than 
gratified  curiosity*  that  an  exposition  of  Early  Voyages  should  be  given, — 
acting  powerfully  as  they  did  on  evolving  thought  and  material  develop 
ment,  giving  breadth  and  vigor  to  intellect,  enthusiasm  to  enterprise,  and  in 
elevating  and  stimulating  that  commercial  spirit  which  was  eventually  to 
depose  kings,  exalt  the  people,  strip  from  science  its  superstitions,  from  re 
ligion  its  cabalistic  forms,  and  by  its  associations,  its  negotiations,  its  adven 
turous  daring,  its  wars,  its  alliances,  and  its  humanizing  polities,  to  break 
the  barriers  of  ancient  enmity  and  bring  together  in  common  brotherhood 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Therefore,  I  now  propose  to  give  a  chronological  statement  of  every  au 
thentic  voyage  of  discovery  made  beyond  the  Mediterranean  prior  to  1540, 
while  doubtful  and  disputed  voyages  will  be  discussed  according  to  their 
relative  importance.  I  shall  notice,  moreover,  such  books  and  charts  re 
lating  to  America  as  were  produced  during  this  period,  with  fac-similes  of  the 
more  important  maps,  to  illustrate,  at  different  dates,  the  progress  of  discovery. 
It  is  my  purpose,  so  far  as  possible,  in  the  very  limited  space  allowed,  to  state 
fairly  the  conclusions  of  the  best  writers  on  every  important  point. 

One  word  as  to  the  authorities  consulted  in  the  preparation  of  this  Sum 
mary.  Of  books  relating  to  America,  published  prior  to  1540,  there  are 
in  all  aboil  t  sixty-five;  only  twenty-five,  however,  contain  original  informa 
tion;  twenty-three  are  general  cosmographical  works  with  brief  sections  on 
America  compiled  from  the  original  twenty-five;  while  seventeen  merely 
mention  the  New  World  or  its  discoveries,  and  are  therefore  of  no  value  in 
this  connection.  Of  the  forty-eight  containing  matter  more  or  less  impor 
tant,  there  are  over  two  hundred  editions,  the  earliest  of  which  only,  in  most 
instances,  will  be  mentioned,  and  that  without  extensive  bibliographical 
notes.  These  books  and  charts  I  notice  in  chronological  order  under  dates 
of  their  successive  appearance. 

The  subject  of  Early  Voyages  has  been  so  frequently  and  so  thoroughly 
discussed  by  able  modern  writers  that  it  is  unnecessary,  and  indeed  im- 


AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED.  69 

practicable  in  so  condensed  an  essay,  to  refer  to  ancient  authorities  alone, 
and  prove  everything  from  the  beginning.  I  shall  therefore,  besides  the 
Spanish  historians  Peter  Martyr,  Oviedo,  Las  Casas,  Gomara,  Herrera,  and 
the  standard  collections  of  Ramusio,  Grynceus,  Purchas,  and  Hakluyt,  freely 
use  the  works  of  later  writers  according  to  their  relative  worth.  And  of 
these  last  mentioned  I  epitomize  the  following.  Historia  del  Nuevo-Mundo, 
escribtala  D.  Juan  Baut.  Mufioz,  torn.  i. — all  ever  published — En  Madrid, 
1793,  contains  a  clear  well-written  prologo,  or  essay,  on  the  first  three  voyages 
of  Columbus  with  minor  mention  of  contemporary  discoveries.  An  account 
is  also  given  of  the  author's  labors  in  beginning  the  large  and  invaluable 
collection  of  documents  completed  and  published  by  Martin  Fernandez  de 
Navarrete,  Coleccion  de  los  Viages  y  Descubrimientos  que  hicieron  por  mar  los 
Espanoles  desde  fines  del  siglo  XV.,  5  vols.  4to,  Madrid,  1825-37.  This 
collection  of  Navarrete's  is  without  doubt  the  most  valuable  work  on 
the  subject  of  early  American  voyages,  and  the  foundation  of  all  that 
followed;  containing  as  it  does  the  original  Spanish,  Latin,  and  Portuguese 
texts  of  the  more  important  Spanish  and  Portuguese  expeditions  from 
1393  to  1540  — the  Latin  and  Portuguese  done  into  Spanish — together  with 
over  five  hundred  original  documents  from  the  Spanish  archives,  with  ex 
tensive  and  generally  impartial  notes  by  the  editor.  For  a  biographical 
sketch  of  this  author  see  chapter  iii.  of  this  volume.  Washington  Irving 's 
Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Columbus  and  his  Companions,  published  in 
London,  1828-31  (edition  used,  that  of  New  York,  18G9,  3  vols.),  is  an  able 
and  elegant  abridged  translation  of  Navarrete,  and  of  La  Historia  de  el 
Almiranie  D.  Christoval  Colon ,  by  his  son  Fernando  Colon,  in  fiarciu,  Histori- 
adores  Primitivos,  torn,  i.,  Madrid,  1749.  Alexander  von  Humboldt's  Ex- 
amen  critique  de  Phistoire  de  la  Gcographie  du  nouveau  continent,  ft  des  progrcs 
de  Vastronomie  nautiqiie  aux  15eme  et  IGeme  Siecles,  5  vols.  Svo,  Paris,  1836-9, 
is  a  most  exhaustive  digest  of  materials  furnished  by  Navarrete  and  the  older 
historians,  illustrated  with  the  results  of  the  author's  personal  investigations. 
The  work  embraces  two  treatises ;  first,  the  causes  which  led  to  the  discov 
ery  of  America;  second,  facts  relating  to  Columbus  and  Vespucci,  with  the 
dates  of  geographic  discoveries.  Humboldt's  Abhandlung  iibcr  die  ciltesten 
Karten,  printed  as  an  introduction  to  Ghillany,  Geschichte  des  Secfahrers  Ritter 
Martin  Be.haim,  Nuremberg,  1853,  of  which  I  have  only  a  manuscript  English 
translation,  is  an  essay  as  well  on  the  naming  of  America  as  on  early  maps. 
Another  important  treatise  is  that  of  J.  G.  Kohl,  Die  beiden  ciltesten  General- 
Karten  von  America,  Weimar,  I860,  of  nearly  two  hundred  large  folio  pages 
on  the  earliest  manuscript  and  printed  maps,  two  of  the  former,  dated  1527 
and  1529,  accompanying  the  work,  reproduced  in  chromo-lithographic  fac 
simile.  The  same  author  has  produced  other  works  on  the  subject,  the  most 
important  being  A  History  of  the  Discovery  of  the  East  Coast  of  North  Amer 
ica,  published  in  Collections  of  the  Maine  Historical  Society,  2d  series,  vol.  i., 
Portland,  1869.  This  contains  reduced  copies  of  twenty-three  early  maps, 
and  is  perhaps  the  most  complete  work  existing,  so  far  as  the  northern  coasts 
are  concerned,  giving  comparatively  little  attention  to  more  southern  voy 
ages.  Kimstmann,  Die  Entdeclcuny  AmeriJcas,  Munich,  1859,  is  a  careful 
compilation  of  ninety-six  imperial  quarto  pages,  with  copious  notes  and  refer- 


70  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

euces,  written  to  accompany  a  collection  of  thirteen  large  cliromo-lithographic 
reproductions  of  manuscript  maps  preserved  in  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at 
Munich,  and  generally  known  as  the  Munich  Atlas.  Herr  Kunstmann  treats 
chiefly  of  the  Atlantic  islands,  with  special  reference  to  the  connection  be 
tween  the  discoveries  of  Spaniards  and  Northmen.  Major's  Life  of  Prince 
Henry  of  Portugal,  London,  18G8,  is  the  best  authority  for  Portuguese  voy 
ages  as  well  as  for  the  revival  of  maritime  enterprise  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
Stevens'  Historical  and  Geographical  Notes  on  the  Earliest  Discoveries  in  Amer 
ica,  1453-1530,  New  Haven,  1869,  was  written  originally  as  an  introduction 
to  a  book  by  the  author's  brother  on  his  proposed  interoceanic  communication 
via  Tehuantepec.  It  is  a  concise  statement  of  the  whole  matter,  presenting 
some  of  its  phases  in  a  practically  new  light.  Varnhagen,  Le  Premier 
Voyage  de  Amerigo  Vespucci,  Vienna,  1869,  must  not  be  omitted  as  the  chief 
support  of  a  theory  on  Vespucci's  voyages  which  nearly  concerns  the  first 
discovery  of  our  Pacific  States  territory  proper.  Rctfn,  Antiquitates  Ameri 
cana},  Hafnise,  1837,  is  the  source  of  nearly  all  our  knowledge  of  the  discov 
eries  of  the  Northmen  in  America  in  the  tenth  and  following  centuries ;  and 
De  Costa,  The  Pre-Columbian  Discovery  of  America,  Albany,  18G8,  presents 
an  English  translation  of  the  same  Icelandic  sagas  in  which  the  enterprises 
of  the  Northmen  are  recorded.  The  Cartografia  Mexicana  of  Orozco  y  Berra, 
published  by  the  Mexican  Geographical  Society,  contains,  as  its  title  indi 
cates,  a  mention  of  early  maps  in  chronologic  order;  and  the  Mapoteca  Colum- 
biana  of  Urricoechea,  London,  1860,  is  another  important  contribution  of 
similar  nature.  There  should  be  mentioned  the  excellent  review  given  in 
the  first  volume  of  Bryant's  History  of  the  United  States,  which  has  appeared 
since  this  Summary  was  written ;  and  I  might  present  quite  a  list  of  papers 
read  before  the  various  learned  societies  of  Europe  and  America  on  different 
topics  connected  with  this  subject  in  late  years,  none  of  them  I  believe 
materially  affecting  my  conclusions. 

The  above  form  but  a  small  portion  of  the  works  devoted  wholly  or  in  part 
to  the  subject,  but  they  are  believed  to  contain  all  the  material  necessary  for 
even  a  more  detailed  statement  than  my  purpose  demands. 

Of  the  voyages  of  the  ancients,  properly  so  called,  that  is,  of  such  as  pre 
ceded  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  I  shall 
here  say  little.  These  maritime  expeditions,  confined  for  the  most  part  to 
the  Mediterranean,  though  extending  for  some  distance  along  the  coasts  of  the 
Indian  and  Atlantic  oceans,  with  occasional  voyages  designedly  or  accident 
ally  prolonged  to  more  distant  islands,  and  it  may  be  continents,  come  down 
to  us  through  antique  histories,  cosmographies,  and  poems,  so  mixed  with 
vague  hypothetical  and  mythological  conceptions,  that  the  most  searching  in 
vestigation  is  often  unable  to  separate  fact  from  fable.  There  are  multitudes 
of  classic  and  mediaeval  legends  adopted  by  Tasso,  Pulci,  and  other  Italian 
poets,  such,  for  example,  as  that  which  makes  the  Greek  wanderer  Ulysses 
the  pioneer  of  western  adventure,  which  in  a  sober  treatise  are  scarcely 
worthy  of  mention.  Turning  to  the  dawn  his  vessel's  poop,  this  son  of 
Laertes,  it  is  said,  passed  Gibraltar,  the  bound  ordained  by  Hercules  not  to 
be  overstepped  by  man,  and,  as  Dante  tells  us,  sailed  for  the  Happy  Isles  of 


ADVENTURES  OF  THE  ANCIENTS.  .71 

the  unknown  Atlantic,  unrestrained  by  son,  or  father,  or  even  Penelope's 
ever-weaving  web  of  love. 

A  little  journey  was  a  wonderful  exploit  before  the  time  of  Christ — in 
stance  the  immortal  fame  achieved  by  Hanno,  the  Carthaginian,  in  visiting 
the  west  coast  of  Africa,  B.  c.  570;  by  Herodotus,  in  making  the  excursion 
of  Egypt  and  India,  B.  c.  404-456;  by  Pytheas,  in  his  voyage  to  the  British 
Isles,  B.  c.  340;  byNearchus,  in  descending  the  Indus,  B.  c.  326;  byEudoxus, 
in  his  attempt  to  sail  round  Africa,  B.  c.  130;  by  Caesar,  in  undertaking  the 
conquest  of  Gaul,  B.  C.  58;  by  Strabo,  in  penetrating  Asia  some  thirty  or  forty 
years  later.  After  the  Christian  era  Pausanias,  a  Roman,  in  175  wrote  a 
guide-book  of  Greece;  Fa  Hian,  a  Chinese  monk,  went  westward  into  India 
in  the  year  400  or  thereabout;  Cosmas  Indicopleustes  travelled  in  India  a 
century  and  a  half  later  and  wrote  a  book  to  prove  the  world  square,  and 
the  universe  an  oblong  coffer;  Arculphe  wrote  of  the  Holy  Land  about  650; 
an  Englishman,  Willibald,  made  the  tour  of  southern  Europe  and  Palestine, 
setting  out  from  Southampton  in  721;  in  851  went  Soliman.  from  Persia  to 
the  China  sea.  So  it  has  been  said. 

Indeed,  the  writings  of  Herodotus  indicate  that,  over  two  thousand  years 
before  Dias  and  Vasco  da  Gama,  Africa  was  circumnavigated  by  a  fleet  of 
Phoenician  ships  sent  by  Pharaoh  Necho  down  the  Red  Sea  with  orders  to 
return  to  Egypt  by  way  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules.  A  Persian,  Sataspes, 
endeavored  to  accomplish  the  voyage  from  the  other  direction,  but  failed. 
Plato's  island  of  Atlantis,  founded  by  the  god  Neptune,  was  of  great  size, 
"larger  than  Asia  and  Libya  together,  and  was  situated  over  against  the 
straits  now  called  the  Pillars  of  Hercules."  The  climate  and  soil  were  so 
good  that  fruits  ripened  twice  every  year.  There  were  metals,  with  elephants 
and  other  animals  in  abundance.  Upon  a  mountain  was  a  beautiful  city 
with  gold  and  ivory  palaces,  having  gardens  and  statues.  Unfortunately  in 
time  the  sea  swallowed  up  this  island,  so  that  it  could  scarcely  have  been 
America. 

So  far  as  these  voyages  and  strange  tales  concern  the  possible  knowledge 
of  America  by  the  ancients,  I  have  already  discussed  them  in  Volume  V.  of 
my  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States.  On  ancient  voyages  and  cosmography 
see  also  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i.  pp.  125-206. 

It  is  the  results  of  ancient  voyages,  the  point  of  geographical  knowledge 
attained  by  ancient  civilization  in  its  most  advanced  stage  and  by  it  be 
queathed  to  the  Dark  Age,  and  not  the  voyages  themselves,  with  which  we 
have  to  do  at  present.  This  knowledge  is  found  for  the  most  part  embodied 
in  the  system  of  Ptolemy,  the  Alexandrian  geographer  of  the  second  century, 
whose  works  became  the  standard  text-books,  and  holding  their  prominence 
for  fourteen  hundred  years  were  not  superseded  as  late  as  the  sixteenth 
century,  but  were  republished  from  time  to  time,  with  additions,  setting  forth 
the  results  of  new  discoveries.  In  this  manner  twenty-one  editions  appeared 
during  the  first  half  of  that  century.  Nor  was  even  Ptolemy  the  originator 
of  this  prolonged  system.  One  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  him  was 
the  Greek  geographer  Strabo,  who  gave  descriptions  of  countries  and  peoples, 
fixing  his  localities  usually  by  itinerary  distances;  and  to  this  work  of 
Strabo's,  Ptolemy  added  a  century  and  a  half  of  progress,  and  determined 


72  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

his  localities  by  astronomical  observation.  The  work  of  Pomponius  Mela, 
the  Roman  geographer  who  wrote  probably  somewhat  later  than  Strabo,  is 
regarded  as  no  improvement  on  that  of  his  predecessor. 

Ptolemy's  World  was  nearly  all  in  the  north  temperate  zone,  embracing 
about  fifty  degrees  of  latitude  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  longitude. 
The  Fortunate  Isles,  now  called  the  Canaries,  were  known  to  Ptolemy,  and 
by  him  used  as  a  western  limit  or  first  meridian.  This,  and  as  a  nucleus  of 
poetic  myths,  seem  to  have  been  their  only  use;  as  Muiioz  says,  Hist,  del 
Nuevo  Mando,  p.  30:  "Fuera  de  este  uso  apenas  aprovecharon  sino  para 
intretenir  ociosas  imaginaciones  con  fabulas  de  poetas."  The  eastern  limit 
v/as  vaguely  located  in  the  region  beyond  the  Ganges ;  actually  in  about  100° 
east  longitude.  On  the  south  were  included  the  African  coasts  of  the  Medi 
terranean  and  Red  Sea,  with  the  southern  coasts  of  Arabia  and  India 
proper — the  term  India  being  then  applied  indefinitely  to  all  eastern  lands, 
including  even  parts  of  Africa  — thus  fixing  the  southern  bound  at  about  30° 
north  latitude  in  the  west,  and  10°  in  the  east.  Northward  the  limit  may  be 
placed  a  little  above  60°,  within  which  falls  the  southern  part  of  the  Scandi 
navian  peninsula,  then  supposed  to  be  an  island,  and  also  the  island  of  Thule, 
the  location  of  which  is  disputed,  some  claiming  it  to  have  been  Iceland, 
others  the  Faroe  Islands,  and  others  the  Shetland  Islands.  But  Ptolemy's 
latitudes  were  all  some  ten  degrees  too  far  north,  while  in  his  longitudes  he 
went  still  further  astray;  since,  reckoning  from  the  Canaries  as  his  first 
meridian,  he  made  his  last  meridian  180°,  when  it  should  have  been  120°,  and 
thus  by  narrowing  half  the  circumference  of  the  globe  some  sixty  degrees  he 
made  the  world  nearly  one  third  less  than  it  really  is.  Authorities  differ, 
however,  as  to  what  were  Ptolemy's  ideas.  But  more  of  this  hereafter.  On 
the  opposite  page  is  a  map  in  which  the  world  as  known  in  these  times  is  left 
white,  the  shaded  portions  being  the  result  of  subsequent  discoveries  down 
to  the  last  half  of  the  fifteenth  century.  A  map  of  Ptolemy's  World,  re 
duced  to  its  true  proportions,  may  be  seen  in  Goselin,  Jiecherches  sur  la 
yeographie  systematique  c.t  positive  des  anciens,  torn,  iv.,  Paris,  1813. 

Within  these  limits,  then,  geographical  knowledge  was  confined  at  the  end 
of  the  fourth  century ;  limits  not  sharply  defined,  but  indefinite  and  waver 
ing  according  to  ages,  to  the  directions  of  conquest,  and  to  distances  from 
Mediterranean  centres.  Beyond  these  limits  was  a  realm  of  darkness  peopled 
by  strange  beings,  creatures  of  poetic  fancy  or  monkish  superstition.  Just 
as  the  wonder-land  of  Homer  to  contemporaneous  eastern  Greeks,  was  Italy, 
with  its  strange  waters  inhabited  by  very  strange  beasts,  and  Sicily,  and 
neighboring  isles,  where  were  the  Satyrs,  and  the  gigantic  one-eyed  Cyclops 
eating  milk  and  mutton  and  men,  so  to  later  teachers  were  the  strange  seas 
beyond.  On  the  north  was  an  impenetrable  region  of  eternal  ice ;  on  the 
south,  an  equatorial  zone  of  burning  heat ;  a  barrier  of  frost  on  the  one  side 
and  of  fire  on  the  other,  both  equally  uninhabitable  to  the  European  man, 
and  cutting  off  all  communication  with  possible  habitable  lands  elsewhere. 
The  burning  zone,  however,  seems  to  have  been  a  popular  idea,  rather  than  a 
part  of  the  system  taught  by  Ptolemy,  who,  indeed,  held  that  Africa  ex 
tended  south-east  and  north-east  toward  the  eastern  parts  of  Asia,  making  of 
the  Indian  Ocean  an  immense  gulf  not  connected  with  the  Atlantic  on  the 


74  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

west.  Strabo  and  other  geogr-aphers  \vlio  preceded  Ptolemy  gave  Africa 
approximately  its  correct  shape ;  traditions  of  its  circumnavigation  even  were 
kept  alive,  in  spite  of  Ptolemy's  theory,  influencing  geographic  thought  not 
a  little  during  the  fifteenth  century.  Irving  is  of  opinion,  Columbus,  vol. 
iii.  p.  440,  that  modern  authors  consider  the  knowledge  of  the  ancients  con 
cerning  Africa  much  less  extensive  than  has  been  generally  supposed;  but 
Major,  Prince  Henri/,  p.  89  et  seq.,  accepts  a  circumnavigation  of  Africa  in 
the  seventh  century  B.  c. ,  and  also  Hanno's  voyage  far  down  the  African 
coast,  placing  the  date  of  the  latter  570  B.  c.  Among  the  philosophers  of 
western  Europe  no  definite  hypotheses  appear  to  have  been  advanced  as  to 
the  extent  of  land  beyond  the  known  region ;  as  to  the  ideas  of  the  Arabs 
and  Buddhist  priests  concerning  the  matter  it  is  difficult  to  determine.  See 
Kohl?  a  Hist.  Discov.,  p.  149;  Draper's  Intellectual  Development,  p.  451,  New 
York,  1872:  Beyond  the  Fortunate  Isles  to  the  west  stretched  a  Mare 
Tenebroxum,  or  Sea  of  Darkness,  as  early  writers  express  it,  separating  the 
known  western  coast  from  the  far  unknown  east.  In  this  dark  sea  tradition 
planted  islands  at  various  points,  reiterating  the  fact  of  their  existence  so 
often  that  names  and  locations  were  finally  given  them  on  maps,  though  the 
islands  themselves  have  never  yet  been  found.  Except  these  fabulous 
islands,  there  was  little  thought  of  land  between  the  coasts  of  Europe  and 
Asia.  Compare  maps  in  this  volume;  also  George  Bancroft's  History  of  the 
United  States,  vol.  i.  p.  6,  Boston,  1870;  D'Aversac,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des 
Voi/ayes,  1845,  torn.  cv.  p.  293;  torn.  cvi.  p.  47. 

To  sum  up  the  geographical  knowledge  of  the  ancients,  we  have  first,  the 
sphericity  of  the  earth  surmised,  although  its  size  was  vaguely  conceived  and 
underrated;  secondly,  the  positive  knowledge  of  Europeans  limited  to  the 
unshaded  portion  of  the  map  on  page  73;  thirdly,  divers  theories  respecting 
the  conformation  of  southern  Africa;  fourthly,  a  mare  occanum  stretching 
westward  to  the  unknown  Asiatic  shore,  with  hypothetical  islands  interven 
ing,  and  expressed  opinions  that  this  sea  was  navigable,  and  that  possibly 
India  might  be  reached  by  sailing  westward.  These  ideas,  vague  as  they 
seem,  were  held  only  by  the  learned  few;  the  world  of  the  ignorant  reached 
scarcely  beyond  the  horizon  of  their  actual  experience.  Not  until  long  after 
its  actual  circumnavigation,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  the  popular  mind 
able  to  grasp  the  idea  of  the  earth's  sphericity. 

We  come  now  to  mediaeval  times,  when  from  the  fifth  to  the  fifteenth  cen 
tury  the  cosmographical  as  well  as  all  other  knowledge  of  the  ancients  lay 
well-nigh  dormant;  to  the  people  a  land  of  darkness  as  well  as  a  sea,  though 
in  some  few  colleges  and  convents  these  things  were  thought  of.  "  Ces  teue- 
bres,"  says  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  i.  p.  59,  "  s'etendaient  sans  doute 
sur  les  masses;  mais,  dans  les  couvens  et  les  colleges  quelques  individus  con- 
servaient  les  traditions  de  1'antiquitc."  Upon  this  world  of  darkness  light- 
first  broke  from  the  far  north,  the  voyages  of  the  Scandinavians  from  the 
ninth  to  the  twelfth  centuries  being  the  aurora  borealis  of  maritime  discov 
ery.  These  Northmen,  as  in  their  expeditions  Danes,  Norwegians,  and 
Swedes  were  indiscriminately  called,  by  their  warlike  propensities  made 
themselves  known  and  feared  along  the  shores  of  Europe  at  an  early  date; 


THE  NORTHMEN  AND  THEIR  SAGAS.  73 

but  their  western  discoveries  were  known  only  to  themselves;  at  all  events,  no 
trace  of  distant  voyages  to  the  west  are  found  in  the  records  of  their  neigh 
bors.  It  is  only  quite  recently  that  the  sagas  of  the  Northmen  were  brought 
to  the  attention  of  European  scholars;  and  when  the  Danish  bishop, 
Muller,  published  his  bibliography  of  the  sagas,  3  vols.,  Copenhagen,  1817- 
1820,  these  narratives  were  held  to  be  more  fiction  than  fact.  Even  so  late  a 
writer  as  George  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  pp.  5,  G,  says 
that  the  story  of  colonization  by  the  Northmen  "rests  on  narratives,  mytho 
logical  in  form,  and  obscure  in  meaning;  ancient,  yet  not  contemporary,"  and 
that  ' '  no  clear  historic  evidence  establishes  the  natural  probability  that  they 
accomplished  the  passage."  Irving,  Columbus,  vol.  iii.  pp.  432-5,  considers 
the  matter  "still  to  be  wrapped  in  much  doubt  and  obscurity."  Both  of  these 
authors,  however,  seem  to  have  considered  only  the  evidence  presented  by 
Malte-Brun  and  Forster.  Since  their  time  proofs  beyond  question  have 
established  the  authenticity  of  these  voyages  of  the  Northmen.  The  sagas 
on  American  discoveries  are  preserved  in  the  archives  at  Copenhagen,  with  a 
collection  of  other  historical  data,  reaching  down  to  the  fourteenth  century, 
the  date  of  their  completion.  It  is  true  that  they  deal  somewhat  in  the 
marvellous — they  would  not  be  authentic  else,  written  at  that  time — but 
they  contain  tales  no  more  wonderful  or  monstrous  than  the  writings  of  more 
southern  nations.  See  an  account  of  the  Copenhagen  documents  and  the 
examination  of  their  authenticity  in  De  Costa's  Pre-Columbian  Discov.  Am., 
pp.  i-lx.  Two  nearly  contemporary  ecclesiastical  histories — that  of  Adam  of 
Bremen,  1073,  and  Ordericus  Vitalis,  about  1100 — describe  briefly  the  western 
lands  of  the  Northmen.  Further  reference,  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  p. 
32;  Rofn,  Antiquitates  Am.,  p.  337;  KoliVs  Hist.  Discov.,  p.  76. 

•  Vague  notions  were  not  wanting  of  communication  with  America  before 
the  time  of  the  Northmen,  but  these,  whatever  they  were,  are  now  to  us  pure 
speculation  and  may  be  omitted  here.  Passing  over  a  general  movement  by 
which  before  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  the  Northmen  appear  to  have 
broken  through  their  former  bounds,  and  to  have  extended  their  plundering 
raids  in  all  directions,  taking  possession  of  the  Shetland  and  Faroe  islands 
and  even  of  the  north  of  Britain,  we  come  to  the  first  definite  adventure 
westward. 

[A.  D.  SGO-4.]  Two  bold  men,  Naddod  and  Gardar,  in  one  of  their  coast- 
island  cruises,  were  driven  from  their  course  to  the  north-west  and  discovered 
Iceland,  called  by  one  Snowland,  and  by  the  other  Gardar  Island.  Kohl, 
Hist.  Discov.,  p.  61,  dates  both  voyages  860;  Forster  gives  861  to  Naddod 's; 
other  authors  place  the  former  in  the  year  860,  and  the  latter  in  864. 

[874.]  Ingolf  made  a  settlement  in  Iceland  at  a  point  still  called  by  his 
name.  Other  immigrants  followed,  and  a  nourishing  colon}'  was  founded. 
The  Northmen  found  on  the  island  Irish  priests,  who  had  come  there  at  a 
time  not  definitely  known,  but  who  immediately  abandoned  the  country  to 
the  new  settlers.  Within  twenty  years  thereafter  Iceland  was  fairly  well 
inhabited.  De  Costa,  Pre-Columbian  Discov.  Am.,  pp.  xxii-iv.,  makes  the 
date  A.  D.  875. 

[876.]     One  Gunnbjorn,  an  Icelandic  colonist,  is  reported  to  have  seen  ac- 


7G  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

cidentally,  from  a  distance,  the  coast  of  Greenland.  Kohl  dates  this  voyage 
877. 

[982-6.]  Eric  the  Red,  banished  from  Iceland  for  murder  in  982,  sailed 
west,  found  land,  remained  there  three  years,  and  returned,  naming  the 
country  Greenland  to  attract  settlers.  In  985,  or  986,  he  sailed  again  with  a 
larger  force,  this  time  founding  a  settlement  to  which  other  adventurers  re 
sorted.  Of  the  first  voyage  Kohl  makes  no  mention. 

[983.  ]  One  of  the  sagas  contains  a  report  by  an  Irish  merchant  that  one 
Are  Marson  was  carried  in  a  storm  to  Whiteman's  Land  "in  the  Western 
Ocean,  opposite  Vinland,  six  days'  sail  west  of  Ireland. "  Rafn  thinks  this 
may  have  been  that  part  of  America  in  the  vicinity  of  Florida;  others  make 
it  the  Azores.  There  are  also  vague  reports  of  later  voyages  to  the  same 
land  by  Bjorn  Asbrandson  in  999,  and  by  Gudleif  in  1027.  In  the  present 
stage  of  investigation  the  proof  is  insufficient  to  establish  an  Irish  pre- 
Scandinavian  discovery  of  America. 

[990.]  In  this  year,  or,  as  Be  Costa  makes  it,  in  986,  Biarne,  sailing  from 
Iceland  in  search  of  his  father,  who  had  previously  gone  to  Greenland,  was 
carried  far  to  the  south-west,  to  within  sight  of  land,  undoubtedly  America, 
which  he  coasted  north-east  for  several  days  and  returned  to  Greenland. 
Three  points  particularly  noticed  on  the  new  coast  are  conjectured  by  Kohl 
to  have  been  Cape  Cod,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Newfoundland. 

[1000.]  Leif,  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  sailed  from  Greenland  south-west  in 
search  of  the  lands  seen  by  Biarne,  reached  the  same  in  reverse  order,  land 
ing  probably  at  Newfoundland,  which  he  named  Helluland  (Stony  Land); 
Nova  Scotia,  he  called  Markland  (Woodland);  and  passing  round  Cape  Cod, 
made  a  settlement,  named  after  himself,  Leifsbudir,  at  some  point  on  Narra- 
gansett  Bay.  He  called  this  country  Vinland  from  the  fact  that  vines  were 
found  there,  anil  the  name  was  afterwards  applied  to  the  whole  region  ex 
tending  northward  to  Markland.  In  the  spring  of  1001  Leif  returned  to 
Greenland  with  a  cargo  of  grapes  and  wood. 

[1002-5.]  Thorwald,  another  of  Eric's  sons,  sailed  with  one  vessel  to  Vin 
land,  where  Leif  had  landed,  and  lived  there  through  the  winter  by  fishing. 
Early  in  1003  he  explored  the  country  westward  in  boats,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1004  doubled  Cape  Cod,  naming  it  Kialarnes  (Ship's  Nose),  and  perished 
in  a  battle  with  the  Skraellings,  or  Indians,  at  some  point  on  the  shore  of 
Massachusetts  Bay.  His  companions  spent  the  winter  at  Leifsbudir  and  re 
turned  to  Greenland  in  1005. 

[100S.]  In  the  spring  of  1008  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  sailed  from  Greenland 
with  three  vessels  to  Helluland — which  name  was  applied  not  only  to  New 
foundland  but  to  the  region  north  of  that  point — and  thence  along  the  coast 
to  Nova  Scotia,  and  to  Cape  Cod.  Here  the  party  divided,  Thorhall,  the 
hunter,  in  attempting  to  explore  northward,  being  driven  by  a  storm  to 
Ireland,  while  Thorfinn  spent  the  winter  farther  south  near  Leifsbudir,  where 
a  son  was  born  to  him.  After  an  unsuccessful  search  for  Thorhall  by  one 
vessel,  a  third  winter  was  spent  in  Vinland,  and  in  1011  Thorfinn  returned 
to  Greenland,  leaving  perhaps  a  small  colony.  De  Costa,  Pre-Columbian 
Discov.  Am.,  pp.  48-76,  makes  the  date  of  this  voyage  1007-10. 

[1012.]     Helge,  Finboge,  and  Eric's  daughter  Freydisa,  who  had  before 


DECLINE  OF  SCANDINAVIAN  DISCOVERY.  77 

visited  America  with  her  husband,  sailed  to  Vinland,  and  such  as  were  not 
killed  in  the  internal  dissensions  of  the  party  returned  to  Greenland  in  1013. 
The  records  of  this  expedition  are  very  slight.  De  Costa's  date  is  1011-12. 
[1035.]  Adam  of  Bremen  speaks  of  Frisian  or  German  navigators  who 
about  the  year  1035  landed  on  an  island  beyond  Iceland,  where  the  inhab 
itants  were  of  great  size,  and  were  accompanied  by  fierce  dogs — perhaps  the 
Eskimos. 

[1121.]  After  the  expeditions  that  have  been  mentioned,  concerning  each 
of  which  the  sagas  contain  one  or  more  accounts,  no  farther  regular  reports 
have  been  preserved;  but  various  voyages  are  briefly  alluded  to  in  different 
records,  as  though  trips  to  the  new  regions  of  Vinland  were  no  longer  of 
sufficient  rarity  to  be  specially  noticed.  Such  allusions  refer  to  voyages 
made  in  1121,  1285,  1288,  1289,  1290,  and  1357.  After  1357  no  more  is  heard 
of  the  western  lands.  The  settlements  were  gradually  abandoned  both  in 
Vinland  and  Greenland,  as  the  power  of  the  Northmen  declined,  and  so  far 
as  can  be  known,  even  their  memory  was  buried  in  the  unread  records  of 
former  greatness.  On  Scandinavian  discoveries,  besides  Rafn  and  De  Costa, 
see  Kunstmann,  Entdeckuny  Am.,  p.  32;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  C 1-85  and 
478;  Ilumboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  88-128;  Abstract  of  Rcfn,  in  Journal 
Load.  Geoy.  Soc.,  1838,  vol.  viii.  pp.  114-29. 

Thus  after  this  play  of  northern  lights  upon  the  western  horizon  for  four  or 
five  centuries,  enterprise  in  that  direction  languished,  and  finally  the  Sea 
of  Darkness  lapsed  into  its  primeval  obscurity.  Nevertheless  the  deeds  of  the 
Scandinavians  must  have  become  more  or  less  known  to  other  parts  of  Europe, 
for  the  spirit  of  uneasiness  which  sent  these  Northmen  across  their  western 
waters  sent  them  also  —  particularly  the  Danes  —  eastward  in  the  Holy 
Crusades.  It  would  be  well  for  the  student  to  examine  the  works  of  Adam 
of  Bremen,  and  Odericus  Vitalis,  who  beside  these  pre-Columbian  voyages 
describe  also  the  Crusades.  Moreover,  Iceland  had  Catholic  bishops  and  was 
therefore  in  communication  with  Rome,  where  the  discoveries  of  the  North 
men  must  have  been  known.  Rafn,  Antiquitates  Am.,  pp.  283,  292,  and 
De  Costa,  Pre-Columbian  Discov.  Am.,  pp.  106-109,  give  translations  from 
Scandinavian  archives  of  contemporaneous  descriptions  of  the  earth  in 
which  these  New  World  discoveries  of  the  Northmen  are  included.  •  Sailing 
charts  and  maps  of  the  new  discoveries  must  have  been  drawn  by  the  North 
men,  for  although  none  of  them  were  preserved,  yet  in  Torfceus,  Groenlandia 
antiqua,  Hauime,  1706,  made  by  Icelandic  draughtsmen  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  and  in  Ptolemy's  Geography,  edition  of  1482,  is  infor 
mation  of  certain  things  contained  in  no  other  charts  of  the  period  extant, 
which  must  therefore  have  been  partially  compiled  from  Scandinavian  sources. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Northmen  imagined  that  they  had  found 
a  new  continent;  very  naturally  to  them  Greenland,  Helluland,  Markland, 
and  Vinland  were  but  the  western  continuation  of  Europe.  It  is  to  this 
belief,  as  well  as  to  the  prevailing  apathy  and  skepticism  of  the  age  concern 
ing  matters  beyond  the  reach  of  positive  knowledge,  that  the  strange  fact  of 
the  loss  of  all  trace  of  these  discoveries  is  due. 

The  exact  results  of  these  ancient  expeditions,  and  their  influence  on  the 
subsequent  revival  of  maritime  enterprise,  form  a  difficult  and  as  yet  unde- 


78  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

cided  point  in  the  discussion  of  this  subject.  Kunstmann  gives  particular 
attention  to  this  matter,  and  attaches  more  importance  to  northern  voyages 
and  their  connection  with  later  expeditions  than  most  other  authors;  still  it 
has  not  yet  been  proved  that  Prince  Henry,  Toscanelli,  or  Columbus  in  the 
fifteenth  century  had  any  knowledge  of  north-western  discoveries. 

[1096-1271.]  The  Crusades — as  expeditions,  but  chiefly  for  their  results — 
deserve  a  brief  mention  in  this  connection.  When  in  the  seventh  century 
Palestine  passed  from  Christian  to  Mahometan  hands,  in  which  possession  it 
has  remained  with  but  temporary  interruptions  to  the  present  time,  Christian 
pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  City  for  a  few  centuries  were  allowed,  and  to  some 
extent  protected.  By  successive  changes  of  dynasty,  however,  power  was 
transferred  from  the  Arab  to  the  Turkish  branch  of  the  Mahometans,  so 
that  in  the  eleventh  century  Christian  pilgrims  were  cruelly  oppressed, 
and  hindered  from  their  pious  visits  to  the  tomb  of  Christ.  Roused  at  first 
by  the  exhortations  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  Italy,  France,  England,  and 
Germany  sent  armies  of  the  undisciplined  and  fanatical  rabble  to  avenge 
the  insults  to  their  faith,  and  wrest  ,the  Holy  City  from  the  power  of  barba 
rian  heretics.  From  the  eleventh  to  the  thirteenth  century  nine  expedi 
tions  were  undertaken  eastward  in  the  prosecution  of  this  work.  Jerusalem 
was  several  times  taken  and  retaken,  but  finally  the  Crescent  was  successful 
in  resisting  the  encroachments  of  the  Cross,  and  the  Crusades  failed  in  their 
visionary  purpose.  Still  the  continued  migration  of  vast  multitudes,  from 
different  nations  through  strange  and  distant  lands,  contributed  much  to  in 
crease  popular  knowledge  of  the  world,  to  arouse  fresh  interest  in  regions 
hitherto  little  known,  and  to  excite  curiosity  respecting  the  countries  still 
further  to  the  east.  Meanwhile,  commerce  received  an  impetus  from  the 
work  of  furnishing  supplies  to  the  crusaders;  so  that  these  expeditions  are 
included  by  modern  writers  as  prominent  among  the  causes  which  led  to 
the  coming  revival  of  civilization. 

[1147.]  During  the  twelfth  century  few  maritime  expeditions  are  reported 
deserving  of  notice.  At  some  not  very  clearly  defined  date  before  1147,  eight 
Arabs,  the  Almagrurins,  are  said  to  have  sailed  thirty-five  days  south-west 
from  Lisbon  with  the  intention  of  exploring  the  Sea  of  Darkness.  At  the 
end  of  the  thirty-five  days  they  found  and  named  an  Isle  of  Sheep,  and 
twelve  days  farther  south  reached  another  island  peopled  by  red  men.  They 
are  said  to  have  found  there  a  man  who  spoke  Arabic.  Upon  the  whole  the 
claim  to  a  discovery  of  any  part  of  America  in  this  voyage  should  be  slight. 
If  the  voyage  be  authentic,  the  land  reached  was  perhaps  the  Canary  Islands; 
some  say  those  of  Cape  Verde. 

[1160-73.]  Benjamin  de  Tudela,  a  Spanish  Jew,  travelled  for  thirteen 
years  in  India,  bringing  back  considerable  information  respecting  Chinese 
Tartary  and  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  D.  Benjamini  Tudelensis,  liln- 
erarium  ex  versione  Montani,  Antwerp,  1575;  Itinerarium  D.  Benjaminis, 
Leyden,  1633;  Travels  of  Benjamin,  Son  of  Jonas,  London,  1783. 

[1170.]  In  this  year  is  placed  the  reported  voyage  of  Madoc,  a  Welsh 
prince,  who,  sailing  to  the  west  and  north  from  Ireland,  landed  on  an  un 
known  shore.  He  afterward  returned  to  this  new  country  with  ten  ships 


VENETIAN"  AND  GENOESE  EXPEDITIONS.  70 

with  the  intention  of  colonizing,  but  was  never  again  heard  of.  This  voyage 
rests  on  very  slight  authority,  but  has  claimed  importance  by  reason  of  re 
ports,  long  believed,  of  the  existence  in  various  parts  of  America  of  Welsh- 
speaking  Indian  tribes.  These  reports,  like  scores  of  others  referring  the 
Americans  to  European  relationships,  proved  groundless.  To  say  the  least, 
the  voyage  of  Madoc  must  be  considered  doubtful.  The  most  ancient  Discow.ry 
of  the  West  Indies  by  Madoc  the  sonne  of  Owen  Guyneth,  Prince  of  North- 
wales,  in  the  yeere  1170;  taken  out  of  the  history  of  Wales,  in  Ilalcluyt,  vol. 
iii.  p.  1. 

[1246  et  seq.]  In  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  the  desire  to  extend 
Christianity  was  encouraged  by  rumored  conversions  already  made  in  the  do 
minions  of  the  Mogul,  and  especially  by  the  report  of  a  powerful  Christian 
monarch,  Prester  John,  who  had  reigned  somewhere  in  the  interior  of  Asia. 
This  report  led  to  the  sending  of  several  priests  as  missionaries  to  the  far  East. 
Carpini  in  1246,  and  Ascelino  in  1254,  Italian  Franciscans,  penetrated  to 
the  region  now  known  as  Chinese  Turkestan.  About  the  same  time,.  1253 
according  to  Hakluyt,  Rubruquis,  also  a  Franciscan,  from  Brabant,  traversed 
the  central  Asiatic  deserts.  He  was  the  first  to  present  a  definite  idea  of  the 
position  of  Tartary  and  Cathay.  A  notice  of  his  travels  was  given  in  the 
writings  of  Roger  Bacon  in  1267.  Toward  the  end  of  this  century  Odorico, 
of  the  same  order,  visited  Persia,  India,  and  finally  China,  remaining  three 
years  in  Peking.  Viayyio  del  Deato  Frate  Odorico  dl  Porto  Mayyiore  del 
Frivli  fatto  neW  Anno  MCCCXVHI  (half  a  century  later  than  above),  in 
Samush,  torn,  ii.,  fol.  254.  See  also  Hakluyt'a  Von.,  vol.  i.  pp.  21-117;  vol. 
ii.  pp.  39,  53;  Navarrete,  Col.  Viages,  torn.  i.  pp.  ix.  x. 

[1250-95.]  Nicolo  and  Maffio  Polo,  Venetian  brothers,  left  Venice  in  1250 
on  a  trading  trip  north-eastward.  Passing  north  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  they 
spent  three  years  at  Bokhara,  and  afterward  in  1265,  proceeded  to  the  court 
of  Kublai  Khan  at  Kemenfu  in  Chinese  Tartary,  whence  they  returned  in 
1269,  intrusted  with  a  mission  to  the  Pope.  In  1271  they  again  set  out, 
taking  with  them  Marco,  son  of  Nicolo.  They  revisited  the  Tartar  court, 
where  they  spent  seventeen  years,  and  returned  by  sea  down  the  Chinese  and 
Indian  coasts  to  Ormuz  in  Persia  and  thence  overland  to  Constantinople, 
reaching  Venice  in  1295.  Marco  seems  to  have  been  a  great  favorite  at  the 
eastern  court,  where  he  was  intrusted  with  missions  in  all  directions.  By 
means  of  his  own  travels  and  by  reports  of  the  natives  from  all  sections 
whom  he  met,  he  gained  an  extensive  knowledge  of  China  and  adjoining 
countries,  including  the  numerous  islands  of  the  coast,  chief  among  which 
was  Zipangu,  or  Japan.  From  his  memoranda,  he  afterwards  wrote  in 
prison,  a  full  account  of  his  eastern  travels,  which  was  copied  and  widely 
circulated  in  manuscript.  See  Ilakliujt  Society,  Divers  Voyages,  Introd.,  p. 
Iii.,  London,  1850,  for  an  account  of  printed  editions  of  Polo's  work.  Its  au 
thenticity  and  general  reliability  are  now  admitted,  though  doubtless  errors 
have  been  multiplied  by  copyists.  This  journey  of  Marco  Polo  was  by  far 
the  most  important,  for  revising  geography,  of  any  undertaken  during  the 
middle  ages.  From  this  time  the  coasts  of  Asia  were  laid  down  on  maps 
and  described  with  tolerable  accuracy  by  cosmographers.  De  i  Viayyi  dl 
Messer  Marco  Polo,  Gentil  'hvomo  Venetiano,  in  JRamuxio,  torn.  ii.  fol.  2-60; 


80  EAELY  VOYAGES. 

Marco  Polo  fie  Venlesla  de  le  meravegliose  cose  del  mondo,  Venice,  1496;  Hard 
Pauli  venetl  de  regionibus  orientalibus  libri  tres,  Cologne,  1G71. 

The  Venetians  were  the  most  enterprising  navigators  of  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries.  They  reached  England  at  an  early  date, — Estancelin, 
Reclierches,  pp.  114-16,  Paris,  1832  — and  not  improbably  extended  their  com 
mercial  operations  still  farther  north,  Iceland  being  at  the  time  a  flourishing 
republic  with  Catholic  bishops.  KohVs  Hist.  D'tscov.,  pp.  92-4.  No  details 
however  are  preserved  of  any  particular  one  of  these  voyages,  nor  of  such  as 
may  have  been  directed  toward  Cape  Non,  the  southern  limit  of  oceanic  nav-. 
igation.  Some  time  during  this  century  a  Moor,  Ibn  Fatimah,  was  driven  by 
storms  from  Cape  Noil  down  past  Cape  Blanco,  and  his  adventure  was  re 
corded  in  an  Arabian  geography. 

[1291.]  Doria  and  Vivaldi,  Genoese,  undertook  a  voyage  down  the  African 
coast  with  a  view  of  reaching  India,  and  were  last  heard  of  at  a  place  called 
Gozora.  On  this  voyage,  which  rests  on  several  authorities,  has  been  founded 
a  cla^m  that  the  Italians  preceded  the  Portuguese  in  passing  Cape  Bojador. 
Major,  Prince  Henry,  pp.  99-110,  concludes  from  an  examination  of  all  the 
documents  that  there  are  no  grounds  for  this  claim,  although  admitting  the 
voyage  and  its  purpose,  in  fact  everything  but  its  success.  Gozora  was 
probably  Cape  Non.  Kohl  regards  this  expedition  as  uncertain.  One  of  the 
documents  gives  the  date  as  1281;  from  which  circumstance  Kohl  and  Hum- 
boldt  erroneously  make  of  it  two  voyages.  D'Avesac,  in  Nouvelles  Annales 
des  Voyages,  1845,  torn,  cviii.  p.  45,  has  the  date  1285.  Mufioz,  Hist.  Nuevo 
Mundo,  pp.  30-1,  speaks  of  Genoese  expeditions  and  the  rediscovery  of  the 
Canaries  during  this  century. 

[1306.]  On  a  map  made  by  the  Venetian  Sanuto  in  1306,  Africa  is  repre 
sented  as  surrounded  by  the  sea,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  geography 
of  that  region  is  derived  from  any  actual  observations.  The  map  simply 
shows  one  of  the  two  theories  then  held  respecting  the  shape  of  southern 
Africa. 

[1332  et  seq.]  Sir  John  Mandeville,  an  English  physician,  between  1332 
and  1366,  travelled  in  eastern  parts,  including  the  Holy  Land,  India,  and 
China.  On  his  return  he  wrote  in  three  languages  an  account  of  his  adven 
tures,  with  descriptions  of  the  countries  visited.  See  Halduyt  Soc.,  Divers 
Fo//.,  Introd.  p.  xliii.  His  work  corroborates  that  of  Marco  Polo,  and 
although  full  of  exaggerations,  and  probably  tampered  with  by  copyists  in 
respect  to  adventures  and  anecdotes,  "yet, "says  Irving,  "his  accounts  of 
the  countries  which  he  visited  have  been  found  far  more  veracious  than  had 
been  imagined."  Purclias,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  128-38;  Travels  of  Sir 
John  Mandeville,  London,  1725. 

[1341  et  seq.]  As  we  have  seen,  the  Canaries  were  known  to  the  ancients, 
and  made  by  Ptolemy  the  western  limit  of  the  world;  but  subsequently  they 
were  nearly  forgotten  until  rediscovered  and  visited,  perhaps  several  times, 
toward  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  by  the  Portuguese.  There 
is  a  definite  account  of  one  of  these  voyages.  Two  vessels  were  sent  there 
by  the  King  of  Portugal  in  1341,  and  nearly  all  the  islands  of  the  group 
visited,  but  no  settlement  was  made.  Before  this,  Luis  de  la  Cerda  repre 
sented  to  the  Pope  the  existence  of  such  islands,  and  received  by  a  bull  of 


THE  ZENI.  81 

1344  the  lordship  of  them,  with  the  title  of  Prince  of  Fortune.  The  king  of 
Portugal  claimed  in  1345  to  have  sent  out  previous  expeditions  to  the  islands. 
The  project  of  Cerda  proved  a  failure  and  no  colony  was  founded.  Voyages 
to  the  Canaries  became  quite  frequent  before  the  end  of  the  century.  Gal- 
vauo,  Discoveries,  London,  1SG2;  and  in  Collection  of  Curious  Voyages,  London, 
1812,  p.  10;  Mufioz,  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,  pp.  30-1;  Kunstmann,  EntdecJcung 
Am.,  pp.  1-4.  Major,  Prince  Henry,  pp.  139-45,  dates  the  bull  1334. 

[1346.]  In  August,  1346,  Jaime  Ferrer,  a  Catalan  navigator,  sailed  from 
Majorca  in  the  Mediterranean  to  search  down  the  African  coast  for  the  Ru- 
jaura,  or  River  of  Gold,  and  never  was  heard  from.  This  is  proved  by  a  doc 
ument  in  the  Genoese  archives,  and  by  an  inscription  on  a  Catalan  map 
of  1375.  Major  shows  this  to  have  been  an  expedition  in  search  of  an  un 
known  or  imaginary  river  of  gold,  whose  supposed  existence  rested  on  ancient 
traditions  that  a  branch  of  the  Nile  flowed  into  the  Atlantic,  and  which 
belief  was  strengthened  by  the  gold  brought  from  Guinea  by  the  Arabs. 
Humboldt  understands  this  Rujaura  to  have  been  the  Rio  d'Ouro  below  Cape 
Bojador,  an  inlet  named  later  by  the  Portuguese;  and  he  also  states  that 
Ferrer  actually  reached  that  point;  but  of  this  there  seems  to  be  no  evidence. 

[1351etseq.]  The  Azores  appear  to  have  been  discovered  by  the  Portu 
guese  early  in  this  half  century,  appearing  on  a  map  of  1351.  There  is 
however  no  account  of  the  voyage  by  which  this  discovery  was  made,  al 
though  there  is  a  tradition  of  a  Greek  who  was  there  cast  away  in  1370.  On 
a  Genoese  map  of  the  same  date  the  Madeira  group  is  shown,  having  probably 
been  discovered  by  Portuguese  ships  under  Genoese  captains  early  in  the 
fourteenth  century. 

[1364.]  By  Villault  de  Bellefond,  Relation  des  costes  d'Afrique,  Paris,  1669, 
it  is  stated  that  the  Dieppese  in  1364  made  a  voyage  round  Cape  Verde,  and 
far  beyond,  establishing  trading-posts,  which  were  repeatedly  visited  in  the 

following  years.  On  this  account,  repeated  by  many  writers Estancelin, 

Recherche*,  p.  72;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i.  p.  285 — is  founded  the 
French  claim  of  having  preceded  the  Portuguese  in  passing  Cape  Bojador  and 
occupying  the  gold  coast.  Major,  Prince  Henry,  pp.  117-33,  maintains  by 
strong  proofs  that  this  voyage  rests  on  no  good  authority,  and  that  the  French 
occupation  of  that  coast  is  of  much  later  date. 

[1380.]  Nicolo  Zeno,  a  Venetian,  sailing  northward  for  England,  was 
driven  in  a  storm  still  farther  north,  and  landed  on  some  islands  in  possession 
of  the  Northmen,  which  he  named  Friesland,  but  which  are  supposed  to  have 
been  the  Faroe  group.  Kindly  received  by  the  people,  he  sent  to  Venice  for 
his  brother,  and  both  spent  there  the  rest  of  their  lives,  making  frequent  ex 
cursions  to  neighboring  islands,  and  gaining  a  knowledge  of  other  more 
distant  lands  known  to  the  Northmen,  including  two  countries  called  Drogeo 
and  Estotiland,  lying  to  the  southward  of  Greenland,  which  countries  the 
Frieslanders  claimed  once  to  have  visited.  Nicolo  died  in  1395,  and  Antonio 
in  1404,  after  writing  an  account  of  their  adventures,  which,  with  a  chart,  he 
sent  to  a  third  brother,  Carlo.  The  manuscript  was  preserved  by  the  family 
and  first  published  under  the  title  Dei  Commentarii  del  viaygio  in  Persia,  etc., 
Venezia,  1558.  After  passing  the  ordeal  of  criticism  the  work  is  generally 
accepted  as  a  faithful  report  of  actual  occurrences,  though  embellished,  like 
HJST.  Ciiu.  AM.,  VOL.  I.  6 


82 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


all  writings  of  the  time,  with  fable.  Dello  Scoprimento  ddr  Isola  Frislanda 
Eslanda,  en  Grovalanda,  et  Icaria,  in  liamusio,  torn.  ii.  fol.  230-4;  TlakluyCs 
Voy.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  121-8;  Bos,  Leben  der  See- Ilelden,  pp.  523-7;  Canceltieri, 
Notr.ie  di  Colombo,  pp.  48-9;  Leleivel,  Geoj.  du  moijen  dye,  torn.  iii.  pp.  74  et  seq. 
Irving,  however,  Columbus,  vol.  iii.  pp.  435-40,  sees  in  this  voyage  only  an 
other  of  "the  fables  circulated  shortly  after  the  discovery  of  Columbus,  to 
arrogate  to  other  nations  and  individuals  the  credit  of  the  achievement," 
while  Zahrtmann,  Remarks  on  the,  Voy.  to  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  ascribed 
to  the  Ze.nl  of  Venice,  in  Journal  of  the  Geoj.  Soc.,  vol.  v.  pp.  102-28,  London, 
1S35,  claims  that  the  whole  account  is  a  fable. 

The  chart  by  the  brothers  Zeni,  published  with  the  manuscript,  is  of 
great  importance  as  the  first  known  map  which  shows  any  part  of  America. 
It  contains  internal  evidences  of  its  own  authenticity,  one  of  which  is  that 
Greenland  is  much  better  drawn  than  could  have  been  done  from  other  or  ex 
traneous  sources  even  in  1558.  I  give  from  Kohl's  fac-simile  a  copy  of  the 
map,  omitting  a  few  of  the  names. 


ZENO'S  CHART,  DRAWN  ABOUT  1390. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  countries  marked  Estotiland,  Drogeo, 
and  Icaria — possibly  Nova  Scotia,  New  England,  and  Newfoundland — owe 
their  position  on  this  chart  to  the  actual  knowledge  of  America,  obtained 
either  by  a  fishing- vessel  wrecked  there,  as  stated  In-  the  Zeni,  or  from  a 
tradition  preserved  since  the  time  of  the  Northmen.  The  lines  of  latitude 
and  longitude  were  not  on  the  original  manuscript  chart,  but  were  added  by 
the  editors  in  1558.  Lelewel,  Geog.  du  moyen  dge,  torn.  iii.  pp.  79-101, 
Bruxelles,  1852;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  97-10G. 


PRINCE  HENRY  OF  PORTUGAL.  83 

At  an  unknown  date,  probably  near  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
Robert  Macliin,  an  Englishman,  eloped  with  a  lady  in  his  own  vessel  from 
Bristol.  He  steered  for  France,  but  was  driven  by  a  tempest  to  the  island  of 
Madeira,  where  both  died.  Some  of  the  crew  escaped  to  the  African  coast, 
where  they  were  taken  prisoners,  but  afterward  were  redeemed  by  the  Span 
iards,  to  whom  one  of  them  related  the  discovery  of  Madeira,  his  account 
leading  to  its  rediscovery.  Major  concludes,  "that  henceforth  the  story  of 
this  accidental  discovery  of  Madeira  by  Macliin  must  be  accepted  as  a  real 
ity,"  but  the  date  cannot  be  fixed.  That  of  1344  often  assigned  to  the  voy 
age  results  from  a  misreading  of  Galvano.  Beside  Galvano,  Discov. ,  pp.  58- 
9,  see  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  ii.  p.  1072;  The  Voyage  of  Macham,  an 
English  man,  wherein  he  first  of  any  man  discovered  the  Hand  of  Madera,  in 
Ilalduyt,  vol.  ii.  pt.  ii.  p.  1;  Curious  and  Ent.  Voy,,  p.  13;  Major's  Prince 
Henry,  p.  67;  Kunstmann,  Entdeclcung  Am.,  p.  4. 

[1402.]  At  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  Jean  de  Betancourt 
with  a  company  of  Norman  adventurers  conquered  Lanzarote,  one  of  the 
Canary  Islands.  He  afterward  became  tributary  to  the  crown  of  Castile, 
and  by  the  aid  of  the  Spanish  government  obtained  possession  of  other  islands 
of  the  group,  establishing  there  a  permanent  colony.  Munoz,  Hist,  del 
Nuevo  Mando,  pp.  30-33;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  i.  cap.  L,  gives  the  date 
1405;  Galvano,  Discov.,  p.  CO;  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  p.  C;  Pinker- 
ton's  Col.  Voy.,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  808-15. 

"W  e  enter  now  a  new  epoch  in  maritime  discovery.  Hitherto,  if  we  ex 
clude  the  voyages  of  the  Northmen,  there  had  been  no  attempt  worthy  the  name 
of  systematic  ocean  exploration.  In  the  words  of  Major,  ' '  the  pathways  of  the 
human  race  had  been  the  mountain,  the  river,  and  the  plain,  the  strait,  the 
lake,  the  inland  sea,"  but  now  a  road  is  open  through  the  trackless  ocean,  "a 
road  replete  with  danger,  but  abundant  in  promise. "  Portugal,  guided  by  the 
genius  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  was  the  first  to  shake  off  the  lethargy 
which  had  so  long  rested  on  Europe.  For  some  time  past  the  Portuguese 
had  been  gradually  eclipsing  the  Italians  in  maritime  enterprise ;  but  not 
until  a  prince  leaves  the  pleasures  of  youth  for  the  perils  of  the  sea,  throwing 
his  life  into  the  cause  with  all  the  ardor  of  a  devotee,  does  ocean  navigation 
become  anything  more  than  private  commercial  speculation,  with  now  and  then 
some  slight  aid  from  governments.  True,  others  had  undertaken  the  voyage 
round  Africa,  but  Portugal  was  perhaps  the  first  to  make  it.  As  D'Avesac 
remarks,  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  184G,  torn.  ex.  p.  1C1:  "Les  Portugais 
ne  s'y  engagerent  point  les  premiers ;  mais  seuls  ils  y  perse  vererent,  et  les 
premiers  ils  atteignirent  le  but."  Born  in  the  year  1394,  at  a  time  when 
under  his  father,  John,  Portugal  was  already  casting  wistful  glances  over  the 
Sea  of  Darkness,  Prince  Henry  devoted  his  early  life  to  geographical  studies 
and  his  later  life  to  discovery.  Leaving  the  pomp  and  luxury  of  his  father's 
court,  he  removed  to  the  coast  of  Algarve,  and  from  the  dreary  headland  of 
Sagres  let  fly  his  imagination  along  the  unknown  shores  of  Africa.  Drawing 
to  him  such  young  noblemen  as  were  willing  to  share  his  labors,  he  estab 
lished  a  school  of  navigation,  giving  special  care  to  the  study  of  cartography 
and  mathematics.  The  geographical  position  of  his  native  land  was  to  the 


K4  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Portuguese,  in  regard  to  oceanic  adventure,  not  unlike  that  of  the  Italians  in 
regard  to  Mediterranean  navigation.  Several  causes  united  to  inspire  this 
prince  with  so  noble  an  ambition.  He  desired  to  promote  geographical 
science ;  to  test  the  theories  and  traditions  of  the  day ;  to  know  the  truth 
concerning  the  disputed  question  of  the  f onn  and  extent  of  southern  Africa ; 
to  turn  the  flow  of  riches,  the  gold  and  spices  and  slaves  of  India,  from  Italy 
into  his  own  country.  Nor  was  this  last  stimulant  lessened  by  the  fact  that 
of  late,  by  reason  of  Mahometan  encroachments  on  Christian  dominions,  the 
old  avenues  of  eastern  traffic  via  the  Caspian  Sea  and  Persian  Gulf,  or  by  the 
Red  Sea  and  caravans  across  the  deserts,  were  yearly  becoming  more  insecure, 
and  this  too  at  a  time  when  the  taste  for  eastern  luxuries  was  constantly  in 
creasing.  Yet  other  incentives  were  Christian  rivalry  and  Christian  zeal. 
Spain  had  carried  the  cross  to  the  Canaries ;  rumors  kept  coming  in  of  Prester 
John  and  his  Christian  kingdom,  now  supposed  to  be  in  Africa  instead  of  in 
Asia.  Prince  Henry  moreover  was  grand  master  of  the  Order  of  Christ,  and 
it  behooved  him  to  be  stirring.  Navarrete,  Col  de  Viafjes,  torn.  i.  p.  xxvi.; 
Munoz,  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,  pp.  33-4. 

[1415.]  Prince  Henry  began  his  voyages  along  the  coast  of  Africa  about  the 
year  1415,  at  which  time  Joao  de  Trasto  was  sent  with  vessels  to  the  Can 
aries.  It  was  Henry's  custom  to  despatch  an  expedition  almost  every  year, 
endeavoring  each  time  to  advance  upon  the  last,  and  so  finally  attain  the  end 
of  the  mystery — whereat  the  nobles  grumbled  not  a  little  about  useless 
expense.  Obviously  progress  southward  at  this  rate  was  very  slow,  and 
many  years  elapsed  before  Cape  Bojador  was  passed  and  unknown  seas  were 
entered.  Major's  Prince  Henry,  pp.  G4-G5. 

[141G-28.]  Meanwhile  Pedro,  Henry's  brother,  travelled  extensively,  jour 
neying  through  the  Holy  Land,  visiting  Rome,  Babylon,  and  even  England. 
Fortunately  he  found  at  Venice  a  copy  of  Marco  Polo's  work,  and  brought 
it  home  to  Prince  Henry.  Galvano's  Discov.,  pp.  GG-7;  Kunstmann,  Ent- 
deckunr)  Am.,  pp.  11,  12. 

[1418.]  Gonzalez  and  Vaz,  who  were  sent  this  year  by  Prince  Henry  on 
the  regular  annual  expedition,  were  driven  from  their  course  and  rediscovered 
Porto  Santo.  Galvano,  Dlscov.,  pp.  G2-4;  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am., 
pp.  11,  12;  Curious  and  Ent.  Voy.,  pp.  14,  15. 

[1419.]  Nicole  di  Conti,  Venetian,  spent  twenty-five  years  in  India, 
Mangi,  and  Java,  returning  in  1444,  and  confirming  many  of  Polo's  state 
ments.  Discorso  sopra  il  Viaggio  dl  Nicolo  di  Conti  Venetiano,  in  Ramusio, 
torn.  i.  fol.  373.  Twice  in  1419,  if  we  may  credit  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayea, 
torn.  i.  p.  xxvi.,  did  Prince  Henry's  ships  pass  seventy  leagues  beyond  Cape 
Non. 

[1420.]  Gonzalez  again  embarks  from  Portugal  intending  to  plant  a  colony, 
and  guided  by  one  Morales,  a  survivor  of  Machin's  voyage,  rediscovered 
Madeira.  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viaycs,  torn.  i.  pp.  xxvi-vii.;  Major's  Prince 
Henry,  pp.  73-7;  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  p.  13;  Galvano'a Discern,,  pp.  G3- 
4;  Aa,  Naaulceuriye  Versameling,  torn.  i.  pt.  ii.  p.  1C.  On  a  certain  map  dated 
1459  is  a  cape  supposed  to  be  Good  Hope,  with  the  statement  that  in  1420  an 
Indian  junk  had  passed  that  point  from  the  east;  but  for  this  no  authority  is 
given. 


THE  SLAVE-TRADE.  85 

[1431.]  The  Formigas  and  Santa  Maria  islands  of  the  Azore  group  were 
this  year  discovered  by  Cabral.  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  p.  15,  makes 
the  date  August  15,  1432.  For  details  of  the  discovery  and  settlement  of  all 
the  eastern  Atlantic  islands,  see  idem,  pp.  1-25. 

[1434-6.]  Gil  Eannes,  after  an  unsuccessful  attempt  in  the  preceding 
year,  succeeded  in  1434  in  doubling  Cape  Bojador  for  the  first  time.  Munoz, 
Hint.  Nucvo  Mundo,  p.  34,  makes  the  date  1433,  and  Navarrete,  Col.  de 
Viages,  torn.  i.  p.  xxvii.,  1423.  In  1435  Eannes  with  Baldaya  passed  fifty 
leagues  beyond  the  cape,  and  in  143G  Baldaya  advanced  to  a  point  fifty 
leagues  beyond  the  inlet  since  known  as  Rio  d'Ouro. 

[1441-8.]  For  several  years  after  the  successful  doubling  of  Cape  Bojador, 
no  new  attempt  of  importance  is  recorded,  but  in  1441  the  voyages  were 
renewed,  and  in  the  next  eight  years  the  exploration  was  pushed  one  hundred 
leagues  below  Cape  Verde.  Prior  to  1446  fifty-one  vessels  had  traded  on  the 
African  coast,  nearly  one  thousand  slaves  had  been  taken  to  Portugal,  and 
the  discoveries  in  the  Azores  had  been  greatly  extended.  By  these  explora 
tions  Prince  Henry  had  exploded  the  theory  of  a  burning  zone  impassable  to 
man,  and  of  stormy  seas  impeding  all  navigation;  his  belief  that  Africa 
might  be  circumnavigated  was  confirmed;  and  he  had  obtained  from  the 
pope  a  grant  to  the  crown  of  Portugal  of  lands  he  might  discover  beyond 
Cape  Bojador  to  the  Indies  inclusive.. 

[1455-6.]  According  to  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  torn.  i.  p.  105,  Alvise  Cada- 
mosto,  a  Venetian,  the  first  of  his  countrymen  as  he  claims  to  sail  down 
the  new  coast,  made  a  voyage  for  Prince  Henry  to  the  Gambia  River  below 
Cape  Verde.  This  expedition  derives  its  importance  not  from  the  limit  reached, 
where  others  had  preceded  him,  but  from  his  numerous  landing  points,  careful 
observations,  and  the  detailed  account  published  by  the  voyager  himself  in 
La  Prhna  Navigazione,  etc.,  Vicenza,  1507;  also  in  Ramuino,  Viagyi,  torn.  i. 
pp.  104-15.  This  explorer  touched  at  Porto  Santo,  Madeira,  the  Canaries, 
Cape  Blanco,  Senegal,  Budomel,  Cape  Verde,  and  the  Gambia  River. 

[1457.]  Cadamosto  claims,  La  seconda  navigazione,  in  Ramusio,  Viayyi, 
torn.  i.  pp.  116-20,  to  have  made  a  second  voyage,  during  which  he  discov 
ered  the  Cape  Verde  Islands;  but  Major,  Prince  Henry,  pp.  278-88,  shows 
that  such  a  voyage  was  not  made  in  that  year,  if  at  all. 

[1469.]  Diogo  Gomez  discovered  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  and  their  colo 
nization  was  effected  during  the  following  years.  Major,  Prince  Henry,  pp. 
288-99,  publishes  the  original  account  for  the  first  time  in  English.  Prince 
Henry  died  in  November  of  this  year.  Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  303;  Kunst 
mann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  p.  19.  Irving,  Columbus,  vol.  i.  p.  30,  fixes  this 
date  1473;  and  Galvano,  Dixcov.,  p.  14,  says  1463. 

[1461.]  The  spirit  of  discovery  and  the  thirst  for  African  gold  and  slavea 
had  become  too  strong  to  receive  more  than  a  temporary  check  in  the  death 
of  its  chief  promoter.  In  the  year  following  Prince  Henry's  death  a  fort  was 
built  on  the  African  coast  to  protect  the  already  extensive  trade,  and  in  1461 
or  1462  Pedro  de  Cintra  reached  a  point  in  nearly  5°  north,  being  over  six 
hundred  miles  below  the  limit  of  Cadamosto's  voyage.  La  Nauigation  del 
Capitan  Pietro  di  Sii/tra  PortoyJiese,  scritta  per  Meser  Aluise  da  ca  da  Mosto, 
in  llamusio,  torn.  i.  fol.  119. 


83  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

[1460-89.]  In  14G9  Fernam  Gomez  rented  the  African  trade  from  the  king 
of  Portugal  for  a  term  of  five  years,  and  during  that  time  pushed  his  ex 
plorations  under  Santarem  and  Escobar  to  Cape  St  Catherine  in  2°  south, 
first  crossing  the  equator  in  1471.  Under  Joao  II.,  who  succeeded  Alfonso  V. 
in  1481,  the  traffic  continued,  and  in  1489  Diogo  Cam  reached  a  point  in  22°, 
over  two  hundred  leagues  below  the  Congo  Eiver,  planting  there  a  cross 
which  is  said  to  "be  yet  standing.  Martin  Behaim,  the  mathematician  and 
cosmographer,  accompanied  Cam  on  this  voyage,  and  an  error  or  interpola 
tion  in  Schedel,  Regiatrum,  etc.,  Nuremberg,  1493,  gave  rise  to  the  unfounded 
report  that  they  sailed  west  and  discovered  America.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.y 
torn.  i.  pp.  257,  283,  292,  309;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  pp.  325-38;  Navarrete, 
Col.  do  Viages,  torn.  i.  p.  xl. ;  Ilarrisse,  Bibliotheca  Americana  Vetustissima, 
p.  40;  Galvano's  Discov.,  pp.  74-6;  Otto,  in  Am.  Phil.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.,  1786. 

We  enter  now  the  Columbian  epoch  proper,  to  which,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
enterprises  of  Prince  Henry  and  the  Portuguese  were  precursory.  About 
1484,  Christopher  Columbus  having  proposed  a  new  scheme  of  reaching  India 
by  sailing  west,  the  king  of  Portugal  surreptitiously  sent  a  vessel  to  test  his 
theory,  which,  after  searching  unsuccessfully  for  land  westward,  returned  to 
the  Cape  Verde  Islands.  J\Iuw,z,  Hint.  Nuevo  Mundo,  pp.  53-4  et  al.  Co 
lumbus  had  resided  in  Portugal  since  1470,  and  had  made  several  trips  in 
Portuguese  ships  down  the  African  coast,  in  the  course  of  which  he  is  sup 
posed  to  have  first  conceived  his  new  project.  Indignant  at  the  conduct  of 
the  Portuguese  king,  Columbus  left  for  Spain.  Colon,  Hint,  del  Almirante,  in 
Barcia,  Hid.  Prim.,  torn.  i.  pp.  9-10;  translation  in Pinkerton's  Col.  Voy.,  vol. 
xii.  pp.  1-16;  and  in  Kerr's  Col.  Voy.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  1-242. 

In  1486  Barfcolomeu  Dias  sailed  round  Cape  Good  Hope  and  continued  his 
voyage  to  Great  Fish  Paver  on  the  south-east  coast,  from  which  point  he  was 
compelled  to  return  on  account  of  the  murmurs  of  his  men.  The  cape,  now 
for  the  first  time  doubled  by  Europeans,  was  seen  and  named  by  him  on  his 
return.  In  1487  King  Joao  sent  two  priests,  Covilham  and  Payva,  to  travel 
in  the  East,  in  the  hope  of  gathering  more  definite  information  respecting 
Prester  John  and  his  famous  Christian  kingdom.  Prester  John  they  did  not 
find,  but  Covilham  in  his  wanderings  reached  Sofala  on  the  east  coast  of 
Africa  in  about  20°  south  latitude,  being  the  first  of  his  countrymen  to  sail  on 
the  Indian  Ocean.  At  Sofala  he  learned  the  practicability  of  the  voyage 
which  Dias  had  actually  accomplished  a  little  before,  and  a  message  to  that 
effect  was  immediately  sent  to  the  king.  Major's  Prince  IJenry,  pp.  339-42; 
Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viaycs,  torn.  i.  p.  xl-i;  Humboldt.  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i. 
pp.  230  ct  seq.;  Galvano's  Discov.,  pp.  77-8. 

From  this  time  to  the  great  discovery  of  1492,  few  expeditions  remain 
to  be  mentioned.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  by  this  time 
trading  voyages  were  of  ordinary  occurrence  all  along  the  eastern  Atlantic 
coast  and  its  adjoining  islands  from  Scandinavia  to  Guinea.  A  lively  com 
merce  was  carried  on  throughout  this  century  between  Bristol  and  Ice 
land,  and  in  the  words  of  Kunstmann,  substantiated  by  older  authorities, 
"a  bull  of  Nicolas  IV.  to  the  bishops  of  Iceland,  proves  that  the  pope  in 
1448  was  intimately  acquainted  with  matters  in  Greenland."  It  seems  in- 


THE  COLUMBIAN  EPOCH.  87 

credible  that  during  all  this  intercourse  with  northern  lands,  no  knowledge 
of  America  was  gained  by  southern  maritime  nations,  yet  so  far  as  we  know 
there  exists  no  proof  of  such  knowledge. 

[147G.]  John  of  Kolno,  or  Szkolny,  is  reported  to  have  made  a  voyage  in 
the  service  of  the  king  of  Denmark  in  1476,  and  to  have  touched  on  the  coast 
of  Labrador.  The  report  rests  on  the  authority  of  Wytfliet,  Descriptionis 
Ptolemaicce  auf/mentum,  Lavanii,  1598,  fol.  188,  supported  by  a  single  sen 
tence,  "Tambien  han  ydo  alia  hombres  de  Noruega  con  el  Piloto  luan 
Scolno,"  in  Gomara,  Hist.  Gen.  de  las  Indias,  Anvers,  1554,  cap.  xxxvii.  fol. 
31;  by  a  similar  sentence  in  Ilerrera,  Hi-it.  Gen.,  Madrid,  1601,  dec.  i. 
lib.  vi.  cap.  xvi.,  in  which  the  name  is  changed  to  Juan  Seduco;  and  by  the 
inscription,  Jac  Scolvus  Groetland,  on  a  country  west  of  Greenland  on  a  map 
made  by  Michael  Lok  in  1582,  fac-simile  \nHakluyt  Soc.,  Divers  Voy.,  p.  55. 
According  to  Kohl,  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  114-15,  this  voyage  is  considered  apoc 
ryphal  by  Danish  and  Norwegian  writers.  Lelewel,  Geoij.  du  moyen  dge,  p. 
106,  regards  the  voyage  as  authentic,  and  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am..,  pp. 
45-8,  attaches  to  it  great  importance  as  the  source  of  all  the  voyages  to  the 
north  which  followed.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  152-4,  gives 
but  little  attention  to  the  voyage,  and  confesses  his  inability  to  decide  on 
its  merits:  "Je  ne  puis  hasarder  aucun  jugement  sur  cette  assertion  de 
Wytfliet." 

[1477.]  In  this  year  Columbus,  whom  we  first  find  with  the  Portuguese 
traders  on  the  African  coast,  sailed  northward,  probably  with  an  English 
merchantman  from  Bristol,  to  a  point  one  hundred  leagues  beyond  Thule,  in 
73°  north.  Colon,  Hist,  del  Almirante  in  Barda,  torn.  i.  p.  4;  Munoz,  Hist. 
Nuevo  Mundo,  pp.  43-7;  Ilumboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i.  p.  272.  He  probably 
visited  Iceland,  although  he  gives  the  latitude  incorrectly,  taking  it  very  likely 
from  ancient  geography  rather  than  his  own  observations. 

[1482.]  According  to  Kunstmann,  the  edition  of  Ptolemy  this  year,  Pto- 
lomoKi  Cosmoyraplda,  Ulmsc,  1482,  lib.  viii.,  contains  a  map  that  includes 
Greenland,  and  must  have  been  compiled  from  northern  sources. 

[1488.]  Desmarquets,  Mcmoires  Chronoloyiques,  etc.,  Dieppe,  1785,  torn.  i. 
pp.  92-8,  states  that  one  Cousin  sailed  from  Dieppe  early  in  1488,  stood  off 
further  from  land  than  other  voyagers  had  done,  and  after  two  months 
reached  an  unknown  land  and  a  great  river,  which  he  named  the  Maragnon. 
Was  this  the  Marafion  in  South  America  ?  He  then  sailed  south-eastward 
and  discovered  the  southern  point  of  Africa,  returning  to  Dieppe  in  1489. 
The  discovery  was  kept  secret,  but  Cousin  made  a  second  voyage  round  the 
cape  and  succeeded  in  reaching  India.  Major,  besides  pointing  out  some  in 
consistencies  in  this  account,  shows  that  M.  Desmarquets  "could  commit 
himself  to  assertions  of  great  moment  which  are  clemonstrably  false."  He  is 
not  good  authority  for  so  remarkable  a  discovery  not  elsewhere  recorded. 

Before  striking  out  with  Columbus  in  his  bold  venture  to  the  west,  let  us 
sum  up  what  we  have  learned  thus  far  and  see  where  we  stand.  First,  the 
geographical  knowledge  of  the  ancients  was  restricted  to  a  parallelogram  ex 
tending  north-west  and  south-east  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Indian  ocean, 
comprising  one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees  cast  and  west  by  fifty  degrees 


88  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

north  and  south;  circumscribe  this  knowledge  with  legendary  stories  and 
hypothetical  and  traditional  beliefs  concerning  the  regions  beyond ;  then  add 
a  true  theory  of  the  earth's  sphericity,  though  mistaken  as  to  its  size.     This 
is  all  they  knew,  and  this  knowledge  they  committed  to  the  Dark  Age,  dur 
ing  which  time  it  was  preserved,  and,  indeed,  little  by  little  enlarged,  as  we 
have  seen.     During  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century,  particularly,  a 
powerful  impulse  had  been  given  to  discovery,  especially  toward  the  south ; 
so  that  now  the  limits  of  the  ancients  were  moved  eastward  at  least  forty 
degrees,  to  the  eastern  coasts  and  islands  of  Asia,  chiefly  by  the  travels  of  Marco 
Polo  and  Sir  John  Mandeville.     Toward  the  south,  the  true  form  of  Africa 
had  been  ascertained,  and  its  coasts  had  been  explored  by  the  Portuguese, 
except  a  space  of  about  fifteen  degrees  on  the  south-west.     Northward  the  old 
limit  had  been  advanced  but  slightly,  but  within  this  limit  much  information 
had  been  gained  by  actual  navigation  about  regions  only  vaguely  described 
by  Ptolemy.     Westward,  in  what  was  still  a  Sea  of  Darkness,  great  discov 
eries  had  been  made  by  the  Northmen,  but  their  results  were  now  practically 
lost;   while  toward  the  south,  several  important  groups  of  islands  had  been 
added  to  the  known  world.     See  map  on  page  73,  where  the  regions  added 
during  this  period  are  lightly  shaded.     And  now,  within  the  old  bound  the 
world  is  much  better  known  than  at  the  beginning  of  the  period,  and  many 
minor  geographical  errors  of  the  ancients  have  been  corrected  by  the  Crusad 
ers,  and  others  who  attempted  on  a  smaller  scale  to  extend  the  Catholic  faith, 
as  well  as  by  commercial   travellers  in   distant  lands.     Again,  by  the  in 
flux  of  Mahometans  into  Europe  during  five  or  six  centuries,  eastern  luxuries 
had  been  introduced  to  an  extent  hitherto  unknown,  and  had  in  fact  become 
necessities  in  Christian  courts,  thus  making  the  India  trade  the  great  field  of 
commercial  enterprise   even  by  the  tedious  and  uncertain  overland  routes 
where  middle-men  absorbed  the  profits,  and  rendering  the  opening  of  other 
and  easier  routes  an  object  of  primary  importance.     The  almost  exclusive 
possession  of  trade  via,  the  old  routes  by  the  Italians,  furnished  an  additional 
motive  to  other  European  nations  for  explorations  by  sea.     The  art  of  print 
ing,  recently  invented,  facilitated  the  diffusion  of  learning,  so  that  it  was  im 
possible  for  the  world  ever  again  to  lapse  into  the  old  intellectual  darkness. 
The  astrolabe,  the  foundation  of  the  modern  quadrant,  had  been  adapted  by 
a  meeting  of  cosmographers  in  Portugal  to  the  observation  of  latitudes  by 
the  sun's  altitude,  and  thus  the  chief  obstacle  to  long  sea-voyages  was  re 
moved.     The  polarity  of  the  magnet  had  long  been  known,  but  the  practical 
adaptation  of  the  magnetic  needle  to  purposes  of  navigation  occurred  about 
the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century.     The  mariner's  compass,  however, 
only  attained  its  highest  purpose  toward  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
when  the  Sea  of  Darkness  was  traversed.     But  before  this,  the  greatest  im 
pediments  to  ocean  navigation  had  been  overcome  by  voyages  actually  made 
through  the  aid  of  the  new  inventions.     Beside  the  coasts  broiight  to  light 
by  these  voyages,  they  had  done  much  to  dispel  the  old  superstitions  of  burn 
ing  zones,  impassable  capes,  and  unnavigable  seas. 

We  have  seen  that,  as  a  result  either  of  the  poetic  fancy  or  of  the  actual 
discovery  of  the  ancients,  various  islands  were  traditionally  located  in  the 
Atlantic.  Most  of  them  undoubtedly  owed  their  existence  to  the  natural 


REAL  AND  IMAGINARY  ISLANDS.  SO 

tendency  of  man  to  people  unknown  seas  with  fabulous  lands  and  beings. 
' '  II  est  si  naturel  a  I'homme  de  rever  quelque  chose  au-dela  de  1'liorizon  visi 
ble,"  observes  Humboldt.  For  a  full  account  of  the  history  and  location  of 
these  islands,  "  dont  la  position  est  encore  plus  variable  que  le  iiom,"  and  the 
important  part  played  by  them  in  ancient  and  middle-age  geography,  see 
Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  156-243,  and  Kumtmann,  Eutdeclcuny 
Am.,  pp.  6  et  seq.,  and  3o-37.  In  the  fifteenth  century,  with  the  revival  of 
maritime  enterprise,  came  a  renewal  and  multiplication  of  the  old  fables. 
Monastic  scholars,  by  their  continued  study  of  the  old  writers,  by  their  at 
tempts  to  reconcile  ancient  geography  with  fabulous  events  in  the  lives  of  the 
saints,  and  by  their  inevitable  tendency  to  exaggeration,  had  contributed 
largely  to  their  preservation.  Still,  throughout  the  preceding  period,  the  be 
lief  in  the  existence  of  such  islands  had  been  vague  and  hypothetical ;  but 
when  the  actual  existence  of  numerous  islands  in  the  western  ocean  was  proved, 
and  the  Canary,  Madeira,  Azore,  and  Capo  Verde  groups  were  discovered 
and  explored,  the  old  ideas  were  naturally  revived  and  confirmed,  and  with 
them  rose  a  desire  to  rediscover  all  that  had  been  known  to  the  ancient  voy 
agers.  The  reported  wonders  of  the  fabulous  isles,  having  on  them  great  and 
rich  cities,  were  confidently  sought  in  each  newly  found  land,  and  not  ap 
pearing  in  any  of  them,  the  islands  themselves  were  successively  located  far 
ther  and  farther  to  the  west,  out  in  the  mysterious  sea,  to  be  surely  brought 
to  light  by  future  explorations. 

And  of  a  truth,  this  wondrous  western  empire  was  subsequently  brought  to 
light;  peoples  and  cities  were  found,  but  beyond  the  limits  within  which  the 
wildest  dreams  of  their  discoverers  had  ever  placed  them.  On  this  founda 
tion  not  a  few  speculators  build  a  theory  that  America  was  known  to  the 
ancients.  The  chief  of  the  hypothetical  isles  were  San  Brandan,  Antilia, 
and  the  Island  of  the  Seven  Cities;  their  existence  was  firmly  believed  in,  and 
they  were  definitely  located  on  maps  of  the  period.  San  Brandaai  is  said  to 
have  been  visited  by  the  saint  whose  name  it  bears  in  the  sixth  century. 
It  was  at  first  located  far  north  and  west  of  Ireland,  but  gradually  moved 
southward  until  at  the  tune  of  Columbus'  first  voyage  it  is  found  nearly  in 
the  latitude  of  Cape  Verde.  To  the  inflamed  imagination  mirage  is  solid 
earth,  or  sea,  or  a  beautiful  city;  an  island  which  was  long  supposed  to 
be  visible  from  Madeira  and  the  Canaries  had  something  to  do  with  the  loca 
tion  of  this  island  of  the  saint,  and  of  the  others. 

Antilia,  and  the  Island  of  Seven  Cities,  according  to  Behaim's  map,  are 
identical.  See  page  03  this  volume;  also  a  reputed  letter  of  Toscanelli,  about 
the  existence  of  which  Humboldt  thinks  there  may  be  some  doubt.  The 
only  tangible  point  in  the  traditionary  history  is  the  migration  of  seven 
bishops,  driven  from  the  Peninsula  by  the  Moorish  invasion  in  the  eighth 
century,  who  took  refuge  there  and  built  the  Seven  Cities.  The  history  and 
location  of  this  Island  of  the  Seven  Cities  in  the  fifteenth  century  are  similai 
to  those  of  San  Brandan  Island.  Galvano  says  a  Portuguese  ship  was  there 
in  1447.  Brazil,  Bracie,  or  Berzil,  was  another  of  these  wandering  isles, 
whose  name  has  been  preserved  and  applied  to  a  rock  west  of  Ireland,  to  one 
of  the  Azore  islands,  and  to  a  country  in  South  America.  This  name  has 
been  the  theme  of  much  discussion,  which,  so  far  as  I  know,  leads  to  no 


90  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

result  beyond  the  fact  that  the  name  of  a  valuable  dye  -wood  known  to 
the  ancients  was  afterward  applied  to  lands  known  or  conjectured  to  pro 
duce  such  woods,  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  214-45;  Kunstmann, 
Entdeckung  Am.,  pp.  7-10,  and  35  et  seq.  Kunstmann  attaches  greater  geo 
graphical  importance  to  the  fabulous  isles  than  Humboldt,  connecting  them 
in  a  manner  apparently  not  quite  clear  to  himself  with  the  previous  discov 
eries  of  the  Northmen.  Thus  stood  facts  and  fancies  concerning  the  geog 
raphy  of  the  world,  when  the  greatest  of  discoverers  arose  and  achieved  the 
greatest  of  discoveries. 

Although  in  the  chapters  following  I  speak  more  at  length  of  the  deeds 
of  the  Genoese  and  his  companions,  yet  in  order  to  complete  this  Summary 
it  is  necessary  to  mention  them  here.  I  shall  attempt  no  discussion  concern 
ing  the  country,  family,  date  of  birth,  or  early  life  of  Christopher  Columbus. 
For  the  differences  of  opinion  on  these  points,  with  numerous  references,  see 
Harrixse,  BibUotliec.fi  Americana  Vetustissima,  New  York,  I860,  p.  2  et  seq. 
Born  somewhere  in  Italy,  probably  Genoa,  about  1435,  he  received  something 
more  than  a  rudimentary  education,  went  to  sea  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen, 
and  in  1470,  which  is  about  the  date  of  his  coming  to  Portugal,  had  already 
an  extensive  experience  in  the  navigation  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  was 
skilled  in  the  theory  as  well  as  the  practice  of  his  profession.  We  have  al 
ready  seen  him  with  the  Portuguese  on  the  African  coast,  and  with  the  Eng 
lish  in  Iceland.  In  fact,  before  his  first  voyage  westward  in  1492,  he  was 
practically  acquainted  with  all  waters  then  navigated  by  Europeans. 

The  promptings  which  iirged  forward  this  navigator  to  the  execution  01  his 
great  enterprise  may  be  stated  as  follows:  The  success  of  the  Portuguese  in 
long  voyages  down  the  African  coast  suggested  to  his  mind,  soon  after  1470, 
that  if  they  could  sail  so  far  south,  another  might  sail  west  with  the  same 
facility  and  perhaps  profit.  Says  his  son:  "Estando  en  Portugal,  empec6  a 
congeturar,  quo  del  mismo  modo  que  los  Portugueses  navegaron  tan  lejos  al 
Mediodia,  podria  navegarse  la  buelta  cle  Occidente,  i  hallar  tierra  cu  acr.iel 
viage."  Colon,  Hist,  del  Almirante,  in  Barcia,  torn.  i.  p.  4;  edition  of  Ver  cia, 
1709,  pp.  22-3;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i.  p.  12;  Navarrete,  C  .  de 
F/a.'/e.-1,  torn.  i.  p.  Ixxix;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen..,  dec.  i.  lib.  i.  cap.  1-7.  His 
ardent  imagination  once  seized  with  this  idea,  every  nook  and  corner  of 
geographical  knowledge  was  searched  for  evidence  to  support  his  theory. 
By  intercourse  with  other  navigators  he  learned  that  at  different  times  and 
places  along  the  western  coasts  of  Europe  and  Africa,  objects  appar 
ently  from  unknown  western  lands  had  been  washed  ashore,  supposi- 
tionally  by  the  wind,  really  by  the  Gulf  Stream  or  other  oceanic  currents. 
Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  ii.  p.  249.  Though  well  aware  of  existing 
rumors  of  islands  seen  at  different  times  in  the  western  ocean,  it  was 
not  upon  these,  if  any  such  there  were,  that  he  built  his  greatest 
anticipations  of  success.  In  the  writings  of  the  ancients  he  found 
another  stimulant.  Filled  with  fervent  piety  and  superstitious  credulity, 
he  pored  over  every  cosmogi'aphical  work  upon  which  he  could  lay 
his  hands,  as  well  the  compilations  of  antiquated  notions,  such  as  the  Imago 
Mundi  of  Pierre  D'Ailly,  or  the  more  modern  travels  of  Marco  Polo  and 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GRAND  CONCEPTION.       91 

Sir1  John Mandeville.  Colon,  Hist,  del  Almirante,  inB'trcia,  torn.  i.  p.  4  ct  seq.; 
Major's  Prince  Henry,  pp.  349,  352;  Ilumboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  i.  pp.  46, 
60;  Kunstmann,  Entdeckuny  Am.,  pp.  74-6. 

The  result  of  these  studies  was  a  complete  acquaintance  with  the  geo 
graphical  knowledge  of  the  day,  with  the  greater  part  of  what  I  have  thus 
far  epitomized,  the  doings  of  the  Northmen  excepted.  From  all  this  he 
knew  of  the  earth's  sphericity;  he  believed  that  the  larger  part  of  the  world's 
surface  was  dry  land;  that  the  land  known  to  Ptolemy  extended  over  at  least 
180  degrees,  or  half  the  circumference  of  the  globe,  that  is,  from  the  Canaries 
to  the  Ganges;  he  knew  that  by  later  travels  the  eastern  limit  of  geographical 
knowledge  had  been  moved  much  farther  east,  even  to  Cathay;  he  believed 
that  far  out  in  the  ocean  lay  the  island  of  Zipangu;  he  knew  that  some  eight 
or  ten  degrees  had  been  added  on  the  west  by  the  discovery  of  the  Azores; 
he  believed  that  at  most  only  one  third  of  the  circumference  remained  to  bo 
navigated;  that  this  space  might  naturally  contain  some  islands  available 
as  way  stations  in  the  voyage;  that  the  explorations  in  the  East  were  very 
indefinite,  and  consequently  Asia  might,  and  probably  did,  extend  farther  east 
than  was  supposed;  that  Ptolemy's  figures  were  not  undisputed— Marino 
making  the  distance  from  the  Canaries  to  the  Ganges  223  degrees  instead  of 
180,  while  another  geographer,  Alfragano,  by  actual  measurement,  made  each 
degree  about  one  sixth  smaller  than  Ptolemy,  thus  reducing  the  size  of  the 
earth,  and  with  it  the  remaining  distance  to  India;  that  several  ancient 
writers— see  quotations  from  Aristotle,  Strabo,  Seneca,  et  al.,  in  Humboldty 
Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i.  pp.  38,  61,  98  et  seq. — had  pronounced  the  distance  to 
India  very  short,  and  had  affirmed  that  it  might  be  navigated  in  a  few  days; 
and  finally  that  other  scholars,  as  Toscanelli,  had  arrived  at  the  same  con 
clusions  as  himself,  possibly  before  himself.  Cartax  de  Pablo  Toscanelli,  Fisico 
Florentin,  d  Cristobal  Colon  y  al  Candnifjo  Portwjues  Fernando  Martinez,  sobre 
el  desciibrimiento  de  las  ludias,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  ii.  pp.  1-4;  Munoz,  Hist. 
Nuevj  Mundo,  pp.  48-9.  See  also,  on  Columbus'  motives,  Irving' a  Colum 
bus,  vol.  i.  pp.  42-51,  and  vol.  ii.  p.  148;  Munoz,  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,  pp.  45-7; 
Ilumboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  324-9;  Stevens'  Jfrotes,  p.  28;  Major's 
Prince  Henry,  pp.  347-52;  Kumtmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  p.  74.  Many  of 
these  conclusions  were  erroneous,  being  founded  on  an  incorrect  idea  of  longi 
tude;  but  this  reduction  of  the  earth's  size  was  an  error  most  fortunate  for 
discovery,  inasmuch  as  with  a  correct  idea  of  the  distance  to  be  traversed, 
and  with  no  suspicion  of  an  intervening  continent,  such  an  expedition  as  that 
of  the  Genoese  would  not  have  been  undertaken  at  the  time. 

Such  were  the  ideas  and  aspirations  of  Columbus  before  his  undertakings; 
later  in  life  a  theologic  mysticism  took  possession  of  his  mind,  and  his  suc 
cess  was  simply  a  fulfillment  of  divine  prophecy  in  which  cosmographical 
realities  went  for  nothing.  See  Gartas  de  Don  Cristobal  Colon,  in  Naoarrete, 
torn.  i.  p.  330. 

All  attempts  to  diminish  the  glory  of  Columbus'  achievement  by  proving  a 
previous  discovery  whose  results  were  known  to  him  have  signally  failed. 
The  reports  of  mysterious  maps  which  have  been  claimed  to  have  prompted 
his  enterprise  evidently  amount  to  nothing  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Columbus 
never  suspected  the  existence  of  any  new  countries,  yet  that  he  saw  maps 


92  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

of  the  world,  including  the  Asiatic  coasts,  can  not  be  doubted.  The  case  of 
the  pilot  Sanchez,  said  to  have  died  in  the  house  of  Columbus,  and  to  have 
told  him  of  lands  he  had  seen  toward  the  west,  if  true,  is  likewise  of  little 
moment  as  touching  the  honor  due  to  Columbus,  for  many  men  were  confi 
dent  of  having  seen  such  lands  from  the  Canaries  and  other  islands,  and  sev 
eral  voyages  had  been  made  in  search  of  them,  all  of  which  was  certainly 
known  to  Columbus.  The  story  of  Sanchez  was  started  by  Oviedo,  who 
gives  no  authority  or  date  for  the  event;  it  was  repeated  generally  with  dis 
approval  by  other  historians,  until  revived  by  Garcillasso  de  la  Vega  with  date 
and  details;  but  his  date,  1484,  is  ten  years  after  Columbus  is  known  to  have 
proposed  his  scheme  to  the  Portuguese  government.  Columbus  originated 
no  new  theory  respecting  the  earth's  form  or  size,  though  a  popular  idea  has 
always  prevailed,  notwithstanding  the  statements  of  the  best  writers  to  the 
contrary,  that  he  is  entitled  to  the  glory  of  the  theory  as  well  as  to  that  of 
the  execution  of  the  project.  He  was  not  in  advance  of  his  age,  entertained 
no  new  theories,  believed  no  more  than  did  Prince  Henry,  his  predecessor,  or 
Toscanelli,  his  contemporary;  nor  was  he  the  first  to  conceive  the  possi 
bility  of  reaching  the  east  by  sailing  west.  He  was  however  the  first  to  act 
in  accordance  with  existing  beliefs.  The  Northmen  in  their  voyages  had  en 
tertained  no  ideas  of  a  New  World,  or  of  an  Asia  to  the  west.  To  knowledge 
of  theoretical  geography,  Columbus  added  the  skill  of  a  practical  navigator, 
and  the  iron  will  to  overcome  obstacles.  He  sailed  west,  reached  Asia  as 
he  believed,  and  proved  old  theories  correct. 

There  seem  to  be  two  undecided  points  in  that  matter,  neither  of  which 
can  ever  be  settled.  First,  did  his  experience  in  the  Portuguese  voyages,  the 
perusal  of  some  old  author,  or  a  hint  from  one  of  the  few  men  acquainted 
with  old  traditions,  first  suggest  to  Columbus  his  project  ?  In  the  absence 
of  sustaining  proof,  the  statement  of  the  son  Fernando  that  the  father  should 
be  credited  with  the  reconception  of  the  great  idea,  goes  for  little.  Second, 
to  what  extent  did  his  voyage  to  the  north  influence  his  plan  ?  There  is  no 
evidence,  but  a  strong  probability,  that  he  heard  in  that  voyage  of  the 
existence  of  land  in  the  west.  It  is  hardly  possiMe  that  no  tradition  of 
Markland  and  Vinland  remained  in  Iceland,  when  but  little  i.iore  th  n  a 
hundred  years  had  passed  since  the  last  ship  had  returned  from  Jiose 
countries,  and  when  many  persons  must  have  been  living  who  had  been  in 
Greenland.  If  such  traditions  did  exist,  Columbus  certainly  must  have 
made  himself  acquainted  with  them.  Still  his  visit  to  the  north  was  in  1477, 
several  years  after  the  first  formation  of  his  plan,  and  any  -information  gained 
at  the  time  could  only  have  been  confirmatory  rather  than  suggestive.  Both 
Humboldt  and  Kunstmann  think  that  even  if  he  ever  heard  of  the  discoveries 
of  the  Northmen — which  is  thought  probable  by  the  latter — this  knowl 
edge  would  not  have  agreed  with,  nor  encouraged,  his  plans.  Kohl,  Hi*t. 
Discov.,  pp.  115-20,  believes  that  such  a  knowledge  would  have  been  the 
strongest  possible  confirmation  of  his  idea  of  the  nearness  of  Asia  and  Europe, 
in  which  opinion  I  concur.  The  idea  of  Draper,  Hist.  Int.  Develop. ,  p.  446, 
that  had  Columbus  known  of  the  northern  discoveries  he  would  have  steered 
farther  to  the  north,  seems  of  no  weight,  since  ho  sought  not  the  northern  but 
the  southern  parts  of  India. 


FIRST  VOYAGE  OF  COLUMBUS. 


93 


What  Columbus  had  to  contend  with  at  this  juncture  was  not,  as  I 
have  said,  old  doctrines  oppugnant  to  any  new  conception,  but  the  igno 
rance  of  the  masses,  who  held  no  doctrine  beyond  that  of  proximate  sense, 
which  spread  out  the  earth's  surface,  so  far  as  their  dull  conceptions  could 
reach,  in  one  universal  flatness ;  and  the  knowledge  of  courts,  whence  alone 
the  great  discoverer  could  hope  for  support,  was  but  little  in  advance  of 
that  of  the  people.  Then  the  Church,  with  its  chronic  opposition  to  all 
progress,  was  against  him.  The  monks,  who  were  then  the  guardians  of 
learning,  knew,  or  might  have  known,  all  that  Prince  Henry,  Columbus, 
and  other  earnest  searchers  had  ascertained  regarding  the  geography  of 
the  earth;  but  what  were  science  and  facts  to  them  if  they  in  any  wise  con 
flicted  with  the  preconceived  notions  of  the  Fathers,  or  with  Church  dogmas? 
"  II  est  vrai,"  says  Humboldt,  "que  les  scrupules  theologiques  de  Lactance, 
de  St.  Chrysostome  et  de  quelques  autres  Peres  de  1'Eglise,  contribuerent  a 


MARTIN  BEHAIM'S  GLOBE,  1492. 

pousser  1'esprit  humain  dans  un  mouvement  retrograde."  And  again,  the 
African  expeditions  of  the  Portuguese  had  not  on  the  whole  been  profitable 
or  encouraging  to  other  similar  undertakings,  and  the  financial  condition  of 
most  European  courts  was  not  such  as  to  warrant  new  expenses.  Portugal, 
more  advanced  and  in  better  condition  to  embark  in  new  enterprises  than 
any  other  nation,  now  regarded  the  opening  of  her  route  to  India  via  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  an  accomplished  fact,  and  therefore  looked  coldly  on  any  new 
venture.  Nor  were  the  extravagant  demands  of  Columbus  with  respect  to 
titles  and  authority  over  the  new  regions  of  Asia  which  he  hoped  to  find, 
likely  to  inspire  monarchs,  jealous  of  their  dignities,  with  favor  toward  a 
penniless,  untitled  adventurer.  Passing  as  well  the  successive  disappoint 
ments  of  Columbus  in  his  weary  efforts  to  obtain  the  assistance  necessary  to 
the  accomplishment  of  his  project,  as  his  final  success  with  Queen  Isabella  of 
Castile,  let  us  resume  our  chronological  summary, 


C4  EARLY  VOYx\GES. 

[1402.]  Shortly  before  the  sailing  of  Columbus,  the  learned  astronomer 
Martin  Behaim,  of  Nuremberg,  constructed  a  globe  showing  the  whole  surface 
of  the  earth  as  understood  by  the  best  geographers  of  the  time.  This  globe 
has  been  preserved,  and  I  present  a  fac-simile  of  the  American  hemisphere 
published  in  Gldllany,  Geschichte  des  Seefahrers  Ritter  Martin  Bchaim,  Niirn- 
berg,  1853.  The  entire  globe  may  be  seen  in  Jomard,  Les  Monuments  de  la 
Geographic,  no.  xv.,  Paris,  1854.  A  section  of  the  globe  is  given  by  Irving, 
Columbux,  vol.  i.  p.  53  (see  also  Id.,  p.  135),  by  London  Geotj.  Soc.  Journal, 
1048,  vol.  xviii.  p.  76;  and  a  copy  from  Ghillany,  with  some  of  the  names 
omitted,  may  be  found  in  KoliVs  Hist.  Discov.,  p.  147,  map  110.  iv. 

The  chart  by  which  the  voyage  of  Columbus  was  made  is  supposed  to  have 
been  a  copy  of  Behaim's  Globe,  which  indeed  may  be  regarded  as  the  ex 
ponent  of  geographical  conceptions,  those  of  Columbus  as  well  as  those  of  the 
learned  men  and  practical  navigators  of  the  day.  By  an  inscription  on  the 
original,  the  Asiatic  coast  is  known  to  have  been  laid  down  from  Marco  Polo, 
and  to  the  islands  of  Antilia  and  San  Brandan  are  joined  other  inscriptions 
giving  their  history  as  I  have  before  indicated.  Sailing  from  Palos  on  the 
3d  of  August,  1492,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  in  three  vessels 
commanded  by  himself  and  the  two  brothers  Pinzon,  Columbus  was  at  last 
fairly  launched  on  the  Sea  of  Darkness.  After  a  detention  of  three  weeks  at 
the  Canaries,  he  sailed  thence  the  Cth  of  September;  marked,  not  without 
alarm,  the  variation  of  the  needle  on  the  30th  of  September;  and  on  the  12th 
of  October  discovered  San  Salvador,  or  Cat  Island. 

So  far  all  was  well;  all  was  as  the  bold  navigator  had  anticipated;  all  ac 
corded  with  current  opinions,  his  own  among  the  number ;  he  had  sailed  cer 
tain  days,  had  accomplished  a  certain  distance,  and  had  reached  triumphantly 
one  of  the  numerous  islands  mentioned  by  Marco  Polo,  and,  God  willing, 
would  soon  find  the  larger  island  of  Zipangu.  Alas  for  mathematical  cal 
culations,  for  that  other  third  of  the  earth's  circumference ;  alas  for  the  inter 
vening  continent  and  broad  Pacific  sea,  which  baffled  the  great  discoverer  to 
the  day  of  his  death  ! 

Passing  over  the  cruise  through  the  Bahamas,  or  Marco  Polo's  archipelago 
of  seven  thousand  islands,  in  which  the  discoverers  touched  successively  at 
Concepcion,  Exuma  (Fernandina),  and  Isla  Larga  (Isabela),  we  find  Columbus 
sailing  from  the  last-mentioned  island  on  the  24th  of  October  for  Zipangu, 
with  the  intention  of  proceeding  thence  to  the  main-land,  and  presenting  his 
credentials  to  the  great  Khan. 

Touching  at  the  Mucaras  group,  Columbus  arrived  at  Zipangu,  which 
was  none  other  than  the  island  of  Cuba,  on  the  28th  of  October,  and  gave 
to  the  island,  in  place  of  its  barbarous  appellation,  the  more  Christian 
name  of  Juana.  Cruising  along  the  northern  shore  of  Cuba,  in  frequent 
converse  wTith  the  natives,  he  soon  learned  that  this  was  not  Zipangu,  was 
not  even  an  island,  but  was  the  veritable  Asiatic  continent  itself,  for  so 
his  fervid  mind  interpreted  the  strange  language  of  this  people.  Unfor 
tunately  he  could  not  find  the  Khan;  after  diligent  search  he  could  find 
no  great  city,  nor  any  imperial  court,  nor  other  display  of  oriental  opulence 
such  as  were  described  by  Marco  Polo  and  Sir  John  Mandeville  — only  naked 
barbarians  and  thatched  huts;  so  after  advancing  west  beyond  Savana  la 


PAPAL  BULL  OF  PARTITION.  95 

Mar,  the  discoverers  returned  to  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba,  visiting  on  the  way 
the  group  El  Jardin  del  Hey.  Postponing  the  exploration  of  the  coast  toward 
the  south-west,  Columbus  returned  eastward  and  followed  the  northern  coast 
of  Espanola,  turning  off  on  his  way  to  discover  the  Tortugas,  and  arriving  at 
La  Navidad,  where  he  built  a  fort  and  left  a  colony  of  thirty-nine  men.  Now, 
Espanola,  and  not  Cuba  as  he  had  at  first  supposed,  was  the  true  Zipangu ; 
for  the  main-land  of  China  could  not  by  any  possibility  be  the  island  of 
Japan;  and  in  this  belief  Columbus  sailed  for  Spain  on  the  16th  of  Jan 
uary,  reaching  the  Azores  on  the  18th  of  February,  and  arriving  at  Palos  the 
15th  of  March,  1493.  Primer  viaye  de  Colon,  in  Navarrele,  torn.  i.  pp.  1-197; 
Purchas,  His  Pllfjrim.es,  vol.  i.  booke  ii.  pp.  10-13;  Sammlung  alkr  Reisvbe- 
schrelbunfjen,  torn.  xiii.  p.  10;  Napione  and  De  Contl,  Bioyrafia  Colombo,  pp. 
305-36;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  i.  cap.  i.;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  i.  pp.  21-31, 
46-55;  Colon,  Hist,  del  Almirante,  in  Barcia,  torn.  i.  pp.  13-38;  Irving' s  Co 
lumbus,  vol.  i.  pp.  124-289,  vol.  iii.  pp.  447-68;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  pp. 
356-7;  West-Indisclie  Spieghel,  p.  10;  Cancellieri,  Notiziedi  Colombo,  pp.  66-76. 

[1493.]  Just  before  reaching  the  Azores,  Columbus  wrote  on  shipboard 
two  letters  describing  his  voyage,  one  under  date  of  the  15th  of  Febru 
ary,  and  the  other  of  the  14th  of  March.  The  manuscript  of  one,  with 
copies  printed  in  Spain  probably  during  this  same  year,  are  yet  preserved. 
Of  the  other,  both  the  original  manuscript  and  Spanish  copies,  if  any 
were  printed,  are  lost;  but  of  a  Latin  translation,  six  editions  are  extant, 
supposed  to  have  been  printed  in  1493,  in  France  and  in  Italy,  under  the 
title  Epistola  Christofori  Colom,  or  De  Insults  Inventis,  etc.  A  poetical  para 
phrase  of  the  same  letter  appeared  the  same  year  as  Dati  Questa  e  la  Hystoria, 
etc.,  Florence,  1493,  and  four  other  works  of  this  year  contain  slight  allusions 
to  Columbus.  Seven  or  eight  editions  of  Columbus'  letters  appeared  in  dif 
ferent  forms  during  the  next  forty  years.  Both  letters  may  be  found  with 
Spanish  translations  in  the  first  volume  of  Navarrete's  collection.  For  the 
bibliographical  notices  of  this  sketch  I  have  depended  chiefly  on  Harrisse, 
Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  as  the  latest  and  most  complete  essay  on  early  American 
books,  notwithstanding  the  few  blunders  that  have  subjected  it  to  so  much 
ridicule.  I  shall  not  consider  it  necessary  to  repeat  the  reference  with  each 
notice,  as  Harrisse's  work  is  arranged  chronologically. 

As  soon  as  Columbus  had  explained  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  the  nature 
of  his  important  discovery,  the  Spanish  sovereigns  applied  to  the  Pope  for 
the  same  grants  and  privileges  respecting  lands  discovered,  and  to  be  discov 
ered,  in  the  west,  that  had  before  been  granted  the  Portuguese  in  the  south 
and  east.  His  Holiness,  accepting  the  Spanish  statements  that  the  conces 
sions  demanded  did  not  in  any  way  conflict  with  previous  grants  to  the  Por 
tuguese,  by  bull  of  May  2,  1493,  ceded  to  Spain  all  lands  which  might  be 
discovered  by  her  west  of  a  line  drawn  from  pole  to  pole,  one  hundred  leagues 
west  of  the  Azores ;  the  Portuguese  to  have  all  new  lands  east  of  the  same 
line.  It  is  obvious  that  his  Holiness  fixed  this  line  arbitrarily,  without  a 
thought  of  the  position  or  importance  of  the  corresponding  meridian  at  the 
antipodes.  This  opposite  meridian,  according  to  the  idea  of  longitude  enter 
tained  at  the  time,  would  fall  in  the  vicinity  of  India  proper;  and  the  Portu 
guese,  besides  their  natural  jealousy  of  this  new  success  of  Spain,  feared  that 


96  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

the  western  hemisphere  thus  given  to  her  rival  might  include  portions  of 
their  Indian  grants.  Hence  arose  much  trouble  in  the  few  following  years 
between  the  two  courts.  See  infra. 

Amidst  the  enthusiasm  following  his  success  Columbus  had  no  difficulty 
in  fitting  out  another  expedition.  Embarking  from  Cadiz  September  23, 
1493,  with  seventeen  vessels  and  over  1,200  men,  among  whom  were  Alonso 
de  Ojeda  and  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  el  almirante,  or  the  admiral,  as  Columbus  was 
now  called,  touched  at  the  Canaries,  discovered  Dominica  the  3d  of  Novem 
ber,  and  Guadalupe  a  few  days  later;  thence  sailing  north-west  through  the 
Caribbean  Archipelago,  he  occasionally  landed  and  gave  names  to  islands. 
Resting  two  days  at  Puerto  Rico,  he  reached  the  coast  of  Espafiola  on  the  22d 
of  November,  and  on  the  27th  anchored  off  the  port  of  Navidad.  The  set 
tlement  established  at  this  place  in  the  previous  voyage  had  totally  disap 
peared;  the  colonists  as  is  supposed  falling  victims  to  internal  dissensions 
and  general  excesses.  A  new  city  called  Isabela  was  then  founded  at  an 
other  port  of  this  island,  and  Ojeda  was  sent  inland  to  explore  the  country. 
After  a  short  absence  he  returned,  reporting  th>  country  rich  in  gold.  On 
the  second  of  February,  1494,  twelve  vessels,  with  specimens  of  the  people 
and  products  of  the  country,  were  despatched  for  Spain  under  Antonio  de 
Torres.  By  this  departure  was  also  sent  a  request  for  immediate  supplies. 
Recovering  from  a  serious  illness,  Columbus  checked  a  revolt  among  his  peo 
ple  on  the  24th  of  April,  built  a  fort  in  the  interior,  and  then  sailed  to  explore 
the  main  coast  of  Asia — as  he  supposed,  but  in  truth  Cuba — south- west  ward 
from  the  point  where  he  left  it  on  his  first  voyage.  Following  the  south 
coast  of  Cuba  the  admiral  at  length  reached  the  vicinity  of  Philipina,  or 
Cortes  Bay,  where  the  shore  bends  to  the  southward.  This  to  him  seemed 
conclusive  proof  that  it  was  indeed  the  main-land  of  Asia  which  he  was 
coasting.  The  statements  of  the  natives  who  said  that  Cuba  was  in  fact  an 
island,  but  that  it  was  so  large  that  no  one  had  ever  reached  its  western  ex 
tremity,  confirmed  him  in  his  belief — since  one  might  question  the  knowl 
edge  of  a  boundary  which  no  one  had  ever  reached  and  from  which  no  one 
had  ever  come.  The  theory  of  the  age  was  thus  made  good,  and  that 
was  sufficient;  so  Columbus  brought  all  his  crew,  officers  and  men,  before  the 
notary,  and  made  them  swear  that  the  island  of  Cuba  was  the  continent  of 
Asia  — an  act  significant  of  methods  of  conversion  in  those  days.  He  even 
proposed  to  continue  the  voyage  along  the  coast  to  the  Red  Sea,  and  thence 
home  by  way  of  the  Mediterranean,  or,  better  still,  round  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  to  meet  and  surprise  the  Portuguese;  but  his  companions  thought  the 
supplies  insufficient  for  so  long  a  voyage,  and  the  admiral  was  persuaded 
to  postpone  the  attempt. 

Returning  therefore  to  Espafiola,  on  the  way  back  Columbus  discovered 
and  partially  explored  Jamaica,  Isla  de  Pinos,  and  the  small  islands  scattered 
to  the  southward  of  Cuba,  arriving  at  Isabela  on  the  4th  of  September. 
There  he  found  matters  in  a  bad  way.  The  colony,  comprising  a  motley  crew 
of  lawless  adventurers,  ever  ready  to  attribute  success  to  themselves  and  ill- 
fortune  to  their  governor,  trumped  up  numerous  complaints  which  caused  the 
admiral  no  little  trouble.  Margarite,  to  whom  had  been  given  a  command 
for  an  expedition  inland,  had  revolted  and  sailed  with  several  ships  for  Spain. 


REPARTITION  OF  THE  WORLD.  97 

Open  war  had  been  declared  with  the  natives,  and  the  colonists  were  hard 
pressed;  but  the  admiral's  presence  and  Ojeda's  impetuous  bravery  soon 
secured  order.  Meanwhile  two  arrivals  inspired  the  colonists  with  fresh 
courage;  that  of  Bartolome  Colon,  brother  of  the  admiral,  with  three  ships, 
and  that  of  Torres,  with  four  vessels  laden  with  supplies.  With  the  gold 
that  had  been  accumulated,  and  specimens  of  fruits  and  plants,  and  five 
hundred  natives  as  slaves,  Torres  was  sent  back  to  Spain,  accompanied  by 
Diego  Colon,  whose  mission  was  to  defend  his  brother's  interests  at  court. 
The  pacification  of  the  natives  was  then  completed,  and  heavy  taxes  were  im 
posed  upon  them.  In  October,  1495,  arrived  Juan  de  Aguado,  sent  by  the 
king  to  ascertain  the  facts  concerning  charges  against  the  admiral.  This  man, 
in  place  of  executing  his  commission  fairly,  only  stirred  up  the  accusers  of 
Columbus  to  greater  enmity — which  quality  of  justice  well  accorded  with 
the  temper  of  his  master  Ferdinand.  On  account  of  these  troubles,  as  well 
as  from  the  discovery  of  a.  new  gold  mine,  which  proved  beyond  question 
that  Espafiola  was  the  ancient  Ophir  of  King  Solomon,  Columbus  decided  to 
retuni  to  Spain.  So  leaving  his  brother,  Bartolome,  in  command  as  adelan- 
tado,  or  lieutenant-governor,  he  sailed  with  Aguado,  on  the  10th  of  March,  in 
two  caravels,  carrying  225  Spaniards  and  thirty  natives.  Touching  at  Mari- 
galante,  and  Guadalupe,  he  arrived  at  Cadiz  June  11,  1496.  Segnndo  Viayedc 
Cristobal  Colon,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  i.  pp.  198-241;  Colon,  Hist,  del  Almirante, 
in  Barcla,  torn.  i.  pp.  42-73;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  i.  cap.  2-4;  Oviedo,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn.  i.  pp.  31-5;  Napione  and  DeConti,  Biografta  Colombo,  pp.  331-50; 
Irving's  Columbus,  vol.  i.  pp.  338-497;  vol.  ii.  pp.  1-87;  Major's  Prince 
Henry,  p.  358;  Humboldt's  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  iv.  p.  217;  Cancellieri,  Notizie 
di  Colombo,  pp.  93-9.  The  letters  which  Columbus  sent  to  Spain  by  Torres 
in  February,  1494,  if  ever  printed,  are  lost;  but  in  St/llado,  ad  Sapietissimu 
. . .  .de  insulis,  etc.,  Pavia,  1494  or  1495,  appeared  certain  letters  from  Spain 
to  the  author  of  this  work,  describing  the  second  voyage  of  Columbus. 

[1494.]  Thus  during  the  absence  of  Columbus  on  his  second  voyage  we 
have  seen  the  ocean  route  between  Spain  and  Espaiiola  six  times  navigated; 
first,  by  the  fleet  of  twelve  vessels  sent  back  to  Spain  by  the  admiral  under 
Antonio  de  Torres;  second,  by  Bartolome  Colon,  who  followed  his  brother  to 
Espafiola  with  three  ships;  third,  by  Margarite,  who  revolted  and  left  Espafiola 
during  the  absence  of  Columbus  in  Cuba;  fourth,  by  Torres  in  command  of 
four  vessels  from  Spain  with  supplies  for  the  colony;  fifth,  by  the  return  of 
the  same  four  ships  to  Spain  with  gold  and  slaves;  and  sixth,  by  Juan  de 
Aguado  with  four  ships  from  Spain  in  August,  1495. 

With  the  division  of  the  world  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  Portugal  was  not 
satisfied.  The  world  was  thought  to  be  not  so  large  then  as  now,  and  one  half 
of  it  was  not  enough  for  so  small  a  kingdom  which  had  boasted  so  great  a  navi 
gator  as  Prince  Henry.  It  was  not  their  own  side,  but  the  other  side,  that 
troubled  the  Portuguese,  fearing  as  they  did  that  the  opposite  meridian  threw 
into  Spain's  half  a  part  or  the  whole  of  India.  So  Spain  and  Portugal  fell  to 
quarrelling  over  this  partition  by  his  Holiness;  and  the  matter  was  referred, 
to  a  commission,  and  finally  settled  by  the  treaty  of  Tordesillas  in  June, 
1494,  which  moved  the  line  270  leagues  farther  west.  About  the  location  of 
HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.  7 


98  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

this  line  of  demarcation,  and  its  effect  on  Brazil,  and  the  Moluccas,  much 
has  been  written,  though  little  has  been  said  as  to  the  motive  that  prompted 
Portugal  in  making  this  change.  The  fact  is,  that  at  a  time  when  the  Spice 
Islands  were  but  vaguely  known,  and  the  existence  of  Brazil  not  even  sus 
pected,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  why  Portugal  desired  to  change  the  par 
tition  line  from  100  leagues  to  370  leagues  west  of  the  Azores;  for  the  change 
could  only  diminish  the  possessions  of  Portugal  in  India  by  270  leagues,  as 
in  truth  it  did,  including  the  Moluccas  in  the  loss,  and  gaining  in  return  270 
leagues  of  open  Atlantic  sea!  True,  there  proved  to  be  an  accidental  gain  of 
a  part  of  Brazil,  but  there  could  have  been  no  idea  at  the  time  that  this  par 
tition  line  cut  through  any  eastern  portion  of  lands  discovered  by  Columbus 
to  the  west.  In  whatever  light  we  imagine  them  to  have  regarded  it,  there  is 
still  an  unexplained  mystery.  The  Pacific  ocean  was  unknown;  between  the 
discoveries  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  so  far  as  known,  all  was  land — India.  By 
carrying  the  partition  line  westward,  Portugal  may  have  thought  to  find  some 
western  land;  at  all  events,  it  is  generally  believed  that  the  effect  of  the  par 
tition  in  the  antipodes  was  not  well  considered;  that  the  only  point  in  question 
was  the  right  of  making  discoveries  in  the  western  ocean,  and  that  the  treaty 
of  Tordesillas  was  decided  in  favor  of  Spain — Portugal  being  forced  to  yield 
the  main  point,  but  insisting  on  the  change  of  partition  in  order  to  give  her 
more  sea-room.  On  the  other  hand  it  may  be  claimed  that  the  antipodes,  of 
which  they  knew  so  little,  were  the  avowed  object  of  all  the  expeditions  sent 
out  by  both  parties.  See  the  original  bull  and  treaty  in  Navarrete,  CoL  de 
Viaae.s,  torn.  ii.  pp.  28,  130;  also  Prescott's  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
173-83;  Calvo,  Recueil  Complet  des  Traitcs,  Paris,  1862,  torn.  i.  pp.  1-36; 
Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  i.  booke  ii.  pp.  13-15;  Curious  and  Ent.  Voy.,  p. 
20;  Canceltieri,  Notizie  di  Colombo,  p.  183. 

Italy,  and  especially  Venice,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  first  of  the  European 
states  to  display  in  any  marked  degree  in  mediaeval  times  that  commercial 
spirit  so  early  and  so  well  developed  in  the  Phcenicians.  Portugal  caught 
the  flame  under  John  the  Great,  1385-1433,  and  led  the  van  of  a  more  daring 
discovery  and  exploration  by  conquests  on  the  north-west  coast  of  Africa. 
Simultaneously  Prince  Henry  was  sending  expeditions  farther  down  the  west 
ern  coast  of  Africa,  and  among  the  islands  of  the  Atlantic.  His  country 
reaped  the  reward  in  1486,  when  the  discovery  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
opened  her  a  way  by  sea  to  Hindostan,  and  to  the  commerce  of  the  Orient, 
and  gave  at  the  same  time  the  death-blow  to  Venetian  ascendancy  in  that 
market. 

But  Spain,  as  chance  would  have  it,  did  not  lag  far  behind  her  sister  king 
dom.  The  fact  of  the  great  navigators,  Columbus  and  Vespucci,  being 
Italians,  and  yet  having  to  seek  assistance  of  Spain,  sufficiently  indicates  in 
what  direction  the  swing  of  maritime  power  was  tending.  The  astronomical 
schools  of  Cordova,  Seville,  and  Granada  had  well  prepared  Spain  for  the 
application  of  astronomy  to  navigation,  and  the  long  internal  wars  had  bred 
those  bold  and  enduring  spirits  who  alone  are  fitted  to  conduct  with  success 
great  enterprises  of  certain  danger  and  uncertain  result. 

It  is  claimed  by  some  that  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot  made  their  first  voy- 


AMERIGO  VESPUCCI.  99 

age  and  discovered  Newfoundland  in  1494.  The  claim  rests  on  a  statement 
of  the  Spanish  ambassador  to  England  in  a  letter  dated  July  25,  1498,  to 
the  effect  that  during  the  past  seven  years  several  vessels  had  been  sent  each 
year  from  Bristol  in  search  of  Brasil  and  the  Islands  of  the  Seven  Cities, 
and  on  an  inscription  on  Sebastian  Cabot's  map  of  1544,  which  states  that 
land  was  first  discovered  by  the  Cabots  on  June  24,  1494.  D'Avesac,  Letter 
on  the  Voyages  of  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  in  Kohl,  pp.  506-7.  But  other 
authors  consider  the  map — even  if  made  by  Cabot,  which  is  extremely 
doubtful — insufficient  authority  to  prove  such  a  voyage. 

[1495.]  At  the  solicitation  of  the  brothers  Pinzon  and  other  navigators,  a 
license  was  granted  April  10,  1495,  permitting  any  native-born  Spaniard  to 
make  private  voyages  for  trade  and  discovery  from  Cadiz  to  the  Western 
India;  such  expeditions  to  be  under  the  inspection  of  government,  one  of  whose 
officials  was  to  accompany  each  vessel  to  ensure  the  payment  to  the  crown  of 
one  tenth  of  the  profit  of  the  voyage.  For  this  document  in  full,  see  Navar- 
rete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  torn.  ii.  p.  165.  See  also  Ilumboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn. 
i.  pp.  356  et  seq.  Whether  any  one  actually  took  advantage  of  this  license 
before  its  repeal — which  was  on  June  2,  1497,  at  the  instigation  of  Colum 
bus — is  a  disputed  point  of  some  importance  in  connection  with  certain  doubt 
ful  expeditions  to  be  considered  hereafter. 

[1496.]  Pedro  Alonso  Nifio  sailed  from  Cadiz  June  17,  1496,  just  after  the 
return  of  Columbus,  in  command  of  three  vessels  laden  with  supplies  for  the 
colony  at  Espanola. 

[1497.]  Amerigo  Vespucci,  a  Florentine  navigator,  claims  to  have  set  sail 
from  Cadiz  with  four  vessels  in  the  service  of  the  king  of  Spain  on  the  tenth, 
or  twentieth,  of  May,  1497.  In  what  capacity  he  accompanied  the  expedi 
tion,  or  who  was  its  commander,  he  does  not  state,  but  says  that  he  was 
chosen  by  the  king  to  go  with  the  expedition.  "Me  ad  talia  investiganda 
in  ipsam  societatem  elegit."  Sailing  south-south-west  to  the  Canaries, 
280  leagues  from  Lisbon,  he  remained  there  eight  days,  and  then  sailed 
west-one-quarter-south-west  1,000  leagues  in  twenty-seven,  or  thirty-seven, 
days,  to  a  point  on  the  main-land  in  16°  north  and  75°  west  of  the  Ca 
naries — that  is  to  say,  on  the  coast  of  Central  America  near  Cape  Gracias 
a  Dios.  This  must  have  been  about  the  1st  of  July,  some  days  perhaps 
after  Cabot's  landing  farther  north,  which  was  the  24th  of  June.  The 
Spaniards  went  ashore  in  boats,  but  the  natives  were  too  timid  to  trade; 
so  that  continuing  their  voyage  for  two  days  north-west  in  sight  of  the  flat 
coast,  they  reached  a  more  secure  anchorage,  established  friendly  relations 
with  the  people,  and  found  some  traces  of  gold.  The  ships  then  followed  the 
coast  for  several  days,  to  a  port  where  was  found  a  village  built  over  the 
water  like  Venice,  and  there  fought  with  the  natives  (of  Tabasco?);  sailed 
eighty  leagues  along  the  coast  to  a  region  of  many  rivers  (Panuco?),  where 
they  were  kindly  received  by  people  of  a  different  language,  and  made  a  jour 
ney  of  eighteen  leagues  inland,  visiting  many  towns.  This  province  was 
called  by  the  inhabitants  Lariab,  and  is  situated  in  the  torrid  zone,  near  the 
tropic  of  Cancer,  in  23°  north.  Again  they  started,  pursued  a  north-west 
course  and  frequently  anchored,  sailing  thus  870  leagues,  until  after  thirteen 


100  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

months,  that  is  to  say  in  June,  1498,  they  reached  "the  best  harbor  in  the 
world"  (port  of  Cape  Canaveral?),  in  28°  30',  where  they  resolved  to  repair 
their  ships  for  the  return  voyage.  There  they  remained  thirty-seven  days,  and 
when  about  to  depart,  the  natives  complained  of  certain  cannibals  who  came 
each  year  from  an  island  100  leagues  distant  to  attack  them.  The  Spaniards, 
in  return  for  their  kindness,  promised  to  avenge  their  wrongs.  Accordingly 
they  sailed  north-east  and  east  to  a  group  of  islands,  some  of  which  were 
inhabited  (Bermudas?);  landing  at  one  of  them  called  Ity,  they  defeated  the 
cannibals,  and  made  250  prisoners,  with  a  loss  of  one  man  killed  and  twenty- 
two  wounded.  Returning,  they  arrived  at  Cadiz  October  15,  1499,  with 
222  prisoners,  who  were  sold  as  slaves.  The  above  is  the  account  given 
by  Vespucci  in  a  letter  written  in  1504,  according  to  the  edition  adopted 
as  authentic  and  original  by  Varnhagen,  Le  premier  Voyage  de  Ameriyo 
Vespucci,  who  believes  that  Vicente  Yaiiez  Pinzon  and  Juan  Diaz  de 
Solis  were  the  commanders.  This  voyage  is  not  generally  regarded  as  au 
thentic;  and  a  long  and  complicated  discussion  has  arisen  on  the  question 
whether  the  account  given  is  to  be  regarded  as  true,  as  wholly  a  fabrication, 
or  as  belonging  to  a  subsequent  voyage  and  accidentally  or  intentionally 
dated  back  two  years.  As  this  voyage,  if  actually  made  as  claimed  by  M. 
Varnhagen,  would  be  the  first  to  touch  the  territory  which  I  denominate  the 
Pacific  States,  I  find  it  necessary  to  give  in  this  place  the  leading  points  in 
the  discussion.  In  what  may  be  called  the  standard  aiithorities  on  American 
discovery,  such  as  Navarrete,  Humboldt,  and  others,  is  found  fully  presented 
the  question  of  the  authenticity  of  Vespucci's  voyage,  always,  however,  under 
the  supposition  that  the  land  claimed  to  have  been  visited  was  the  coast  of 
Paria.  The  theory  of  M.  Varnhagen,  that  that  region  must  be  sought  in 
North  America,  reopens  the  question  and  introduces  some  new  features  which 
cannot  be  passed  by  unnoticed  in  this  connection.  Without  entering  upon 
the  somewhat  complicated  bibliography  of  Vespucci's  narrations,  or  taking 
up  the  question  of  his  claims  in  the  matter  of  naming  America,  I  shall  at 
tempt  to  state  briefly,  and  as  clearly  as  I  am  able,  the  arguments  for  and 
against  the  authenticity  of  a  voyage,  in  which  perhaps  is  involved  the 
question  of  the  first  post-Scandinavian  discovery  of  the  North  American 
continent. 

Besides  Vespucci's  own  statement,  in  a  letter  written  in  1504,  no  contem 
porary  document  has  been  found  which  mentions  such  an  expedition,  though 
most  diligent  search  for  such  documents  has  been  made  in  the  Spanish  ar 
chives  by  partisans  and  opponents  of  the  Florentine's  claim.  This  absence  of 
confirmatory  documents  is  the  more  noticeable  as  the  expedition  was  made 
under  royal  patronage.  In  another  and  previously  written  letter  describ 
ing  his  second  voyage  in  1499,  Vespucci  not  only  makes  no  mention  of  this 
voyage,  but  even  excuses  his  long  silence  by  saying  that  nothing  had  occurred 
worth  relating.  True,  a  short  letter  of  one  Vianello,  dated  1506,  published 
by  Humboldt,  mentions  a  voyage  to  which  no  date  is  given,  made  by  Ves 
pucci  in  company  with  Juan  de  la  Cosa.  M.  Varnhagen  supposes  this  to  have 
been  the  voyage  in  question,  and  a  large  river  discovered  at  the  time  to  have 
been  the  Mississippi ;  but,  beside  the  fact  that  there  is  no  reason  for  attribut 
ing  the  date  of  1497  rather  than  any  other  to  this  voyage,  Vianello's  letter, 


THE  DISPUTED  VOYAGE  OF  VESPUCCI.  101 

with  two  others,  published  by  Harrisse,  indicates  a  much  later  date  for  the 
expedition  with  Juan  de  la  Cosa. 

Moreover,  not  only  is  there  a  want  of  original  records,  but  contemporary 
historians  are  silent  respecting  this  expedition ;  the  first  mention  by  later 
writers  being  a  denial  of  its  authenticity  when  it  was  thought  to  conflict  with 
the  admiral's  claims  as  discoverer  of  the  continent.  Yet,  on  the  supposition 
of  a  voyage  to  the  North  American  coast,  there  are  some  passages  in  the  his 
torians  Peter  Martyr,  Oviedo,  Gomara,  and  Herrera,  which  point  more  or  less 
definitely  to  an  exploration  of  the  gulf  of  Honduras  before  1502.  Peter 
Martyr,  dec.  i.  cap.  vi.,  writing  before  1508,  says  that  many  claim  to  have 
sailed  round  Cuba;  and  later,  dec.  i.  cap.  x.,  he  mentions  a  report  that 
Pinzon  and  Solis  had  explored  the  coast  of  Honduras,  giving,  however,  no 
dates.  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  ii.  p.  140,  says  positively  that  the  gulf  of 
Honduras  was  discovered  not  by  Columbus,  but  by  Pinzon  and  Solis,  and 
that  before  the  former  discovered  the  Amazon,  or  the  latter  the  Rio  de  la 
Plata,  that  is  to  say  before  1499.  Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  India*,  fol.  63,  states 
that  Pinzon  and  Solis  are  said  by  some  to  have  explored  the  coast  of  Hondu 
ras  three  years  before  Columbus,  which  would  make  it  in  1499.  Herrera, 
Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.  lib.  viii.  cap.  iii.,  says  that  the  gulf  of  Honduras  was 
named  Hibueras  from  the  gourds  found  floating  in  its  waters  by  the  first 
Spaniards  who  sailed  along  the  coast.  To  M.Varnhagen,  this  it  may  be  ran 
dom  remark  of  Herrera  is  proof  positive  that  as  Columbus  did  not  enter  or 
name  the  gulf,  he  was  not  the  first  Spaniard  who  sailed  along  the  coast. 
Whatever  weight  may  be  attached  to  these  passages  from  the  historians,  in 
proving  a  voyage  to  North  America  previous  to  that  of  the  admiral,  such  evi 
dence  is  manifestly  increased  by  the  fact  that  the  date  of  the  voyage  attrib 
uted  to  Pinzon  and  Solis  seems  to  rest  entirely  on  the  statement  of  Herrera, 
Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  i.  lib.  vi.  cap.  xvi.,  who  describes  the  expedition  with  other 
events  under  the  date  of  1506.  Yet  in  the  testimony  in  the  lawsuit  herein 
after  to  be  mentioned,  it  is  implied,  though  not  expressly  stated,  that  the 
voyage  was  after  that  of  Columbus,  since  special  pains  was  taken  by  the  king 
to  prove  the  coast  explored  by  Pinzon  to  be  distinct  from  that  discovered  by 
the  admiral.  Another  point  is  that  in  this  same  testimony  the  name  'Caria' 
is  given  to  a  place  visited  during  Pinzon's  voyage,  and  for  this  name  Ves 
pucci's  '  Lariab'  may  possibly  be  a  misprint. 

Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  iv.  pp.  59,  267,  272-4,  repeatedly  states  it 
as  an  undeniable  fact  that  Vespucci  was  employed  in  Spain  in  fitting  out  the 
vessels  for  the  third  voyage  of  Columbus,  up  to  the  date  of  the  sailing  of  the 
expedition,  May  30,  1498,  and  consequently  could  not  himself  have  sailed  in 
May  or  any  other  month  of  1497.  He  makes  this  statement  on  the  authority 
of  documents  collected  by  Mufioz.  Harrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  p.  57,  states, 
also  on  the  authority  of  Mufioz,  that  from  April,  1497,  to  May  30,  1498,  Ves 
pucci  was  "constantly  travelling  from  Seville  to  SanLucar."  Vespucci  is 
known  to  have  succeeded  Juanoto  Berardi,  who  died  in  December,  1495,  in  a 
contract  to  fit  out  vessels  for  the  Spanish  government,  and  to  have  received 
money  on  account  of  that  contract  on  the  12th  of  January,  1496.  Irving, 
with  access  to  the  documents  of  Mufioz,  says  that  four  caravels  fitted  out  by 
Vespucci  sailed  February  3,  1496,  but  were  driven  back;  and  he  speaks  of 


102  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

no  evidence  of  his  presence  in  Spain  in  1497  or  1498.  Navarrete,  relying  on 
the  same  Muiioz  documents  — which  consist  of  extracts  from  the  books  of  ex 
penses  of  Indian  armadas  in  the  Casa  de  Contratacion  in  Seville  — gives  no 
date  to  the  sailing  and  wreck  of  the  four  vessels  mentioned  by  Irving,  but 
implies  that  the  event  took  place  before  Berardi's  death.  After  speaking  of 
the  receipt  of  money  on  the  12th  of  January,  1496,  he  states  that  Ves 
pucci  "went  on  attending  to  everything  until  the  armada  was  despatched 
from  San  Liicar."  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  p.  317.  He  does  not  state  that 
the  fleet  thus  fitted  out  was  that  in  which  Columbus  sailed  in  1498.  Mufioz 
in  the  printed  portion  of  his  work  is  silent  on  the  subject.  Varnhagen,  Ves- 
puce  et  son  Premier  Voy.,  p.  18,  argues  that  Humboldt  had  no  aiithority 
whatever  for  applying  Navarrete's  statement  respecting  the  armada  de 
spatched  from  San  Liicar  to  the  admiral's  fleet,  that  statement  having  proba 
bly  been  his  authority,  and  not  the  original  documents  of  Muiioz ;  and  that 
the  four  vessels  whose  fitting-out  Vespucci  personally  superintended  were 
much  more  probably  those  in  which  he  himself  sailed  and  made  the  voyage 
in  question.  Varnhagen  furthermore  thinks  that  the  death  of  Berardi  fur 
nished  a  reasonable  motive  for  the  resolution  formed  by  Vespucci  to  visit  the 
Indies,  and  a  favorable  opportunity  for  carrying  out  his  resolution.  If  it  can 
be  proved  that  Vespucci  was  in  Spain  in  1497  and  1498,  of  course  the  ques 
tion  of  his  claimed  voyage  admits  of  no  farther  discussion ;  but  if  Humboldt's 
only  authority  be  his  interpretation  of  Navarrete's  statement,  even  if  the  in 
terpretation  be  not  unnatural  or  improbable,  the  matter  must  still  be  consid 
ered  doubtful  until  the  original  Mufioz  documents  are  produced. 

The  silence  of  contemporary  documents  respecting  Vespucci's  voyage  car 
ries  the  greater  weight  from  the  fact  that  there  are  special  reasons  for  the 
existence  of  such  documents,  if  the  voyage  had  been  actually  made.  In  1508 
a  suit  was  begun  by  Diego  Colon  against  the  Spanish  crown  for  the  govern 
ment  of  certain  territory  claimed  by  virtue  of  the  discovery  of  Paria  by  his 
father,  the  admiral.  The  suit  continued  to  1513,  and  every  effort  was  made 
by  the  crown  to  prove  a  previous  discovery  of  the  coast  in  question;  hun 
dreds  of  witnesses  were  examined,  and  their  testimony  has  been  preserved 
and  published  in  Navarrete's  collection.  In  this  suit  Vespucci  was  not  sum 
moned  as  a  witness,  although  much  of  the  time  in  royal  employ,  having  held 
the  office  of  piloto  mayor  from  1508  to  his  death  in  1512.  No  claim  was  ad 
vanced  for  his  discovery,  although  the  voyage  is  stated  to  have  been  made 
under  royal  patronage,  and  by  proving  its  authenticity  the  crown  would 
have  gained  its  object.  Indeed,  Vespucci's  name  is  only  mentioned  once  in 
all  the  testimony,  and  that  as  having  accompanied  Alonso  de  Ojeda  in  his 
voyage  of  1499.  That  no  one  of  the  many  witnesses  examined  knew  of  Ves 
pucci's  voyage  in  1497,  if  it  were  a  fact,  is  hardly  possible.  Not  only  were 
the  witnesses  silent  on  the  Florentine's  expedition,  but  many  of  them,  in 
cluding  Ojeda,  affirmed  that  Paria  was  first  discovered  by  Columbus,  and 
next  afterward  by  Ojeda  himself.  Now  as  Vespucci  accompanied  Ojeda,  the 
latter  would  surely  have  known  of  any  previous  discovery  by  Vespucci,  and 
as  Ojeda  was  not  friendly  to  Columbus  he  certainly  would  have  made  the 
fact  known.  Moreover,  the  admiral's  charts  and  sailing-directions  were  fol 
lowed  by  Ojeda  in  his  voyage,  which  would  hardly  have  been  done  with  a 


VESPUCCI'S  VOYAGE  FURTHER  CONSIDERED.  103 

skilful  pilot  like  Vespucci  on  board,  and  one  who  had  visited  the  coast 
before.  True,  this  last  point  would  have  little  weight  if  the  coast  of  Paria 
was  not  the  region  visited  by  Vespucci,  while  the  other  points  would  be  little 
if  at  all  affected  by  the  theory  that  North  America  was  the  coast  explored. 
No  other  Spanish  voyage  to  the  new  region  was  neglected;  indeed,  to  have 
so  completely  disregarded  Vespucci's  expedition,  it  must  be  supposed  that 
the  king  not  only  knew  exactly  what  region  he  explored,  but  had  a  positive 
conviction  that  said  region  was  entirely  distinct  from  Paria;  and  we  have 
seen  that  no  such  definite  opinion  was  held  at  the  time,  but  on  the  contrary, 
special  pains  was  taken  to  prove  that  the  new  regions  were  "all  one  coast." 
When  it  is  considered  that  Vespucci's  voyage,  that  is  the  voyage  of  Pinzon  and 
Solis,  was  mentioned  in  the  testimony,  the  failure  to  summon  the  piloto  mayor 
appears  all  the  more  remarkable.  What  more  efficient  witness  could  have 
been  brought  forward?  Thus  the  silence  of  the  testimony  in  this  suit  on  the 
question  under  discussion,  must  be  deemed  something  more  than  mere  nega 
tive  proof,  as  it  is  termed  by  M.  Varnhagen.  This  gentleman  also  notes  that 
only  one  witness  mentions  that  Vespucci  accompanied  Ojeda  in  1499;  but  he 
does  not  note  that  the  presence  of  Vespucci  on  Ojeda's  ships  was  of  no  im 
portance  to  either  party  in  the  suit,  while  a  previous  discovery  by  him  was 
of  the  very  greatest  importance  to  the  crown. 

The  date  of  sailing  from  Cadiz  is  given  by  different  editions  of  Vespucci's 
letter  as  May  10,  and  May  20,  1497;  and  of  his  return  as  October  1,  15, 
and  18,  1499.  From  these  dates  two  difficulties  arise;  first,  the  duration 
of  the  voyage  is  stated  in  the  letter  to  have  been  eighteen  months,  while  the 
period  between  the  dates  of  sailing  and  return  is  twenty-nine  months;  and 
again,  Vespucci  is  known  to  have  sailed  with  Ojeda  in  May,  1499,  that  is, 
five  months  before  he  returned  from  the  voyage  in  question.  One  way  of 
reconciling  the  first  difficulty  is  to  suppose  that  the  author  reckoned  time  by 
the  Florentine  method,  then  common  in  familiar  correspondence,  according 
to  which  the  year  began  the  2oth  of  March.  Then  in  case  of  a  very  natural 
misprint  in  the  original  of  May  for  March,  the  voyage  really  began  in  1498, 
its  duration  being  thus  reduced  to  nineteen  months.  A  more  simple  method 
of  removing  both  difficulties  is  to  suppose  a  misprint  of  1499  for  1498  as  the 
date  of  the  return;  this  would  reduce  the  time  to  seventeen  months.  Several 
later  editions  have  made  this  change.  The  edition  claimecl  as  original  by  M. 
Varnhagen  has  the  date  1499  according  to  his  translation,  and  strangely 
enough  the  editor  makes  no  allusion  to  it  in  his  notes,  although  in  a  former 
pamphlet  he  speaks  of  1498  as  the  date  of  the  return.  I  attach  very  little 
weight  to  discrepancies  in  dates  in  this  relation  except  as  evidence 
against  any  intentional  deception  on  the  part  of  Vespucci.  Confusion  in 
dates  is  common  in  all  relations  of  the  period;  and  Vespucci's  letters  were 
written  hastily,  not  for  publication,  and  merely  to  interest  his  correspondents 
by  a  description  of  the  marvels  he  had  seen  in  his  New  World  adventures. 
It  may  here  be  stated  that  the  long  and  bitterly  argued  question  of  the  rival 
claims  of  Vespucci  and  Columbus  in  the  matter  of  naming  America  has  no 
bearing  on  the  present  discussion.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  voyage  in 
question  had  any  influence  in  fixing  the  name  America;  and  to  pronounce 
this  expedition  not  authentic  has  no  tendency  to  weaken  Vespucci's  reputa- 


104  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

tion  for  honesty,  which  may  now  be  considered  fully  established;  nor  do  the 
arguments  against  intentional  falsification  on  Vespucci's  part  tend  to  prove 
the  voyage  authentic. 

Several  coincidences  between  the  narratives  of  this  voyage  and  that  of 
Ojeda  have  led  many  writers  to  conclude  that  both  describe  the  same  expedi 
tion,  the  dates  having  been  accidentally  or  intentionally  changed.  Hum- 
boldt,  after  a  careful  examination,  was  convinced  that  the  two  voyages  were 
identical.  But  when  we  consider  that  Humboldt,  Navarrete,  and  Irving 
formed  their  conclusions  without  a  suspicion  of  a  voyage  to  North  America, 
and  before  that  question  had  ever  once  arisen;  that  JNavarrete  severely  crit 
icises  Vespucci's  narrative  as  applied  to  Ojeda's  voyage;  that  two  of  the 
strongest  coincidences — the  mention  of  Paria  as  the  coast  visited,  and  the 
discovery  of  a  town  built  over  the  water  like  Venice — have  110  weight  in 
view  of  the  new  theory,  since  the  province  is  called  Lariab  in  the  original 
edition,  and  that  method  of  building  was  not  uncommon  in  all  the  tropical 
regions  of  America,  it  must  be  admitted  that  this  argument  has  by  itself  little 
force  against  the  authenticity  of  Vespucci's  voyage. 

The  right  granted  to  private  individuals  by  the  Spanish  government  in 
April,  1495,  to  make  voyages  of  discovery  at  their  own  expense,  subject  to 
certain  regulations,  was  partially  revoked  in  June,  1497,  after  Vespucci's 
claimed  departure.  All  authorities  agree  that  during  this  time  such  private 
voyages,  or  even  clandestine  expeditions,  may  have  been  and  probably  were 
made,  of  which  no  records  have  been  preserved.  It  is  argued  that  Vespucci's 
voyage  may  have  been  of  this  number,  although  claimed  to  have  been  made 
under  royal  patronage,  and  by  no  means  clandestine.  It  is  even  suggested 
that  the  revocation  of  the  right  of  private  navigation,  brought  about  by  the 
influence  of  Columbus,  was  purposely  delayed  until  after  Vespucci's  de 
parture  — all  of  which  proves,  if  it  proves  anything,  simply  that  there  was 
nothing  to  prevent  Vespucci  from  making  the  voyage. 

We  have  seen  how  certain  statements  of  the  old  chroniclers  may  be  taken 
as  indicative  of  a  voyage  along  the  Central  American  coast  previous  to  that 
of  Columbus.  There  are  also  similar  indications  in  some  of  the  early  maps. 
Thus  Juan  de  la  Cosa's  map  representing  Cuba  as  an  island  in  1500  (see  page 
115  this  volume)  might  be  accounted  for  by  such  a  voyage  as  Vespucci  claims 
to  have  made.  It  will  be  seen  hereafter  that  early  maps  show  some  slight 
traces  of  a  knowledge  of  Florida  before  its  discovery  in  1512  (pp.  128-9  this 
vol.)  In  the  Ruysch  map  of  1508  (p.  126  this  vol.)  the  eastern  coast  of  what 
seems  to  be  Cuba  is  identified  by  M.  Varnhagen  with  the  main-land;  in  his 
opinion  the  inscription  at  the  north  point  of  that  coast  refers  directly  to  Ves 
pucci's  expedition,  and  'Cape  S.  Marci'  at  the  southern  point  may  indicate 
Vespucci's  arrival  on  Saint  Mark's  day,  especially  as  his  uncle  was  a  priest  of 
the  order  of  St  Mark.  If  this  appear  somewhat  far-fetched,  perhaps  more 
weight  should  be  attached  to  the  name  ' Cape Doffin  de  Abril'  on  the  southern 
point  of  what  may  be  Florida  on  the  Ptolemy  map  of  1513  (p.  130  this  vol.), 
for  at  the  end  of  April  Vespucci  may,  according  to  his  narrative,  have  been 
at  that  point.  On  this  matter  of  an  early  voyage  it  may  be  noted  that  Colum 
bus,  striking  the  coast  at  Guanaja  Island  in  1502  in  search  of  a  passage  west 
ward,  instead  of  following  westward,  as  he  naturally  would  have  done,  at 


CONCLUSIONS  CONCERNING  THE  VOYAGE  OF  VESPUCCI.   105 

least  to  the  head  of  the  gulf  of  Honduras,  turned  directly  east.  A  knowl 
edge  on  his  part  that  Vespucci  had  already  explored  westward  and  northward 
without  finding  a  passage,  would  account  for  his  actions.  But  they  have  al 
ready  been  satisfactorily  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  he  simply  proposed 
to  sail  along  the  sinuosities  of  the  supposed  southern  coasts  of  Asia  to  India, 
rather  than  to  penetrate  any  intervening  continent,  whose  existence  he  did 
not  suspect. 

In  addition  to  the  leading  arguments  for  and  against  the  voyage  in  ques 
tion,  the  following  minor  points  are  urged: 

It  is  claimed  that  the  command  of  such  an  expedition  would  not  have  been 
given  to  a  foreigner,  and  Vespucci  did  not  become  a  naturalized  citizen  of 
Spain  until  1505.  But  on  the  other  hand,  if  Vespucci  had  rendered  no  other 
service  to  Spain  than  to  have  accompanied  Ojeda,  he  would  hardly  have  re 
ceived  so  many  favors  from  the  government,  especially  after  having  served 
four  years  under  the  king  of  Portugal. 

Sefior  Navarrete  finds  a  difficulty  in  Vespucci's  claim  to  have  brought  back 
to  Spain  222  slaves  in  the  few  small  vessels  under  his  command.  Vespucci 
also  speaks  of  Ferdinand  as  king  of  Castile,  which  it  was  not  customary  to 
do  until  after  Isabella's  death. 

The  high  opinion  held  of  Vespucci  during  his  life  by  Columbus  and  his 
zealous  friends  is  of  little  weight,  because  the  admiral's  claim  to  have  dis 
covered  the  supposed  Asiatic  continent  or  islands  adjacent  thereto  was  un 
doubted;  but  the  favorable  opinions  expressed  by  later  writers,  especially  by 
Fernando  Colon,  writing  after  America  was  known  to  be  distinct  from  Asia, 
tend  to  prove  that  the  Florentine  made  in  his  lifetime  no  claim  to  a  voyage 
in  1497.  Yet  the  publication  and  circulation  of  his  letter  in  several  lan 
guages,  uncontradicted  for  years,  would  indicate  its  authenticity,  unless  it  be 
taken  as  a  sign  of  carelessness  for  dates  and  details  so  long  as  they  were  not 
supposed  to  conflict  with  the  admiral's  claims.  It  must  also  be  remembered 
that  the  same  voyager's  second,  third,  and  fourth  expeditions  have  all  been 
disputed  and  have  at  last  proved  authentic. 

M.  Varnhagen  applies  to  Vespucci  and  his  men  the  well-known  tradition 
related  by  Sahagun  and  others  of  white  men  who  appeared  at  Panuco  from 
the  east  before  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards.  He  also  supposes  Guerrero,  the 
soldier  found  by  Cortes  at  Cozumel,  and  believed  by  other  authors  to  have 
been  a  survivor  with  Aguilar  of  Valdivia's  shipwreck  in  1512,  to  have  been 
left  in  Yucatan  by  Vespucci;  but  he  gives  no  reason  for  this  belief,  except 
that  Guerrero  had  married  among  the  natives,  and  had  adopted  many  of  their 
customs.  By  the  same  writer  it  is  thought  much  more  likely  that  Cape 
Gracias  a  Dios  was  named  by  Vespucci  after  a  long  voyage  in  search  of  land, 
than  by  Columbus  after  following  the  coast  a  few  days  and  taking  posses 
sion;  especially  as  Columbus  in  his  own  letter  simply  mentions  his  arrival 
at  the  cape,  the  fact  of  his  having  given  the  name  coming  from  other  sources. 

The  events  of  the  voyage,  and  the  description  of  the  coast  visited  by  Ves 
pucci  as  given  in  his  letter,  furnish  110  evidence  whatever  for  or  against  the 
authenticity  of  the  expedition;  but  if  it  be  admitted  from  outside  evidence 
that  the  voyage  was  actually  made,  and  was  distinct  from  that  of  Ojeda,  while 
the  narrative  has  nothing  except  the  occurrence  of  the  name  Paria  in  favor 


106  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

of  a  South  American  destination,  from  it  may  be  gathered  the  following 
points  in  support  of  the  theory  that  a  more  northern  coast  was  the  one  ex 
plored.  The  course  sailed  from  the  Canaries,  W.  £  SW.;  the  time  thirty- 
seven  days;  the  distance  1,000  leagues,  taking  the  distance  from  Lisbon  to 
the  Canaries,  280  leagues,  as  a  scale  of  measurement;  the  latitude  of  the 
landing  16°,  and  longitude  75°  west  of  the  Canaries;  and  the  arrival  by  sailing 
up  the  coast  at  a  province  situated  in  about  23°,  and  near  the  tropic  of  Cancer, 
are  worthy  of  consideration,  since  a  series  of  blunders  such  as  these  is  hardly 
probable.  The  natives  of  Lariab  were  of  different  language  from  and  hostile 
to  the  nations  passed  further  south,  as  the  Huastecs  of  the  Panuco  region 
are  known  to  have  been  with  respect  to  the  Mexicans.  Moreover,  Lariab 
has  a  slight  claim  to  being  a  Huastec  word,  since  Orozco  y  Berra  gives  three 
names  of  places  in  that  language  containing  an  I  and  ending  in  ab ;  but  of 
course  this  would  interfere  sadly  with  the  theory  that  Lariab  is  a  misprint 
of  Caria.  Vespucci's  description  of  the  natives,  criticised  by  Navarrete  as 
incorrect  when  applied  to  the  people  of  Pariaj  agrees  better,  as  M.  Varn- 
hagen  thinks,  with  the  aborigines  of  Honduras.  Other  parts  of  Vespucci's 
vague  and  rambling  descriptions  apply  well  enough  to  the  North  American 
coasts,  or  in  fact  to  any  part  of  tropical  America,  north  or  south. 

The  application  of  the  narrative  to  North  America  is  not,  however,  without 
its  difficulties.  Vespucci  makes  no  mention  of  the  Antilles,  through  which  his 
course  must  have  led  him;  perhaps  not  seeing  them  by  reason  of  fog;  or  he  had 
instructions  not  to  concern  himself  with  what  the  admiral  had  already  discov 
ered.  He  also  refers  to  a  larger  work,  never  published,  in  which  details  were 
to  be  given.  Neither  does  he  mention  the  prominent  peninsulas  of  Yucatan 
and  Florida,  nor  the  lofty  mountain  peaks  which  he  would  naturally  have  seen 
in  following  the  Mexican  coast.  He  claims  to  have  sailed  north-west  from 
Panuco  870  leagues  (over  dry  land?)  to  the  best  harbor  in  the  world.  M. 
Varnhagen's  explanation  of  this  difficulty  is  that  Vespucci  simply  states  in 
cidentally  that  he  left  Panuco  "  tuttavia  verso  il  Maestrale"  still  toward  the 
north-west,  not  intending  to  include  in  this  course  the  whole  voyage  of  870 
leagues.  All  the  windings  of  the  coast  and  the  entering  and  leaving  of  many 
ports  or  rivers  must  be  taken  into  account  to  make  up  a  distance  of  870 
leagues  between  Panuco  and  Cape  Canaveral;  and  the  latter  port  would 
hardly  be  considered  the  '  best  harbor  in  the  world '  except  by  a  great  stretch 
of  the  imagination,  or  by  a  navigator  little  acquainted  with  good  harbors. 
The  archipelago  of  Ity  has  generally  been  supposed  to  be  Hayti,  but  there  is 
probably  no  reason  for  the  identity  beyond  the  resemblance  of  names.  The 
Bermudas  when  discovered  in  1522  were  uninhabited,  but  this  does  not  prove 
that  they  were  always  so;  the  Spaniards  may  have  returned  and  captured 
the  people  for  slaves.  Indeed  the  Bermudas  may  have  been  the  archipelago 
of  San  Bernardo,  famous  for  its  fierce  Carib  population,  but  generally  located 
off  the  gulf  of  Urabii.  It  may  even  have  been  named  by  Vespucci,  for  on 
San  Bernardo's  day,  the  20th  of  August,  he  was  probably  there. 

Thus  have  I  given,  and  let  me  hope  without  prejudice,  the  arguments  for 
and  against  this  disputed  voyage;  and  from  the  evidence  the  reader  may 
draw  his  own  conclusions.  To  me  the  proofs  seem  conclusive  that  Vespucci 
made  no  voyage  to  South  America  prior  to  1499,  when  he  accompanied 


CABOT  AND  VASCO  DA  GAMA.  107 

Alonso  de  Ojeda.  Against  a  North  American  expedition  the  evidence,  if  less 
conclusive,  is  still  very  strong;  since  the  most  that  can  be  claimed  in  its 
favor  is  a  probability  that  the  Central  American  coast  was  visited  by  some 
navigator  before  1502,  and  a  possibility,  though  certainly  a  very  slim  one, 
that  Vespucci  accompanied  such  navigation. 

On  this  voyage  see  Navigationum  Alberici  Vesputii  Epitome,  in  Grynaus, 
NovusOrbis,^.  122,155;  VarnJiagen,  Le  Premier  Voyage  de  Vespucci;  Id.,Ves- 
puce  et  son  Prem.  Voy. ;  also  in  Societe  Geog.,  Bulletin,  Jan.  and  Feb.,  1858; 
Harrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  pp.  58-68,  and  Additions,  pp.  xxvii-viii.;  Lester  and 
Foster's  Life  of  Vespucius,  pp.  03-139;  Leben  der  See-Helden,  p.  24;  Navarrete, 
Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  183-241,  291-3,  309-34;  Irving' s  Columbus,  vol. 
iii.  pp.  395-418;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  iv.  v.;  Major's  Prince  Henry, 
pp.  370-5;  Kerr's  Col.  Voy.,  vol.  iii.  p.  342;  Eerste  Zee-Togt  van  Alonso D' Ojeda, 
en  Amerikus  Vesputim,  in  Gottfried,  Reysen,  torn.  iii.  p.  38;  Cancdlieri,  Notizie 
di  Colombo,  pp.  41-7,  257. 

[1497.]  To  continue  our  chronological  summary.  Following  the  brilliant 
success  of  Spain,  England  was  the  first  nation  to  attempt  discovery  to  the 
westward.  Fully  acquainted  with  the  achievements  and  hypotheses  of  Co 
lumbus,  having  been  indeed  almost  persuaded  by  him  to  embrace  his  beliefs, 
King  Henry  VII.  on  the  5th  of  March,  1496,  granted  a  license  to  John  Cabot, 
a  Venetian  citizen  and  trader  of  Bristol,  to  attempt  discoveries  in  that 
direction. 

Either  from  respect  for  Portuguese  and  Spanish  rights  in  the  south,  or 
from  some  vague  hints  received  from  the  Northmen  during  their  trading 
voyages  to  Iceland,  or  possibly  from  a  dim  idea  of  the  advantages  of  great- 
circle  sailing,  the  English  determined  to  attempt  reaching  India  by  a  northern 
route.  This  expedition  of  Cabot's,  with  perhaps  several  vessels,  sailed  from 
Bristol  probably  in  May,  1497;  discovered  land  the  24th  of  June  on  the  coast 
of  Labrador  between  56°  and  58°;  sailed  some  300  leagues  in  a  direction  not 
known,  but  probably  northward;  and  one  vessel,  the  Matthew,  returned  to 
Bristol  in  August  of  the  same  year.  No  further  details  of  the  voyage  are 
known,  and  those  given,  which  are  the  conclusions  of  Humboldt,  Kohl,  and 
Stevens,  have  all  been  disputed  in  respect  to  date,  commander,  and  point  of 
landing.  D'Avesac,  as  we  have  seen  (pp.  98-9),  insists  on  a  previous  voyage 
in  1494.  Biddle,  Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  London,  1831,  p.  42  et  seq.,  claims 
that  Sebastian  Cabot  was  the  commander.  Robinson,  Account  of  Discov.  in 
the  West,  Richmond,  1848,  pp.  81-93,  explains  that  by  a  change  in  the  method 
of  reckoning  time  after  1752,  the  date  should  properly  read  1498.  Many 
authors  moreover  confound  this  voyage  with  a  later  one.  Ilalduyt's  Voy.,  vol. 
iii.  pp.  4-11;  Galvano's  Discov.,  pp.  87-9;  Viages  Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn, 
iii.  pp.  40-1.  Irving,  Columbus,  vol.  ii.  p.  310,  names  but  one  voyage  and 
regards  the  accounts  as  "vague  and  scanty."  See  also  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit., 
torn.  i.  pp.  279,  313;  Hdkluyt  Soc.,  Divers  Voy.,  pp.  Ixviii.,  19-26;  KohVs  Hist. 
Discov.,  pp.  121-35;  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  pp.  48-53;  Stevens'  Notes, 
pp.  17-19;  Pinkertorfs  Col.  Voy.,  vol.  xii.  p.  158;  Bancroft's  Hist.  U.  S.t 
vol.  i.  p.  13. 

The  Portuguese,  to  complete  their  discovery  of  the  route  to  India  by  way 


108  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  sent  out  Vasco  da  Gama  with  four  ships.  Sailing 
from  Lisbon  July  8, 1497,  he  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  the  22d  of  Novem 
ber,  passed  the  limit  reached  by  Dias  on  the  17th  of  December,  received  intelli 
gence  of  Prester  John  at  several  points  on  the  eastern  coast,  and  anchored  at 
Calicut  May  20,  1498.  Trading  somewhat,  jealous  of  everybody,  after  quar 
relling  with  Arabian  merchants  and  failing  to  make  good  his  arbitrary  measures, 
he  thought  best  to  return.  Accordingly  he  set  sail  the  29th  of  August,  passed 
the  cape  March  20,  1499,  and  reached  Lisbon  about  the  end  of  August.  Thus 
Gama  was  the  first  to  accomplish  the  grand  object  of  so  many  efforts,  and  to 
reach  India  by  water.  His  achievement  would  doubtless  have  been  regarded 
as  the  most  glorious  on  record,  both  to  himself  and  to  Portugal,  had  not  Co 
lumbus  for  Spain  reached  the  same  continent,  as  he  supposed,  farther  east  sev 
eral  years  before,  Navigatione  di  Vasco  di  Gama,  in  Ilamusio,  torn.  i.  fol.  130; 
Galvano's  Discov.,pp.  93-4;  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  torn.  i.  pp.  xli.-ii. ;  Major's 
Prince  Henry,  pp.  391-406;  Voyages,  Curious  and  Entertaining,  p.  103;  Lebender 
See-Helden,  p.  40;  Noiizie  di  Vasquez  di  Gama,  in  Cancellieri,  Notlzie,  p.  165. 

[1498.]  After  the  return  of  the  Cabots  in  August,  1497,  with  the  news  of 
having  discovered  the  northern  regions  of  Cathay,  King  Henry  issued  a  new 
patent  dated  February  3,  1498,  and,  probably  in  May  of  the  same  year,  two 
vessels  with  300  men  sailed  from  Bristol  under  command  of  Sebastian 
Cabot.  Little  is  known  of  the  voyage,  save  that  he  reached  the  coast  of 
Labrador,  which  he  followed  northward  until  at  a  certain  point  where  the 
coast  trends  eastward  he  found  much  ice  even  in  July.  This  northern  limit 
is  placed  by  Ramusioat  latitude  56°;  by  Gomara,  who  states  that  Cabot  him 
self  gives  a  much  higher  latitude,  at  58°;  by  Galvano,  at  above  60°.  Kohl 
follows  Humboldt  in  the  opinion  that  it  was  67°  30',  which  would  place  it  on 
the  Cumberland  peninsula.  Cabot  then  turned  southward  and  sailed  as  near 
shore  as  possible.  The  southern  limit  of  this  voyage  is  more  indefinite  than 
the  northern.  In  a  conversation  with  Peter  Martyr,  prior  to  15.15,  Cabot 
stated  that  he  reached  the  latitude  of  Gibraltar,  and  the  chronicler  adds  that 
he  sailed  so  far  west  that  he  had  Cuba  on  his  left.  Cabot's  remark  would 
place  him  in  latitude  36°,  near  Cape  Hatteras,  while  Martyr's  addition  might 
apply  to  any  locality  on  the  east  coast.  Martyr's  statement  is  the  only  au 
thority  for  the  supposition  by  Humboldt  and  others — see  Exam.  Grit. ,  torn.  i. 
p.  313,'  and  Preface  to  Ghillany — that  Cabot  reached  Florida.  Stevens,  Notes, 
pp.  17-19  and  35,  considers  Peter  Martyr's  remark  as  absurd,  since  it  would 
place  Cabot  near  Cincinnati.  He  is  satisfied  that  the  southern  limit  was  the 
gulf  of  St  Lawrence,  founding  this  belief  on  maps  of  1500  (see  p.  115  this 
vol.)  and  1508  (p.  126  this  vol.),  1514,  and  1544,  the  latter  said  to  have  been 
made  by  Cabot  himself.  That  Cabot  did  not  reach  the  southern  coast  of  the 
United  States  seems  proved  by  the  fact  that  he  was  in  Spain  from  1513  to 
1524,  holding  high  positions,  including  that  of  piloto  mayor,  while  that  coast 
was  actually  being  explored,  and  he  making  no  claim  to  a  previous  discovery. 
The  point  reached,  therefore,  must  remain  undetermined  between  Cape  Hat 
teras,  where  Kohl  fixes  it,  and  the  gulf  of  St  Lawrence,  with  a  strong  proba 
bility,  as  I  think,  in  favor  of  the  latter.  Nothing  whatever  is  known  of  the 
route  or  date  of  Cabot's  return.  And  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  concerning 
this  voyage  we  have  only  one  contemporary  document,  which  is  a  letter  dated 


THIRD  VOYAGE  OF  COLUMBUS.  109 

in  1498,  stating  simply  that  the  expedition  was  still  absent.  All  additional 
details  are  from  accounts  written  after  the  geography  of  the  New  World  was 
better  known  in  consequence  of  the  discovery  of  the  South  Sea.  Nothing, 
then,  can  be  proved  by  Cabot's  voyages  beyond  the  discovery  of  the  continent 
in  June,  1497,  and  the  exploration  of  the  coast  from  the  gulf  of  St  Lawrence 
to  above  60°  in  1498.  The  statement  of  Asher,  Life  of  Henry  Hudson,  Lon 
don,  1860,  that  Cabot  "was  the  first  to  recognize  that  a  new  and  unknown 
continent  was  lying  as  one  vast  barrier  between  western  Europe  and  eastern 
Asia,"  accepted  also  by  Kohl,  Hist.  Discov.,  p.  145,  appears  to  me  utterly 
without  foundation.  Cabot's  complaint  that  a  new-found  land — that  is  a 
land  further  north  and  east  than  any  part  of  Asia  described  by  Polo — was  a 
barrier  to  his  reaching  India,  and  the  fact  that  on  a  map  made  as  late  as 
1544,  and  doubtfully  attributed  to  him,  a  separate  continent  is  shown,  seem 
weak  authority  for  according  him  so  important  a  discovery,  especially  when 
other  voyagers  and  geographers,  intimate  with  him  and  fully  acquainted 
with  his  discoveries,  continued  for  many  years  to  join  those  discoveries  to  the 
Asiatic  continent.  See,  beside  references  on  page  107,  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iii. 
cap.  vi. ;  Gomara,  Hist.  Fnd.,  fol.  31,  115;  Robertson's  Hist.  Amer.,  book  ix.; 
American  Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  1865,  p.  25  et  seq.;  KoliVs  Hist.  Discov.,  pp. 
135-46,  481;  Stevens'  Notes,  pp.  35,  52;  Kunstmann,  EntdecTcung  Am.,  pp.  53-4. 

Returned  from  his  second  voyage,  Columbus  found  his  popularity  waning, 
and  with  it  the  enthusiasm  for  new  discoveries.  The  voyage  had  not  been 
profitable,  had  not  been  fruitful  enough  in  gold  to  satisfy  the  adventurers 
who  accompanied  him,  and  the  ghastly  faces  of  the  mariners  more  than  coun 
teracted  the  effect  of  the  specimens  of  native  products  exhibited.  It  was 
difficult,  therefore,  to  obtain  men  for  a  new  enterprise.  Still,  notwithstand 
ing  the  reports  of  his  numerous  enemies,  the  admiral  was  considerately 
treated  at  court,  and  finally,  by  the  efforts  of  the  queen,  six  vessels  were 
made  ready,  and  Columbus  embarked  from  San  Liicar  on  a  third  voyage  May 
30,  1498.  This  time  he  determined  to  steer  farther  to  the  south  than  before, 
in  order  to  reach,  as  he  supposed,  the  richer  parts  of  Asia.  After  touching 
at  Madeira,  Porto  Santo,  and  the  Canaries,  he  divided  his  fleet,  sent  three 
vessels  direct  to  Espafiola,  and  with  the  other  three  reached  the  Cape 
Verde  Islands  the  27th  of  June.  Thence  he  sailed  first  south-west  and 
west  through  the  region  of  tropical  calms,  and  then  northward  to  Trinidad 
Island,  where  he  arrived  the  31st  of  July.  Coasting  the  island  on  the 
south,  in  sight  of  the  main-land,  he  entered  the  gulf  of  Paria,  landed,  and 
found  much  gold  of  an  inferior  quality,  and  an  abundance  of  pearls;  from 
which  circumstance,  that  land,  which  was  the  northern  end  of  South  Amer 
ica,  was  for  some  time  thereafter  known  as  the  Pearl  Coast.  Passing  out  by  the 
Boca  del  Drago  on  the  14th  of  August,  he  followed  the  northern  coast  of  Paria 
to  the  island  of  Cubagua,  beginning  to  suspect  meanwhile  that  the  land  on  his 
left  was  the  main-land  of  Asia.  Ill  health  and  the  state  of  his  supplies  did  not 
permit  him  to  satisfy  himself  on  that  point  at  the  time,  and  consequently 
he  turned  his  course  north-west  for  Espaiiola.  On  the  30th  of  August  he 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Ozema,  where  he  met  his  brother  Bartolome, 
who  informed  him  of  the  internal  discords  and  external  wars  of  the  colonists. 


110  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Francisco  Roldan  had  refused  to  submit  to  the  admiral's  authority,  and  on 
the  18th  of  October  five  ships  were  despatched  for  Spain  with  news  of  the 
rebellion.  By  this  departure  Columbus  sent  letters  and  charts  describing 
this  Pearl  Coast,  as  his  present  South  American  discoveries  which  yielded  so 
many  gems  were  called.  During  the  whole  year  following,  peace  was  main 
tained  among  the  colonists  only  by  the  most  humiliating  concessions  of  Co 
lumbus  to  Roldan  and  his  crew.  On  the  5th  of  September,  1499,  Alonso  d^e 
Ojeda  arrived  at  Espaiiola  from  the  Pearl  Coast,  whither  he  had  been  to  take 
advantage  of  the  discoveries  and  misfortunes  of  the  admiral. 

Vessels  laden  with  complaints  by  and  against  Columbus  were  despatched 
for  Spain  in  October;  needy,  ambitious  courtiers  held  King  Ferdinand's 
willing  ear  against  him;  from  his  persistent  advocacy  of  Indian  slave-traffic 
the  friendship  of  his  patron,  Queen  Isabella,  grew  cold;  and  in  July,  1500, 
Francisco  de  Bobadilla  was  sent  to  Espaiiola  with  powers  to  investigate. 
Arrived  at  Santo  Domingo  August  23,  the  commissioner  assumed  at  once 
authority,  which  at  most  was  his  right  only  after  careful  and  conscientious 
inquiry,  seized  Columbus  and  his  brother,  and  in  October  sent  them  in  irons 
to  Spain.  Colon,  Hist,  del  Almirante,  in  Barda,  torn.  i.  pp.  74-99;  Peter  Mar 
tyr,  dec.  i.  cap.  vi.-vii. ;  Tercer  Viac/e  de  Cristobal  Colon,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  i. 
pp.  242-76;  NapioneandDeConti,  Bioyrajiadi  Colombo,  pp.  350-75;  Cancellieri, 
Notizie  di  Colombo,  pp.  99-108,  where  is  given  Columbus'  letter  received  in 
Spain  in  December,  1498,  but  apparently  not  printed  at  the  time. 

During  this  third  voyage,  while  about  the  gulf  of  Paria,  new  visions  of  the 
earth's  form  filled  the  mind  of  the  great  navigator,  inflamed  as  it  was  by  ill 
ness  and  anxiety.  The  world  was  indeed  for  the  most  part  spherical,  as  had 
been  supposed,  but  in  this  great  central  region  on  the  equator  he  believed 
the  surface  to  rise  gradually  to  a  great  height,  making  the  earth  pear-shape 
with  the  terrestrial  paradise,  or  birth-place  of  man,  on  its  apex,  the  waters  and 
islands  visited  by  him  being  on  the  borders  of  this  elevated  portion.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  enumerate  the  natural  phenomena,  scientific  writings,  and 
scripture  texts  with  which  he  confirmed  his  theory.  In  his  distracted  enthu 
siasm  he  leaves  us  somewhat  uncertain  as  to  his  idea  of  the  situation  of  this 
new  region  with  respect  to  India  proper  and  those  parts  of  Asia  found  by  him 
in  a  former  voyage  farther  north.  If  he  had  supposed  it  to  be  simply  a 
southern  extension  of  Marco  Polo's  Asia,  he  would  not  subsequently  have 
sought  for  a  strait  or  passage  to  India  to  the  north  rather  than  to  the  south 
of  this  point.  Gama's  successful  circumnavigation  of  Africa  forbade  a  revival 
in  the  mind  of  Columbus  of  the  old  theory  of  Ptolemy,  that  Africa  extended 
east  and  north  so  as  to  enclose  the  Indian  Ocean  like  an  immense  gulf.  The 
admiral's  idea,  so  far  as  he  formed  a  definite  one  on  the  subject,  must  have 
been  that  of  a  large  island,  or  detached  portion  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  occu 
pying  very  nearly  the  actual  relative  position  of  the  Australian  archipelago, 
and  only  vaguely  included,  if  at  all,  in  ancient  or  mediaeval  knowledge  of  the 
far  East.  No  other  conclusion  could  rationally  be  drawn  from  his  letters  and 
subsequent  actions;  and  we  shall  find  such  an  idea  of  the  geography  of  these 
parts  often  repeated  in  following  years.  We  shall  also  see  how  unfortunate 
it  was  for  the  posthumous  glory  of  the  great  discoverer  in  the  matter  of  nam 
ing  the  western  world,  that  he  did  not  more  clearly  specify  his  idea  of  this 


MINOR  EXPEDITIONS.  Ill 

new  land — for  I  believe  this  was  the  first  suspicion  that  new  lands  of  any 
considerable  extent  existed — and  that  his  account  of  this  and  his  fourth  voy 
age  were  not  more  widely  circulated  in  print. 

[1499.]  The  discovery  of  the  Pearl  Coast,  made  known  in  Spain  in  De 
cember,  1498,  caused  several  expeditions  to  be  sent  out  in  the  following  year. 
These  were  trading  and  not  exploring  voyages,  and  their  commanders  had  no 
thought  of  cosmography,  caring  little  whether  Paria  were  the  terrestrial  par 
adise  or  the  infernal  regions,  so  that  pearls,  and  gold,  and  slaves  were  abun 
dant.  No  connected  journals  of  these  voyages  have  been  preserved,  our 
knowledge  of  them  being  derived  from  statements  of  the  early  historians  and 
from  testimony  in  the  famous  lawsuit  with  the  heirs  of  Columbus,  printed 
in  Navarrete's  collection. 

The  first  was  that  of  Alonso  de  Ojeda,  who,  by  the  influence  of  Bishop 
Fonseca,  the  admiral's  most  bitter  enemy,  obtained  a  commission  to  visit  the- 
Pearl  Coast,  avoiding,  however,  lands  discovered  by  the  Portuguese  and  by 
Columbus  prior  to  1495.  In  company  with  Juan  de  la  Cosa  and  Amerigo 
Vespucci,  Ojeda  embarked  with  four  vessels  from  Santa  Maria,  near  Cadiz, 
oh  the  20th  of  May,  1499.  Sailing  by  the  admiral's  charts,  he  touched  at 
the  Canaries,  and  after  twenty-four  days  reached  the  main-land  of  South 
America  between  3°  and  6°  north  latitude — that  is  according  to  Ojcda's  testi 
mony;  but  Vespucci's  account  of  what  was  probably  the  same  voyage  brings 
them  first  upon  the  continent  further  south.  This  is  claimed  by  Varnhagen, 
Examen  de  quelques  points  de  Vhistoire  geographique  du  Brazil,  Paris,  1858,  as 
the  first  discovery  of  Brazil.  Following  the  coast  north-west  for  200  leagues 
without  landing,  but  discovering  the  two  great  rivers  Essequebo  and  Orinoco, 
they  landed  on  Trinidad  Island,  the  first  inhabited  coast  which  they  touched, 
where  they  traded  for  pearls  and  found  traces  of  the  admiral  who  had  pre 
ceded  them.  Out  through  the  Boca  del  Drago,  following  the  coast  of  Paria 
to  the  gulf  of  Pearls,  or  Curiana,  landing  on  Margarita  Island,  anchoring  in 
the  bay  of  Corsarios,  they  continued  from  port  to  port  to  Chichirivichi,  where 
they  had  a  fight  with  the  natives,  and  spent  twenty  days  in  a  port  near  by. 
Ojeda  then  visited  Curazao  and  the  gulf  of  Venezuela,  where  was  found  a 
town  built  over  the  water  like  Venice.  On  the  24th  of  August  he  discovered 
Lake  Maracaibo,  and  afterward  followed  the  coast  westward  to  Cape  de  la 
Vela,  whence  he  directed  his  course,  on  the  30th  of  August,  to  Espafiola, 
arriving,  as  we  have  seen,  September  5,  1499.  He  finally  returned  to  Spain 
in  the  middle  of  June,  1500,  the  voyage  having  yielded  but  a  small  profit. 
Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  4-11  and  543-5;  Majors  Prince  Henry, 
pp.  3G7-9;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  iv.  pp.  195,  220;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn.  i.  p.  70. 

The  second  minor  expedition  to  South  America  was  that  of  Pedro  Alonso 
Nino  and  Cristobal  Guerra,  similar  in  its  object  to  that  of  Ojeda.  A  few 
days  after  Ojcda's  departure  they  sailed  from  Palos  in  one  vessel  with  thirty- 
three  men,  reaching  the  main-land  farther  north,  and  some  fifteen  days  later 
than  Ojeda.  They  traded  on  the  coast  of  Cumana  for  three  months,  their 
western  limit  being  the  region  of  Chichirivichi,  started  for  home  February  13, 
1500,  and  arrived  in  Spain  about  the  middle  of  April  with  a  large  quantity  of 
pearls.  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  i.  cap.  viii. ;  Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  Indian,  fol.  98; 


112  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  ii.  p.  147;  torn.  iii.  pp.  11-18,  542;  Irvinrfs 
Columbus,  vol.  iii.  p.  37-42;   Ilumboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  iv.  p.  220. 

The  third  expedition  of  this  year  was  that  of  Vicente  Yaiiez  Pinzon,  who 
had  commanded  a  vessel  under  Columbus  in  1492.  Sailing  early  in  De 
cember,  1499,  from  Palos  with  a  fleet  of  four  vessels  he  crossed  the  equator, 
and  on  the  20th  of  January — Peter  Martyr  says  the  26th,  and  Irving  the  28th 
of  January — discovered  land  in  latitude  8°  south,  at  Cape  St  Augustine,  which 
he  named  Santa  Maria  de  la  Consolacion.  Varnhagen,  Examen,  pp.  19-24, 
entertains  doubts  regarding  the  spot  where  Pinzon  first  landed,  and  thinks  it 
quite  as  likely  to  have  been  some  cape  further  north.  From  this  point, 
wherever  it  may  have  been,  Pinzon  followed  the  coast  to  the  north,  touched 
at  various  places,  discovered  the  Amazon,  and  in  due  time  reached  the  gulf  of 
Paria.  Thence  he  sailed  through  the  Boca  del  Drago,  arrived  at  Espafiola  on 
4he  23d  of  June,  and  returned  to  Spain  in  September,  1 500.  This  voyage  was  aa 
disastrous  as  the  preceding  one  had  been  profitable.  Peter  Martyr  states, 
dec.  i.  cap.  ix.,  that  Paria  was  thought  to  be  a  part  of  Asia  beyond  the  Ganges. 
See  also  De  Navigatione  Pinzoni  Socii  Admirantis,  et  de  rebus  per  eum  repertis, 
in  GryncBUS,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  119;  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  18-23; 
Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  369;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i.  pp.  313-14; 
torn.  iii.  p.  221. 

Here  belongs  Amerigo  Vespucci's  account  of  a  second  voyage  made  in  con 
junction  with  others  in  the  service  of  the  king  of  Spain.  Departing  in  May, 
1499 — some  editions  of  his  letters  have  it  1489 — from  Cadiz  and  touching  at 
the  Canaries  he  steered  south-west  for  nineteen  days,  sailing  in  that  time 
500  leagues  to  a  point  on  the  main-land  in  latitude  5°  south,  —  from 
incorrect  readings  of  the  originals  some  editors  make  him  say  800  leagues 
and  latitude  8° — where  the  days  and  nights  are  equal  on  the  27th  of  June,  at 
which  time  the  sun  enters  Cancer.  Thence  coasting  eastward  forty  leagues; 
then  north-west  to  a  beautiful  island  and  convenient  harbor;  and  yet  eighty 
»  other  leagues  to  a  secure  harbor  where  he  remained  seventeen  days  and  gath 
ered  many  pearls;  thence  to  another  port;  then  to  an  island  fifteen  leagues 
from  the  main-land;  and  again  to  another  island,  which  was  called  Gigantes, 
where  captives  were  taken;  then  to  a  fine  bay  where  the  ships  were  refitted; 
and  finally,  after  forty-seven  days  at  this  last  place  they  sail  for  Antilla,  that 
is  Espaiiola.  Two  months  and  two  days  are  spent  at  Antilla,  whence  on  the 
22d  of  July  they  embark  for  Spain,  and  reach  Cadiz  September  8,  1500. 
De  Secundariae.  Navigatinis  Cursu,  Latin  text  and  Spanish  translation  of  Ves- 
puoci's  letter  in  Navarrete.,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  242-62. 

It  has  never  been  claimed  that  Vespucci  attempted  discoveries  in  1499  as 
chief  in  command.  The  voyage  described  by  him  is  without  doubt  that  of 
Pinzon  or  Ojeda,  although  D'Avesac,  in.  Bulletin  de  la  Soc.  Ocog.,  makes  it 
identical  with  that  of  Lepe.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  iv.  pp.  200  et  seq., 
by  comparing  the  details  decides  that  it  was  that  of  Pinzon,  and  by  the  same 
method  he  concludes  that  Vespucci's  first  voyage  was  that  under  Ojeda.  As 
the  points  of  resemblance  are  slight  in  either  case;  as  Vespucci  is  known  to 
have  accompanied  Ojeda;  as  he  would  have  been  obliged  to  return  to  Spain 
before  Ojeda  in  June,  1500,  in  order  to  sail  with  Pinzon  in  December,  1499; 
and  as  Vespucci  describes  an  astronomical  phenomenon  which,  as  Humboldt 


LEPE,  GUEKRA,  AND  CASUAL.  113 

admits,  could  not  possibly  have  taken  place  during  Pinzon's  voyage,  I  am 
inclined  to  accept  the  generally  received  opinion  that  Ojeda's  is  the  voyage 
described.  "  There  can  now  be  no  doubt  that  Vespucci's  voyage  in  1499  was 
identical  with  that  of  Ojeda,"  Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  370;  Varnltagen, 
Exam.,  pp.  1-19.  Navarrete  and  Irving  imply  that  this  was  the  only  voyage 
made  by  Vespucci  for  the  crown  of  Spain.  However  it  may  be,  for  the 
purposes  of  this  Summary  the  question  is  of  little  importance;  for  there  are 
110  disputed  points  of  geographical  import  depending  on  the  two  trading 
voyages,  one  of  which  Vespucci  attempts  to  describe;  and  if  there  were,  his 
account  in  the  different  forms  in  which  it  exists  is  so  full  of  blunders  that  it 
could  throw  but  little  light  upon  the  subject. 

The  fourth  minor  expedition  of  this  year  was  that  of  Diego  de  Lepe,  who 
sailed  in  less  than  a  month  after  Pinzon  — that  is  near  the  end  of  December, 
1499  — with  two  vessels.  Touching  main-land  below  Cape  St  Augustine,  he 
observed  the  south-western  trend  of  the  coast  below  that  point;  but  of  his 
voyage  along  the  shore  nothing  is  known  save  that  he  reached  the  Pearl  Coast. 
Before  the  5th  of  June  he  had  returned  to  Spain.  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages, 
torn.  iii.  pp.  23-4,  553-5;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  i.  pp.  314-15;  torn.  iv. 
pp.  221-2. 

There  are  some  scattered  hints  collected  in  Biddle's  Memoir  of  Sebastian 
Cabot,  pp.  91  ct  seq.,  of  a  new  expedition  in  1499  by  the  Cabots,  directed 
this  time  to  tropical  regions.  They  are  not  sufficient  to  render  it  probable 
that  such  a  voyage  was  made,  although  Ojeda  reported  that  he  found  several 
Englishmen  cruising  on  the  Pearl  Coast.  Viages  Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn, 
iii.  p.  41;  KoMs  Hist.  Discov.,  p.  145. 

[1500.]  In  this  year  Cristobal  Guerra  made  a  second  voyage  to  the  Pearl 
Coast  with  some  success,  and  returned  to  Spain  before  November  1,  1501. 
Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  24-5.  Spain  also  made  preparations 
to  explore  the  northern  lands  discovered  by  the  Cabots,  but  without  any 
known  results.  PescM,  Geschichte  der  Entd.,  Stuttgart,  1858,  p.  316;  Navar 
rete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  41-46;  Biddle's  Mem.  Cabot,  p.  236;  Kohl's 
Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  192-3.  In  Diccionario  Universal,  Apend.,  article  'Viages,' 
p.  805,  is  mentioned  a  voyage  to  the  Pearl  Coast  by  Alonso  Velez  de  Mendoza 
in  two  vessels.  No  authorities  are  given. 

The  year  following  the  return  of  Gama  from  his  successful  voyage  to  India, 
Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral  was  entrusted  with  the  command  of  thirteen  well- 
armed  vessels,  and  sent  to  establish  commercial  relations  with  the  new 
countries  now  made  accessible  to  Portuguese  enterprise.  Cabral  embarked 
from  Lisbon  on  the  9th  of  March,  1500;  thirteen  days  later  he  left  behind 
him  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  pursuing  a  south-westerly  course.  Whether  he 
was  driven  by  storms  in  this  direction,  or  wished  to  avoid  the  calms  of  the 
Guinea  coast,  or  whether  he  entertained  a  hope  of  reaching  some  part  of  the 
regions  recently  discovered  by  the  Spaniards  is  not  known.  Certain  it  is, 
however,  that  notwithstanding  his  having  sailed  for  India,  on  the  22d  of 
April — Humboldt  says  in  February — he  found  himself  on  the  coast  of  Brazil 
in  about  latitude  10°  south,  leaving  a  gap  probably  of  some  170  leagues  be 
tween  this  point  and  the  southern  limit  of  Lepe  and  Pinzon.  Thence  he 
coasted  southward,  took  formal  possession  of  the  land  on  the  1st  of  May  at 
HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  Vol..  I.  8 


114  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Porto  Seguro,  and  named  the  country  Vera  Cruz,  which  name  soon  became 
Santa  Cruz.  Cabral  immediately  sent  Gaspar  de  Lemos  in  one  of  the  ships 
back  to  Portugal  with  an  account  and  map  of  the  new  discoveries.  Leaving 
two  convicts  with  the  natives  of  that  coast,  Cabral  continued  his  journey  for 
India  on  the  22d  of  May.  Off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  he  lost  four  vessels, 
in  one  of  which  was  Bartolomeu  Bias,  the  discoverer  of  the  cape,  and  reached 
Calicut  on  the  13th  of  September.  Returning  he  met  at  Cape  Verde  a  fleet, 
on  board  of  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  Amerigo  Vespucci,  and  arrived 
at  Lisbon  July  23,  1501.  Navigation  del  Capitano  Pedro  Alvares,  in  Ramitsio, 
torn.  i.  fol.  132-9;  PurcJias,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  i.  booke  ii.  pp.  30-1;  Cancellleri, 
Notizie  di  Colombo,  pp.  48-9;  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  torn.  iii.  pp.  45-6, 
94-101;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i.  p.  315;  torn.  iv.  p.  223;  torn.  v.  pp. 
53,  61. 

The  Portuguese  did  not  overlook  the  north  while  making  their  important 
discoveries  to  the  south.  Two  vessels,  probably  in  the  spring  of  1500,  were 
sent  out  under  Gaspar  Cortereal.  No  journal  or  chart  of  the  voyage  is  now  in 
existence,  hence  little  is  known  of  its  object  or  results.  Still  more  dim  is  a 
previous  voyage  ascribed  by  Cordeiro  to  Joao  Vaz  Cortereal,  father  of  Gaspar, 
about  the  time  of  Kolno,  which,  as  Kunstmann  views  it,  "requires  further 
proof. "  Touching  at  the  Azores,  Gaspar  Cortereal,  possibly  following  Cabot's 
charts,  struck  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  north  of  Cape  Race,  and  sailing 
north  discovered  a  land  which  he  called  Terra  Verde,  perhaps  Greenland,  but 
was  stopped  by  ice  at  a  river  which  he  named  Rio  Nevado,  whose  location 
is  unknown.  Cortereal  returned  to  Lisbon  before  the  end  of  1500.  Cancel- 
lieri,  Notizie  di  Colombo,  pp.  48-9;  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  p.  57;  Gal- 
vano'sDiscov.,  pp.  95-6;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  374;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp. 
166-8,  174-7.  Biddle,  Mem.  Cabot,  pp.  137-2G1,  thinks  that  Cortereal  landed 
south  of  Cape  Race;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  iv.  p.  222,  is  of  the  opin 
ion  that  Terra  Verde  was  not  Greenland. 

In  October  of  this  same  year  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas  sailed  from  Cddiz  with 
two  vessels.  Touching  the  shore  of  South  America  near  Isla  Verde,  which  lies 
between  Guadalupe  and  the  main-land,  he  followed  the  coast  westward  to  El 
Retrete,  or  perhaps  Nombre  de  Dios,  on  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  in  about  9°  30' 
north  latitude.  Returning,  he  was  wrecked  on  Espafiola  toward  the  end  of 
1501,  and  reached  Cadiz  in  September,  1502.  This  being  the  first  authentic 
voyage  by  Europeans  to  the  territory  herein  defined  as  the  Pacific  States, 
such  incidents  as  are  known  will  be  given  hereafter.  For  references  to  this 
voyage,  see  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  i.  p.  76;  torn.  ii.  p.  334,  where  the  date 
given  is  1502;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  67,  date  of  voyage  also  1502;  Viages 
Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  pp.  25-8,  545-6;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  i. 
lib.  iv.  cap.  xi.;  Galvano's  Discov..,  pp.  99-100,  date  of  voyage  1503;  JIumboIdt, 
Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  i.  pp.  360-1;  torn.  iv.  pp.  224;  Voyages,  Curious  and  Ent., 
p.  436;  Churchill's  Col.  Voy.,  vol.  viii.  p.  375;  Harris'  Col.  Voy.,  vol.  i.  p.  270; 
Major's  Prince  Henry,  pp.  369-70;  Asiento  que  hizo  con  sus  Majestades  Cattflicas 
Rodrigo  de  Bastidas,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.  Incd.,  torn.  ii.  pp. 
362-467;  Robertson's  Hist.  Am.,  vol.  i.  p.  159;  Quintana,  Vidas  de  Espanoles 
Celebres,  'Balboa, 'p.  1. 

Of  the  many  manuscript  maps  and  charts  made  by  navigators  prior  to  this 


EARLIEST  EXISTING  MAPS. 


115 


time  none  have  been  preserved.  In  the  year  1500,  however,  a  map  of  the 
world  was  made  by  the  veteran  pilot  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  who  had  sailed  with 
Columbus  on  his  second  voyage,  and  had  accompanied  Alonso  de  Ojeda  to  the 
Pearl  Coast.  It  is  preserved  in  the  Iloyal  Library  of  Madrid,  and  shows  in 
a  remarkably  clear  manner  all  discoveries  up  to  that  date.  Drawn  in  colors 
and  gold  on  ox-hide,  on  a  scale  of  fifteen  leagues  to  the  degree,  it  lays  down 
the  parallels  of  Gibraltar  and  Paris,  beside  the  equator  and  tropic  of  Cancer, 
and  gives  a  scale  at  the  top  and  bottom.  Stevens'  Notes,  p.  16.  Humboldt 
first  published  a  copy  of  the  American  portion,  and  the  whole,  or  parts 
thereof,  have  been  since  published  or  described  in  Lelewel,  Geog.  du  moyen 
dge,  torn.  ii.  pp.  109  et  seq.,  atlas,  no.  41;  Sagra,  Hist,  physique  et  politique 
de  File  de  Cuba,  Paris,  1838,  and  atlas;  Ghillany,  Geschichte,  etc.,  pref.  by 
Humboldt;  Jomard,  Monuments  de  gcog.,  atlas  no.  xvi.,  which  gives  a  full- 
sized  fac-simile;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  151-5,  239,  plate  v.,  being  a  copy  of 
the  northern  part  from  Humboldt  with  additions  from  Jomard.  Stevens  in 
his  Notes,  see  pp.  11-16,  33,  51,  and  plate  i.,  produces  a  photo-lithographic 
copy  of  the  western  hemisphere  from  Jomard.  I  give  a  copy  of  the  central 
portions  of  the  westem  hemisphere  from  Humboldt,  Stevens,  and  Kohl. 


JUAN  DE  LA  COSA'S  MAP,  1500. 


The  upper  portion  is  North  America,  and  the  lower  South  America,  be 
tween  which  a  continuous  coast  line  remains  as  yet  undiscovered. 


113  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

All  the  newly  found  regions  are  represented  as  parts  of  Asia,  and  conse 
quently  names  are  applied  only  to  islands  and  particular  localities.  Up  to 
this  time  three  portions  of  the  supposed  Asiatic  seaboard  have  been  explored. 
First,  there  are  the  discoveries  of  the  Cabots  in  the  north,  represented  as  ex 
tending  from  'Cabo  de  Yngleterra'  westward  to  the  flag  which  bounds  the 
'Sea  discovered  by  the  English.'  This  direct  western  trend  of  the  coast, 
most  likely  laid  down  from  Cabot's  charts,  is  one  of  the  strongest  evidences 
that  the  coast  explored  by  Cabot  was  the  northern  shore  of  the  gulf  of  St 
Lawrence.  Another  reason  for  entertaining  such  belief  is  the  use  of  the 
words  Mar  descubierta  por  Ynykses  instead  of  Mare  Oceanus,  thus  indicating 
that  it  was  a  sea  or  gulf  and  not  the  open  ocean.  Cosa  could  not  at  the  time 
have  known  the  results  of  Cortdreal's  voyage.  On  Cabot's  coast  various 
points  are  named,  but  farther  to  the  north-east  and  to  the  south-west  the  line 
is  laid  down  indefinitely  and  without  names,  probably  from  Marco  Polo. 
Kohl  puts  the  inscription  Mar  descubierta,  etc.,  farther  south  and  west  than 
on  the  original,  and  thinks  the  curve  in  the  coast  west  of  the  last  flag  to  be 
Cape  Cod.  Then  we  have  in  the  south  the  northern  coast  of  South  America 
quite  accurately  laid  down  from  Cape  de  la  Vela  south-eastward  to  the  limit 
of  Pinzon's  voyage  in  1499;  with  a  nameless  coast-line  south-east  to  the  local 
ity  of  Cape  St  Augustine.  From  Cape  de  la  Vela  we  have  the  same  imaginary 
coast-line  without  names  extending  westward,  as  if  to  meet  the  line  from  the 
north-east;  but  just  at  the  point  where  the  lines  must  meet,  or  be  separated 
by  a  strait  leading  to  India  proper,  the  non-committal  map-maker  inserted  a 
picture  — indicated  by  the  double  dotted  lines — thus  avoiding  the  expression 
of  his  opinion  as  to  whether  the  Pearl  Coast  was  joined  to  Asia,  or  was 
detached  from  the  continent.  On  the  original  map  no  attempt  is  made 
to  show  inland  topography,  although  the  copies  of  Humboldt  and  Kohl  have 
some  lakes  and  rivers.  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  indicate  the  indefinite, 
nameless  coasts  by  a  dotted  line  for  greater  clearness.  The  last  of  the  three 
several  explored  regions  shown  by  this  map  are  the  central  islands,  Cuba, 
Espauola,  and  others  discovered  by  Columbus,  who  was  accompanied  in  at 
least  one  of  his  voyages  by  the  author  himself.  In  this  part  of  the  map  some 
difficulty  has  arisen  from  the  fact  that  Cuba  is  represented  as  an  island,  while 
Columbus  is  known  to  have  held  the  opinion  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  main 
land;  an  opinion,  as  before  stated,  which  was  subscribed  to  under  oath  by  all 
his  men,  including  Juan  de  la  Cosa.  On  the  original,  the  western  part  of 
Cuba  is  cut  off  by  green  paint,  the  conventional  sign  of  terra  incognita, 
which  leads  Stevens  to  infer  that  the  pilot  "  did  not  intend  to  represent  Cuba 
to  be  an  island,"  but  that  he  only  supposed  it  to  be  such.  This,  however,  by 
no  means  implies  that  the  draughtsman  intended  to  say  that  Cuba  was  not 
an  island,  but  rather  that  he  was  not  certain  that  it  was  "an  island,  but  only 
supposed  it  to  be.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  natives  affirmed  from  the 
first  that  it  was  an  island,  although  so  large  that  no  one  had  ever  reached 
its  western  extremity.  This  statement,  together  with  his  own  observations 
during  the  voyage,  probably  caused  Juan  de  la  Cosa  to  afterward  change  the 
opinion  to  which  he  had  perhaps  hastily  subscribed  at  the  request  of  Colum 
bus.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  of  the  authenticity  of  this  map,  although 
Stevens  considers  it  has  been  distorted  in  the  various  copies  and  descriptions. 


JUAN  DE  NOVA  AND  THE  CORTEBJEALS.       117 

That  the  author  did  not  himself  make  any  later  additions  to  it  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  his  own  subsequent  discoveries  are  not  shown. 

[1501.]  Again  King  Henry  of  England  issues  commissions  permitting 
private  persons  to  make  discovery  at  their  own  expense.  So  far  as  known, 
however,  no  voyage  was  effected  under  this  royal  encouragement,  although  it 
is  not  improbable  that  intercourse  with  Newfoundland  was  continued  after 
Cabot's  discovery.  Kunstrnann,  Entdeckuny  Am.,  p.  55;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov., 
pp.  185-7;  Biddle's  Mem.  Cabot,  p.  228etseq.;  PescM,  Geschichte  der  Entd., 
p.  334  et  seq. 

The  Portuguese,  more  practical  in  their  attempts,  push  discovery  in  all 
directions.  Juan  de  Nova  with  four  vessels  sails  from  Lisbon  March  5,  1501, 
doubles  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  returning  reaches  Lisbon  September  11, 
1502,  having  discovered  Ascension  Island  on  the  voyage  out,  and  St  Helena 
on  the  return.  Galvano's  Discov.,  pp.  97-8;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  413;  Ilum- 
boldt,  Exam.  Crlt.,  torn.  iv.  p.  225;  torn.  v.  p.  107.  The  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
route  to  India  may  now  be  declared  open;  voyages  thither  from  this  time  can 
not  properly  be  called  voyages  of  discovery;  hence  of  the  frequent  subse 
quent  voyages  of  the  Portuguese  to  India  I  shall  make  no  mention  except 
of  such  as  in  some  way  relate  to  America.  For  a  summary  of  these  later 
voyages  see  Majors  Prince  Henry,  pp.  413-18. 

Gaspar  Cortereal  this  year  makes  a  second  voyage  to  the  regions  of  the  north, 
sailing  from  Belem,  near  Lisbon,  May  15,  1501,  with  two  or  three  vessels, 
touching  probably  at  some  point  in  Newfoundland,  and  coasting  northward 
some  six  or  seven  hundred  miles.  He  does  not,  however,  reach  the  Terra  Verde 
of  the  former  voyage  on  account  of  ice.  One  of  the  vessels — Kunstmanu  says 
two — returned,  arriving  at  Lisbon  October  8,  1501 ;  the  other  with  the  com 
mander  was  never  afterward  heard  from.  One  of  the  chief  objects  of  this 
expedition  seems  to  have  been  the  capture  of  slaves.  The  name  Labrador 
is  applied  by  Cortereal  to  this  discovery,  "and  is  perhaps  the  only  perma 
nent  trace  of  Portuguese  adventure  within  the  limits  of  North  America." 
Bancrofts  Hist.  U.  S.,  vol.  i.  p.  10;  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  torn.  iii.  p.  44; 
Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  374;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  iv.  p.  224;  KohVa 
Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  169-71;  PescM,  Geschichte  der  Entd.,  pp.  331  et  seq.;  Bid- 
die's  Mem.  Cabot,  pp.  237  et  seq. 

The  Portuguese  also  send  an  expedition  to  prosecute  the  discoveries  begun 
by  Cabral,  who  has  not  yet  returned  from  India,  but  whose  discovery  of 
Brazil  has  been  reported  by  Lemos.  Strangely  enough  no  documents  exist 
in  the  Portuguese  archives  touching  this  voyage,  nor  is  the  name  of  its  com 
mander  known,  although  Varnhageii  thinks  it  may  have  been  Manuel.  It  is 
known  as  Vespucci's  third  voyage,  and  its  incidents  are  found  only  in  his 
letters.  The  authenticity  of  this  as  of  his  other  voyages  has  been  often 
doubted  and  denied,  and  as  it  is  the  voyage  that  resulted  in  the  naming  of 
America,  it  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion,  into  which  however  I  shall  not 
enter.  The  discussion  does  not  affect  the  voyage  itself,  nor  the  leading  facts 
connected  with  it,  the  questions  being  whether  Vespucci  was  in  command, 
which  indeed  he  does  not  claim  to  have  been;  and  above  all,  whether 
the  results  of  the  voyage  entitled  him  to  the  honor  of  naming  America,  which 
they  certainly  did  not,  even  had  he  commanded,  from  the  fact  that  other 


118  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

navigators  had  discovered  both  of  the  Americas  before  him.  Navarrete,  one 
of  Vespucci's  most  jealous  enemies,  admits  that  he  visited  the  coast  of  Brazil 
in  a  subordinate  capacity  in  some  Portuguese  expedition;  and  Humboldt,  in 
an  essay  of  115  pages,  effectually  defends  the  veracity  of  Vespucci  in  his 
accounts  of  his  voyages,  which  the  distinguished  commentator  quotes  with 
notes  on  the  variations  of  different  editions. 

Vespucci  was  induced  to  leave  Seville  in  order  to  accompany  the  fleet, 
which  consisted  of  three  vessels — some  editions  say  ten,  some  fourteen — and 
which  sailed  from  Lisbon  on  the  13th  of  May.  Passing  the  Canaries  without 
landing,  to  the  African  coast  and  Basilica  in  14°,  probably  Cape  Verde,  there 
he  remained  eleven  days.  At  this  place  he  met  Cabral's  fleet  returning  from 
India  and  learned  the  particulars  of  the  voyage,  including  the  American  dis 
coveries,  of  which  he  gives  a  full  account  in  a  letter  written  at  the  time  under 
date  of  June  4,  1501,  which  is  a  strong  proof  of  the  veracity  of  his  other 
accounts.  See  extracts  in  Ilumboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  v.  pp.  34-44.  It  is 
extraordinary  that  in  the  several  accounts  of  this  meeting  the  name  of  Ves 
pucci's  commander  is  not  mentioned.  From  Cape  Verde  the  fleet  sailed 
south-west  sixty-seven  days  and  touched  the  main-land  the  17th  of  August,  at 
a  point  in  5°  south  latitude,  taking  possession  for  the  king  of  Portugal.  Thence 
it  followed  the  coast  south-east,  doubled  Cape  St  Augustine,  and  went  on  in 
sight  of  land  for  GOO  leagues  to  a  point  in  32°  south — according  to  Gomara, 
40°;  Navarrete  thinks  it  could  not  have  been  over  26°.  Having  found  no 
precious  metals  during  a  voyage  of  ten  months,  the  Portuguese  abandoned 
this  coast  on  the  13th  (or  15th)  of  February,  1502,  and  after  having  been 
driven  by  storms  far  to  the  south-east,  and  discovering  some  land  whose 
identity  is  uncertain — Humboldt  thinks  it  was  an  accumulation  of  ice,  or 
the  coast  of  Patagonia — they  reached  the  coast  of  Ethiopia  on  the  10th  of 
May,  the  Azores  toward  the  end  of  July,  and  Lisbon  September  7,  1502. 
Vespucci  gives  full  descriptions  of  the  natives  of  Brazil,  but  these  descrip 
tions,  together  with  the  numerous  conflicting  statements,  or  blunders  of  the 
various  texts  relating  to  details  of  the  voyage,  I  pass  over  as  unimportant  to 
my  purpose.  That  Vespucci  was  with  a  Portuguese  fleet  which  in  1501-2 
explored  a  large  but  ill-defined  portion  of  the  Brazilian  coast,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  Grynceus,  Novus  Orbis,  pp.  122-30;  Ramusio,  Viaygi,  torn.  i.  pp. 
139-44;  Viages  Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  pp.  46,  202-80;  Ilumboldt, 
Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  v.  pp.  1-115;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  pp.  375-7;  Galvano's 
Discov.,  pp.  98-9. 

[1502.]  Miguel  Cortereal  sailed  from  Lisbon  May  10,  1502,  in  search  of 
his  brother  Gaspar,  only  to  share  his  brother's  fate.  Neither  of  his  two 
vessels  appears  to  hare  returned.  Viages  Menores •,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p. 
44;  Ilumboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  iv.  p.  226;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  374; 
KohVs  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  171-2. 

It  is  probable  that  Portuguese  fishermen  continued  their  trips  more  or  less 
to  Labrador  and  Newfoundland,  but  if  so,  no  accounts  have  been  preserved. 
Kohl'*  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  187-92;  Kunstmann,  Entdeckuny  Am.,  pp.  69,  95; 
Ilerrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.  lib.  v.  cap.  iii. 

In  January,  1502,  Alonso  de  Ojeda  with  four  vessels  departed  from  Cddiz 
on  a  second  voyage  to  the  Pearl  Coast,  with  the  intention  of  there  establish- 


FOURTH  VOYAGE  OF  COLUMBUS.  119 

ing  a  colony.  Accompanied  by  Garcia  cle  Ocampo,  Juan  cle  Vergara,  Her- 
nando  de  Guevara,  and  his  nephew  Pedro  de  Ojeda,  lie  touched  at  the  Canaries 
and  Cape  Verde  Islands,  and  reached  the  gulf  of  Paria.  Refitting  his  ves 
sels,  on  the  llth  of  March  he  set  sail  and  coasted  north-westward,  touching 
at  various  points  until  he  came  to  a  port  which  he  called  Santa  Cruz,  probably 
Bahia  Honda,  about  twenty -five  miles  east  of  Cape  de  la  Vela.  During  the 
voyage  along  the  coast  the  vessels  were  much  of  the  time  separated,  follow 
ing  different  courses.  At  Santa  Cruz  Ojeda  found  a  man  who  had  been  left 
by  Bastidas,  and  there  he  determined  to  establish  his  colony.  A  fort  was 
built,  and  a  vessel  sent  to  Jamaica  for  supplies;  but  the  colony  did  not  prosper. 
To  other  troubles  were  added  dissensions  among  the  fiery  leaders,  and  about 
the  end  of  May  Ojeda  was  imprisoned  by  his  companions;  the  colony  was 
finally  abandoned,  and  its  governor  brought  as  a  prisoner  to  Espailola  in  Sep 
tember.  The  few  disputed  points  of  this  voyage  concern  only  the  personal 
quarrels  of  Ojeda  and  his  fellow-captains.  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii. 
pp.  28-39,  168-70,  591  et  seq.;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  i.  p.  360;  torn, 
iv.  p.  226. 

On  the  eleventh  of  May,  1502,  Columbus  embarked  from  Cadiz  on  his 
fourth  and  last  voyage.  Refitting  at  Espanola,  he  directed  his  course  west 
ward,  discovered  terra  jirma  at  the  Guanaja  Islands,  off  the  north  coast  of 
Honduras,  and  sailing  southward,  followed  the  shores  of  the  supposed  Asia 
to  El  Retrete  on  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  where  terminated  the  discovery  of 
Bastidas  from  the  opposite  direction,  whose  chart  may  have  been  in  the  ad 
miral's  possession.  Particulars  of  this  voyage  are  given  hereafter.  See  Cuarto 
y  Ultimo  Viagede  Cristobal  Colon,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  i.  pp.  277-313;  Colon,  Hist, 
del  Almirante,  in  Barcia,  torn.  i.  pp.  101-18;  Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  Indlas,  fol. 
31;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iii.  cap.  iv.;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  i.  lib.  v.-vi. ; 
Benzoni,  Historia  del  Hondo  Nvovo,  Venetia,  1572,  fol.  28;  Galvano's  Discov., 
pp.  100-1;  Robertson's  Hist.  Am.,  vol.  i.  pp.  164-74;  Burke's  European  Settle 
ments  in  Am.,  vol.  i.  pp.  37-45;  Napione  and  De  Conti,  Biograjia  Colombo,  pp. 
379-406;  Laharpe,  Abrcge,  torn.  ix.  p.  122;  Acosta,  Comp.  Histdrico  de  la 
Nueva  Granada,  cap.  i.;  Navigatio  Christopliori  Colvmbi,  in  Grynaus,  Novus 
Orbis,  p.  90,  and  elsewhere. 

Since  the  admiral's  discovery,  in  1498,  of  the  Pearl  Coast,  that  is,  the  ex 
treme  northern  shore  of  South  America,  nothing  had  occurred  to  modify  his 
views  formed  at  that  time  concerning  the  new  regions,  except  to  show  that 
this  southern  addition  of  the  Asiatic  continent  was  much  larger  than  had  at 
first  been  supposed.  His  special  aim  in  this  fourth  voyage  was  to  do  what 
various  circumstances  had  prevented  him  from  doing  before,  namely,  to  sail 
along  the  eastern  and  southern  coasts  of  Asia  to  India,  passing,  of  course, 
through  the  supposed  strait  between  the  main-land  and  the  land  of  Paria. 
It  is  certainly  extraordinary  that  this  idea  entertained  by  Columbus  corre 
sponded  so  closely  with  the  actual  conformation  of  the  eastern  Asiatic  coast, 
and  its  southern  addition  of  the  Australian  archipelago;  that  this  conforma 
tion  is  so  closely  duplicated  in  the  American  coasts;  and  that  the  position  of 
the  admiral's  hypothetical  strait  was  almost  identical  with  the  actual  nar 
rowest  part  of  the  American  continent.  Columbus  followed  the  coast  to  the 
western  limit  of  Bastidas'  voyage  and  could  find  no  opening  in  the  shore, 


120  EAELY  VOYAGES. 

either  because  the  ancient  chroniclers  were  faulty  in  making  no  mention  of 
this  great  supposed  southern  extension  of  Asia,  or  because  the  strait  had 
in  some  way  escaped  his  scrutiny.  He  therefore  abandoned  the  search,  and 
gave  himself  up  to  other  schemes,  but  he  never  relinquished  his  original  idea, 
and  died,  1506,  in  the  belief  that  he  had  reached  the  coast  of  Asia,  and  with 
out  the  suspicion  of  a  new  continent.  Moreover,  his  belief  was  shared  by 
all  cosmographers  and  scholars  of  the  time.  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  i.  cap.  viii. ; 
Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  i.  p.  26;  torn.  iv.  p.  188;  Preface  to  Ghillany ; 
Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  420;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  140,  238-9;  Draper's 
Int.  Develop.,  p.  445;  Stevens'  Notes,  p.  37. 

[1503.]  Another  expedition  was  sent  by  Portugal  in  search  of  the  Corte- 
reals,  but  returned  unsuccessful.  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  p.  58;  Pesc/iel, 
Geschickte  der  Entd.,  p.  334. 

According  to  Harrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  pp.  173-4,  we  have  "authentic  deeds 
and  depositions  proving  beyond  doubt  a  French  expedition  to  Brazil  as  early 
as  1503;"  in  support  of  which  he  refers  to  De  Gonneville,  Memoires,  Paris,  1063; 
De  Brasses,  Hist,  des  Navigations,  Paris,  1756,  torn.  i.  pp.  104-14;  Hevista  Tri- 
mensal,  Bio  de  Janeiro,  torn.  vi.  p.  412-14;  D'Avesac,  in  Bulletin  de  la  Soc. 
Geoy.,  torn.  xiv.  p.  172. 

In  1503  the  Portuguese  sent  a  third  fleet  of  six  vessels  under  Gonzalo 
Coelho  to  make  farther  explorations  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  then  calleu  Santa 
Cruz,  and  to  sail,  if  possible,  around  its  southern  extremity  to  India,  an  idea 
that  seems  to  have  been  conceived  during  the  preceding  voyage,  but  which 
could  not  then  be  carried  into  effect  for  want  of  supplies.  Vespucci  com 
manded  one  of  the  vessels,  and  set  out  with  high  hopes  of  accomplishing  great 
things  for  his  country,  his  God,  and  himself.  This  is  known  as  Vespucci's 
fourth  voyage.  Beyond  the  account  which  he  gives  in  his  letters,  little  is 
known  of  it  except  the  fact  that  Coelho  made  such  a  voyage  at  the  time. 
The  identity  of  the  two  expeditions  has  not  been  undisputed,  but  Humboldt 
and  Major  both  show  that  there  can  be  little  doubt  in  the  matter.  The  fleet 
sailed  from  Lisbon  on  the  10th  of  June — Vespucci  says  May — remained  twelve 
or  thirteen  clays  at  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  and  thence  sailed  south-east  to  within 
sight  of  Sierra  Leone.  The  navigators  were  prevented  by  a  storm  from  an 
choring,  and  so  directed  their  course  south-west  for  300  leagues  to  a  desert 
island  in  about  lat.  3°  south,  supposed  to  be  Fernando  de  Noronha,  where 
Coelho  lost  his  ship  on  the  10th  of  August.  Vespucci's  vessel  was  separated 
from  the  rest  for  eight  days,  but  afterward  joined  one  of  them,  and  the  two 
sailed  south-west  for  seventeen  days,  making  300  leagues,  and  arriving  at  the 
Bahia  de  Todos  os  Santos.  Remaining  there  two  months  and  four  days,  they 
followed  the  coast  for  260  leagues  to  the  port  now  called  Cape  Frio,  where 
they  built  a  fort  and  left  twenty-four  men  who  had  belonged  to  the  vessel 
which  had  been  wrecked.  In  this  port,  which  by  Vespucci's  observations 
was  in  lat.  18°  south  and  35°  (or  57°)  west  of  Lisbon,  they  remained  five 
months,  exploring  the  interior  for  forty  leagues;  they  then  loaded  with  Brazil 
wood,  and  after  a  return  voyage  of  seventy-seven  days  arrived  in  Lisbon 
June  28  (or  18),  1504.  Vespucci  believed  the  other  ships  of  the  fleet  to  have 
been  lost,  but  after  his  account  was  written,  Coeiho  returned  with  two  ships; 
nothing,  however,  is  now  known  of  his  movements  after  the  separation.  Di 


DIVERS  EXPEDITIONS.  121 

Amerigo  Vespucci  Fiorentino,  in  Ramusio,  torn,  i.,  Lettera  prima,  fol.  139, 
Lettera  secondo,  fol.  141,  Sommario,  fol.  141;  Viages  de  Vespucio,  in  Navar- 
rete,  torn.  iii.  pp.  281-90;  Southey's  Hist.  Brazil,  vol.  i.  p.  20. 

Alfonso  de  Alburquerque  sailed  from  Lisbon  April  6,  1503,  with  four  vessels 
for  India;  but  shaping  his  course  far  to  the  south-west,  after  twenty-four  (or 
twenty-eight)  days  he  reached  an  island  previously  discovered  by  Vespucci; 
thence  he  touched  the  main-land  of  Brazil,  after  which  he  proceeded  around 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  India,  and  returned  to  Lisbon  September  16,  1504. 
Viaggio  fatto  nelV  India  per  Giovanni  di  Empoli,  in  Ramusio,  torn.  i.  fol.  158; 
Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  i.  pp.  32-3.  Bergomas,  Nouissime  historiaru 
omniu,  etc.,  Venetiis,  1503,  a  book  of  chronicles  published  with  frequent  addi 
tions  to  date,  contains,  for  the  first  time,  in  this  edition,  a  chapter  on  the 
newly  found  islands  of  Columbus.  In  my  copy,  which  is  dated  ten  years 
later,  this  chapter  is  on  folio  328.  At  least  nine  editions  of  the  work 
appeared  before  1540. 

[1504.]  Soon  after  the  return  from  his  third  voyage,  Vespucci  wrote  a 
letter  to  Piero  de'  Medici,  setting  forth  its  incidents.  This  letter,  which 
bears  no  date,  was  probably  written  in  corrupt  Italian,  and  after  circulating 
to  some  extent  in  manuscript,  as  wras  the  custom  at  the  time,  it  may  have 
been  printed,  but  no  copies  are  known  to  exist,  and  the  original  is  lost. 
Translations  were  made,  however,  into  Latin  and  German,  which  appeared  in 
small  pamphlet  form  in  at  least  seventeen  different  editions  before  1507,  under 
the  title  of  Mundus  Jhrovus,  or  its  equivalent.  The  earliest  edition  which 
bears  a  date  is  that  of  1504,  but  of  the  nine  issues  without  date,  some  un 
doubtedly  appeared  before  that  year.  It  is  probable  that  other  editions  have 
disappeared  on  account  of  their  undurable  form.  None  of  Vespucci's  other 
accounts  are  known  to  have  been  printed  before  1507. 

This  same  year  the  Libretto  de  tutta  le  Navigazione  del  lie  di  Spagna  is  said 
to  have  been  printed  at  Venice,  being  the  first  collection  of  voyages,  and  con 
taining,  according  to  the  few  Italian  authors  who  claim  to  have  seen  it,  the 
first  three  voyages  of  Columbus  and  those  of  Nino  and  Pinzon.  If  authentic, 
it  was  the^  first  account  of  the  voyage  of  Columbus  to  the  Pearl  Coast;  but  no 
copy  is  known  at  present  to  exist,  and  its  circulation  must  have  been  small 
compared  with  Vespucci's  relations.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  iv.  pp.  67-77; 
Ilarrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  nos.  22-41. 

A  chart  made  about  1504  has  been  preserved  which  shows  Portuguese  dis 
coveries  only.  In  the  north  are  laid  down  Newfoundland  and  Labrador 
under  the  name  of  'Terra  de  Cortte  Reall,'  and  Greenland  with  no  name,  but 
so  correctly  represented  as  to  form  a  strong  evidence  that  it  was  reached  by 
Cortereal.  On  the  south  we  have  the  coast  of  Brazil,  to  which  110  name  is 
given;  between  the  two  is  open  sea,  with  no  indication  of  Spanish  discoveries. 
Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  pp.  127-8,  and  Munich  Atlas,  no.  iii.;  Kohl's 
Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  174-7,  plate  viii. 

With  the  year  1504  the  fishing  voyages  of  the  Bretons  and  Normans  to 
Newfoundland  are  said  to  have  begun,  but  there  are  no  accounts  of  any  par 
ticular  voyage.  Sobre  las  navegaciones  de  los  vascongados  d  los  mares  de  Terra- 
nova,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  176;  Viages  Menores,  Id.,  p.  46.  Kunstmann, 
Entdeckung  Am.,  p.  69  et  seq.,  makes  these  trips  begin  with  Denys'  in  1503. 


122  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Juan  de  la  Cosa  equipped  and  armed  four  vessels,  and  was  despatched  in 
the  service  of  Queen  Isabella  of  Spain,  to  explore  and  trade  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  gulf  of  Uraba,  and  also  to  check  rumored  encroachments  of  the  Portu 
guese  in  that  direction.  All  that  is  recorded  of  the  expedition  is  that  in 
1506  the  crown  received  491,708  maravedis  as  the  royal  share  of  the  profits. 
Carta  de  Cristobal  Guerra,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  ii.  p.  293;  Carta  de  la  Reina, 
in  Id.,  torn.  iii.  p.  109;  RealCedula,  adicion,  Id.,  p.  161.  Stevens,  in  his  Notes, 
p.  33,  gives  the  date  as  1505. 

[1505.]  Alonso  de  Ojeda,  with  three  vessels,  made  a  third  voyage  to  Co- 
quibacoaand  the  gulf  of  Uraba.  Noticias  bioyrdficas  del  capitan  Alonso  Hojeda, 
in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  169. 

The  letter  written  by  Columbus  from  Jamaica  July  7,  1503,  describing  the 
events  of  his  fourth  voyage,  is  preserved  in  the  Spanish  archives.  If  printed, 
no  copies  are  known  to  exist,  but  an  Italian  translation  appeared  as  Copia  de 
la  LeLtera,  Venetia,  1505. 

A  Portuguese  map  made  about  1505  by  Pedro  Reinel  shapes  Newfound 
land  more  accurately  than  the  map  of  1504,  being  the  lirst  to  give  the  name 
'C.  Raso'  to  the  south-east  point;  but  Greenland  is  drawn  much  less  correctly. 
Kunstmann,  Entdeckuny  Am.,  pp.  125-7;  Munich  Atlas,  no.  i.  Plate  ix.  in 
Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  177-9,  differs  materially  from  the  fac-simile  in  the 
Munich  Atlas.  See  also  Peschel,  Geschichte  der  Entd.,  p.  332;  Schmeller,  Ueber 
e'miyen  der  handschriftlichen  Seekarten,  in  Akademie  der  Wissenscliaften,  Ab- 
handl. ,  torn.  iv.  pt.  i.  p.  247  et  seq. 

[1506.]  The  Bretons  under  Jean  Denys  are  said  to  have  explored  the  gulf 
of  St  Lawrence,  and  to  have  made  a  map  which  has  not  been  found.  The 
reports  of  this  and  of  succeeding  voyages  northward  are  exceedingly  vague. 
Charlevoix,  Hist,  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  Paris,  1744,  torn.  i.  p.  4;  Viayes  Me- 
nores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  41;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  201-5;  Kunetmann, 
Entdeckuny  Am.,  p.  69;  Bancroft's  Hist.  U.  S.,  vol.  i.  p.  16. 

Vicente  Yaiiez  Pinzon  made  a  second  voyage  with  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis,  in 
which  he  explored  the  gulf  of  Honduras,  from  the  Guanaja  Islands,  the 
western  limit  of  Columbus'  voyage,  to  the  islands  of  Caria  on  the  coast  of 
Yucatan,  in  search  of  the  passage  which  was  still  believed  to  exist  bet.veen 
the  main  continent  of  Asia  and  the  land  known  as  the  Pearl  Coast,  S~nta 
Cruz,  or,  in  the  Latin  translations  of  Vespucci,  as  the  Mundus  Novus,  or 
New  World.  Brief  mention  of  this  voyage  may  be  found  in  Viayes  Me- 
nores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  46,  repeated  in  Irviny's  Columbus,  vol.  iii. 
p.  52;  and  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  iv.  p.  228.  See  also  Reise  des  Diaz 
de  Solis  und  Yanez  Pinzon,  in  Sammluny  alter  Reisebeschreibunyen,  torn.  xiii. 
p.  157. 

Tristan  da  Cuiiha  in  a  voyage  to  India,  sailing  from  Lisbon  March  6, 
1506,  round  Cape  St  Augustine,  heard  of — eut  connaissance  de — a  Eio  Sao 
Sebastiao  in  the  province  of  Pernambuco,  and  discovered  the  island  since 
called  by  his  name,  in  37°  5'  south  latitude,  on  his  passage  to  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  Galvano  does  not  mention  that  Cunha  reached  America. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  1506,  at  Valladolid,  died  the  great  admiral  of  the 
Western  Ocean,  Christopher  Columbus;  whose  story,  notwithstanding  his 


THE  NAMING   OF  AMERICA.  123 

innumerable  historians,  is  nowhere  more  fully  comprehended  than  in  the 
simple  lines  which  may  be  seen  to-day  upon  his  tomb: 

"  For  Castilla  y  por  Leon 
Nuevo  Mundo  hallo  Colon." 

Majfei  of  Volterra,  Commentariorum  urbanorum,  Rome,  1506,  a  kind  of  geo 
graphical  encyclopaedia,  contains  a  section  on  the  loca  ntiper  reperta.  Five 
editions  are  mentioned  as  having  been  issued  in  the  years  1510,  1511,  and 
1530,  all  but  one  at  Paris. 

M.  Varnliagen  claims  that  the  original  mixed  Italian  text  of  Vespucci's 
first  voyage  was  printed  in  Florence  in  1505  or  1506,  and  that  several  copies 
have  been  preserved.  This  is  the  text  used  by  him  in  his  defense  of  Ves 
pucci.  See  Premier  Voy,,  Vienna,  1869,  and  Vespucci,  son  caractere,  etc., 
Lima,  1865,  in  which  the  letter  is  reproduced.  I  find  no  mention  by  any 
other  author  of  such  an  edition. 

[1507.]  No  voyages  are  mentioned  in  this  year;  but  the  bibliography  of 
the  year  is  remarkable.  Montalboddo  (or  Zorzi),  Pacsi  Nouamente  retrouati,  Et 
Nouo  Hondo  da  Alberico  Vesputio,  Florentine,  intitulato,  Vincentia,  1507,  is 
the  second  collection  of  voyages  issued,  and  the  first  of  which  any  copies 
at  present  exist.  This  work  is  divided  into  six  books,  of  which  the  fourth 
and  fifth  relate  to  America,  the  fourth  being  a  reproduction  of  the  Libretto  of 
1504,  while  the  fifth  is  the  Nouo  Mondo,  or  third  voyage  of  Vespucci;  and 
its  mention  in  the  title  shows  how  important  a  feature  it  was  deemed  in  a 
work  of  this  character.  In  the  following  year,  besides  a  new  Italian  edition, 
there  appeared  a  German  translation  under  the  title  of  ItucJiamer,  Newe 
unbekanthe  landte,  Nuremberg,  1508,  and  a  Latin  translation,  Itlnerariu 
Portuyallesiu,  Milan,  1508.  At  least  fourteen  editions  in  Italian,  Latin, 
German,  and  French  appeared  before  1530. 

Hylacomylus  (Waldsee-MuUer),  Cosmographies  fntrodvctio . . . .  Insuper  qua- 
tuor  Americi  Vespucij  Nauigatlones,  Deodate  (St  Die,  Lorraine),  1507,  is  the 
title  of  a  work  which  appeared  four  times  in  the  same  place  and  year.  It  is 
the  first  collection  of  Vespucci's  four  voyages,  and  generally  regarded  as  the 
first  edition  of  the  first  and  fourth,  although  as  we  have  seen  M.  Varnliagen 
claims  an  Italian  edition  of  the  first  in  1506.  This  account  of  the  third 
voyage  is  different  from  that  so  widely  circulated  before  as  Mundiis  Novus. 
Three  other  editions  of  the  work,  or  of  the  part  relating  to  Vespucci,  ap 
peared  in  1509  and  1510.  In  Hylacomylus  the  following  passage  occurs: 
"But  now  that  those  parts  have  been  more  extensively  examined,  and  an 
other  fourth  part  has  been  discovered  by  Americus  (as  will  be  seen  in  the 
sequel),  I  do  not  see  why  we  should  rightly  refuse  to  name  it  America, 
namely,  the  land  of  Americus  or  America,  after  its  discoverer,  Americus,  a 
man  of  sagacious  mind,  since  both  Europe  and  Asia  took  their  names  from 
women."  Here  we  have  the  origin  of  the  name  'America.'  To  the  northern 
discoveries  of  Columbus,  Cabot,  and  Cortereal,  on  the  islands  and  coast  of  the 
supposed  Asia,  no  general  name  was  given  because  those  regions  were  already 
named  India,  Cathay,  Mangi,  etc.,  while  names  were  applied  by  Europeans 
only  to  particular  places  on  the  new  coasts.  When  Columbus  in  1498  ex 
plored  the  northern  coast  of  South  America  he  had  no  doubt  it  was  a  portion, 


124  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

though  probably  a  detached  portion,  of  Asia,  and  the  terms  Paria  and  the 
Pearl  Coast  sufficed  to  designate  the  region  during  the  succeeding  trading 
voyages.  Concerning  these  voyages,  only  a  letter  of  Columbus  and  a  slight 
account  of  Pinzon's  expedition  had  been  printed,  apparently  without  attract 
ing  much  attention.  The  voyages  of  Columbus,  Bastidas,  and  Pinzon  along 
the  coast  of  Central  America  were  almost  unknown.  Meanwhile  the  fame  of 
the  great  navigator  had  become  much  obscured.  His  enterprises  on  the  supposed 
Asiatic  coast  had  been  unprofitable  to  Spain.  The  eyes  of  the  world  were 
now  directed  farther  south.  By  the  Portuguese  the  coasts  of  Brazil  had  been 
explored  for  a  long  distance,  proving  the  great  extent  of  this  south-eastern 
portion  of  the  supposed  Asia,  whose  existence  was  not  indicated  on  the  old 
charts,  and  which  certainly  required  a  name.  These  Portuguese  explorations 
and  their  results  were  known  to  the  world  almost  exclusively  by  the  letter  of 
Vespucci  so  often  printed.  To  the  Latin  translation  of  the  letter,  the  name 
Mundus  Novus  had  been  applied,  meaning  not  necessarily  a  new  continent, 
but  simply  the  newly  found  regions.  The  name  'America'  suggested  itself 
naturally,  possibly  through  the  influence  of  some  friend  who  was  an  admirer 
of  Vespucci,  to  the  German  professor  of  a  university  in  Lorraine,  as  appro 
priate  for  the  new  region,  and  he  accordingly  proposed  it.  Having  proposed 
it,  his  pride  and  that  of  his  friends — a  clique  who  had  great  influence  over  the 
productions  of  the  German  press  at  that  period — was  involved  in  securing  its 
adoption.  No  open  opposition  seems  to  have  been  made,  even  by  the  Portu 
guese  who  had  applied  the  name  'Santa  Cruz'  to  the  same  region;  still  it  was 
long  before  the  new  name  replaced  the  old  ones.  In  later  years,  when 
America  was  found  to  be  joined  to  the  northern  continent,  and  all  that  great 
land  to  be  entirely  distinct  from  Asia,  the  name  had  become  too  firmly  fixed 
to  be  easily  changed,  and  no  effort  that  we  know  of  was  made  to  change  it. 
Later  still  some  authors,  inadvertently  perhaps,  attributed  the  first  discovery 
to  Vespucci.  This  aroused  the  wrath  of  Las  Casas  and  others,  and  a  discus 
sion  ensued  which  has  lasted  to  the  present  time.  See  list  of  partisans  on 
both  sides  in  Harrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  pp.  G5-7.  Munoz  and  Navarrete  insist 
that  Vespucci  was  an  impostor,  but  others,  headed  by  Humboldt,  have  proved 
conclusively  that  the  name  'America'  was  adopted  as  the  result '  f  the  r  ;ne- 
what  strange  combination  of  circumstances  described,  without  any  inter/  .onal 
wrong  to  Columbus.  This  conclusion  is  founded  chiefly  on  the  following 
reasons,  namely:  The  honor  to  Vespucci  resulted  chiefly  from  his  third  voy 
age  in  1501,  and  not  from  his  first  voyage  in  1497,  which  last  mentioned  is 
the  only  one  possible  to  have  claimed  precedence  over  Columbus  in  the  dis 
covery  of  the  continent.  Furthermore,  neither  Columbus  nor  Vespucci  ever 
suspected  that  a  new  continent  had  been  found;  and  to  precede  Cabot  in 
reaching  Asia,  Vespucci,  even  if  retying  on  his  first  voyage,  must  have  dated 
it  somewhat  earlier  in  1497  than  he  did;  while  to  precede  Columbus  he  must 
have  dated  it  before  1492,  when,  as  they  both  believed,  Columbus  had  touched 
Asia  at  Cuba.  Then,  again,  there  is  no  evidence  whatever  that  Vespucci  ever 
claimed  the  honor  of  discovery.  He  was  on  intimate  terms  with  the  admiral 
and  his  friends,  and  is  highly  spoken  of  by  all,  especially  by  Fernando  Colon, 
who  was  extremely  jealous  in  every  particular  which  might  affect  his  father's 
honor.  Moreover,  it  is  certain  that  Vespucci  did  not  himself  propose  the 


BOOKS  AND  MAPS  OF  THE  PERIOD.  125 

name  'America;'  it  is  not  certain  that  he  even  used  the  term  Mundus  Novua 
or  its  equivalent  in  his  letters;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  he  never  even 
knew  of  his  name  being  applied  to  the  New  World,  since  the  name  did  not 
come  into  general  use  until  many  years  after  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1512.  The  most  serious  charge  which  in  my  opinion  can  be  brought  against 
Vespucci  is  neglect — perhaps  an  intentional  deception  for  the  purpose  of  giv 
ing  himself  temporary  prominence  in  the  eyes  of  his  correspondent — in  failing 
to  name  the  commanders  under  whom  he  sailed;  and  with  exaggeration  and 
carelessness  in  his  details.  But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  his  writings  were 
simply  letters  to  friends  describing  in  familiar  terms  the  wonders  of  his  voy 
ages,  with  little  care  for  dry  dates  and  names,  reserving  particulars  for  a  large 
work  which  he  had  prepared,  but  which  has  never  come  to  light.  "After 
all,"  says  Irving,  "this  is  a  question  more  of  curiosity  than  of  real  moment 
....  about  which  grave  men  will  continue  to  write  weary  volumes,  until  the 
subject  acquires  a  fictitious  importance  from  the  mountain  of  controversy 
heaped  upon  it."  Cancellieri,  Notizie  di  Colombo,  pp.  41-8;  Humboldt,  Exam. 
Grit.,  torn.  iv.  and  v.,  and  Preface  to  Ghillany ;  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages, 
torn.  i.  p.  cxxvi.;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  pp.  380-8;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  p. 
496;  Harrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  pp.  65-6;  D'Avesac,  Martin  Hylacomylus,  Paris, 
1867;  Muiloz,  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,  p.  x.;  Stevens'  Notes,  pp.  24,  35,  52  et  seq. ; 
Viages  de  Vcspucio,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  183;  Carta  del  Excmo.  Sr.  Viz- 
conde  de  Santaren,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  pp.  309-34.  Ludd,  Speculi  Orbis, 
Strasburg,  1507,  adopts  Waldsee-Miiller's  suggestion  so  far  as  to  speak  of 
the  'American  race,'  or  people,  gentis  Americi.  Major,  Prince  Henry,  pp. 
380-8,  explains  the  connection  between  this  and  other  works  of  the  time  in 
fluenced  by  the  St  Die  clique.  See  also  Stevens'  Notes,  p.  35. 

[1508.]  Pinzon  and  Solis,  with  Pedro  Ledesma  as  pilot,  were  sent  by 
Spain  for  the  third  time  to  search  southward  for  the  strait  which  they,  as 
well  as  Columbus  and  Bastidas,  had  failed  to  find  farther  north  and  west. 
Sailing  from  San  Lucar  June  29,  1508,  they  touched  at  the  Cape  Verde 
Islands,  proceeded  to  Cape  St  Augustine,  and  followed  the  coast  south-west 
to  about  40°  south  latitude,  returning  to  Spain  in  October,  1509.  Viages  Me- 
nores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  47.  Kohl,  Die  beiden  dltesten  Karten  von  Am., 
p.  110,  joins  this  voyage  to  the  preceding  one  of  1506. 

Another  of  the  uncertain  French  voyages  to  Newfoundland  is  reported  to 
have  taken  place  in  1508,  under  the  command  of  Thomas  Aubert,  from 
Dieppe.  Viages  Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  41;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov., 
pp.  203-5. 

In  1508  the  governor  of  Espanola  sent  Sebastian  de  Ocampo  to  explore 
Cuba.  He  was  the  first  to  sail  round  the  island,  thus  proving  it  such,  as 
Juan  de  la  Cosa  probably  imagined  it  to  be  eight  years  earlier.  A  a,  Naau- 
keurige  Versameling,  torn.  vi.  p.  1;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  i.  lib.  vii.  cap.  i.; 
Stevens'  Notes,  p.  35. 

Ptolemy,  In  hoc  opere  hcec  continentvr,  Geographic  Cl.  Ptolemcci,  Rome,  1508, 
is  said  to  be  the  first  edition  of  this  work  which  contains  allusions  to  the  New 
World.  Other  editions  of  Ptolemy,  prepared  by  different  editors,  with  ad 
ditional  text  and  maps,  and  with  some  changes  in  original  matter,  appeared 
in  1511,  1512,  1513,  1519,  1520,  1522,  1525,  1532,  and  1535.  The  edition  first 


126  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

mentioned  contains,  in  addition  to  the  preceding  one  of  1507,  fourteen  leaves 
of  text  and  an  engraved  map  by  Johann  Ruysch  — the  first  ever  published 
which  .includes  the  New  World.  Copies  have  been  printed  by  Lelewel  in  his 
Geotj.  du  may  en  age,  atlas;  by  Santarem,  in  his  Recherches,  Paris,  1842,  atlas; 
and  by  Humboldt,  Kohl,  and  Stevens.  I  have  taken  the  annexed  copy 
from  the  three  last  mentioned  authorities,  omitting  some  of  the  unimportant 


MAP  BY  JOHANN  RUYSCH,  1508. 

This  map  follows  closely  that  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa  in  1500,  but  illustrates 
more  clearly  the  geographical  idea  of  the  time.  The  discoveries  of  Cabot, 
whom  Ruysch  is  supposed  to  have  accompanied,  as  well  as  those  of  Cortereal 
in  the  north,  of  Greenland,  Labrador,  and  Newfoundland,  are  laid  down  with 
tolerable  accuracy;  and  the  rest  of  the  supposed  Asiatic  coast  as  in  Behaim's 
globe  is  taken  from  Marco  Polo.  In  the  centre  we  have  the  lands  discovered 
by  Columbus,  and  the  old  fabulous  island  of  Antilia  restored.  To  '  Spagnola' 
(Espafiola)  is  joined  an  inscription  stating  the  compiler's  belief  that  it  was 
identical  with  Zipangu,  or  Japan.  Western  Cuba  is  cut  off  by  a  scroll,  instead 
of  by  green  paint  as  in  the  map  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  with  an  inscription  to  the 
effect  that  this  was  the  limit  of  Spanish  exploration.  Ruysch,  having  as  yet 
no  knowledge  of  Ocampo's  voyage  performed  during  this  same  year,  evidently 
entertained  the  same  idea  respecting  Cuba  that  was  held  by  Juan  de  la  Cosa, 
but  did  not  venture  to  proclaim  it  an  island.  In  the  south,  the  New  World 
is  shown  under  the  name  '  Terra  Sanctse  Crucis  sive  M vndvs  Novvs. '  An  open 
sea  separates  the  New  World  from  Asia,  showing  that  Ruysch  did  not  know 
of  the  unsuccessful  search  for  this  passage  by  Columbus,  Bastidas,  and 
Pinzon.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  name  America  is  not  used  by  this 
countryman  of  Hylacomylus.  Humboldt  thinks  that  he  had  not  seen  the 
Cosmographies  Introdvctio,  but  had  read  some  other  edition  of  Vespucci's  third 


OCCUPATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 


127 


voyage.  Exam.  Crit.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  5,  9;  torn.  iv.  p.  121,  and  Preface  to  GhiUany. 
See  also  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  pp.  136—7;  Harrisse,  Bib.  Am,.  Vet.,  pp. 
107-8;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  156-8;  Stevens'  Notes,  pp.  31-2. 

[1509.]  Stimulated  by  the  admiral's  gold  discoveries  at  Veragua,  which 
had  been  corroborated  by  subseqiient  voyages,  King  Ferdinand  of  Spain 
determined  to  establish  colonies  on  that  coast.  The  region  known  as  Tierra 
Firme  was  to  that  end  divided  into  two  provinces,  of  which  Alonso  de  Ojeda 
was  appointed  governor  of  one,  and  Diego  de  Nicuesa  of  the  other.  Ojeda 
sailed  from  Espaiiola  November  10,  1509,  and  Nicuesa  soon  followed.  Their 
adventures  form  an  important  part  of  early  Central  American  history,  and 
are  fully  related  in  the  following  chapters.  During  the  succeeding  years 
frequent  voyages  were  made  back  and  forth  between  the  new  colonies,  Jamaica, 
Cuba,  and  Espaiiola,  which  are  for  the  most  part  omitted  here  as  not  consti 
tuting  new  discoveries.  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  ii.  cap.  i. ;  Gomara,  Hint.  Ind., 
fols.  67-9;  Galvano's  Discov.,  p.  109-10;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  421-8; 
Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  i.  cap.  vii.  lib.  vii.  et  seq. 

The  Globus  Mundi,  Strasburg,  1509,  an  anonymous  work,  was  the  first  to 
apply  the  name  America  to  the  southern  continent.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit., 
torn.  iv.  p.  142;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  p.  387. 

[1511.]  Juan  de  Agramonte  received  a  commission  from  the  Spanish  gov 
ernment,  and  made  arrangements  to  sail  to  Newfoundland  and  the  lands  of 


PETER  MARTYR'S  MAP,  1511. 

the  north-western  ocean,  but  nothing  further  is  known  of  the  matter.  Viages 
Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  42;  Sobrecarta  de  la  Reina  Dona  Juana, 
in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  122.  P.  Martyris,  Anglimediolanensis  oper»,  Se 
ville,  1511,  is  the  first  edition  of  Peter  Martyr's  first  decade;  containing  in 
ten  letters,  or  books,  accounts  of  the  first  three  voyages  of  Columbus,  certain 


128  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

expeditions  to  the  Pearl  Coast,  and  closing  with  a  brief  mention  of  the 
admiral's  fourth  voyage.  The  learned  author  was  personally  acquainted  with 
Columbus,  and  his  relations  are  consequently  of  great  value.  This  work  con 
tains  a  map,  of  which  I  give  a  copy  from  Stevens,  the  only  fac-simile  I  have 
seen. 

The  map  shows  only  Spanish  discoveries,  but  it  is  by  far  the  most  accurate 
yet  made.  Cuba,  now  proved  to  be  an  island,  is  so  laid  down.  No  name  is 
given  to  the  Mundus  Novus,  which,  by  a  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  voyages, 
is  made  to  extend  much  farther  north  and  west  than  in  Ruysch's  map;  but 
above  the  known  coasts  a  place  is  left  open  where  the  passage  to  India  it  was 
believed  might  yet  be  found.  The  representation  of  a  country,  corresponding 
with  Florida,  to  the  north  of  Cuba,  under  the  name  of  '  Isla  de  Beimini,'may 
indicate  that  Florida  had  been  reached  either  by  Ocampo  in  1508,  by  some 
private  adventurer,  as  Diego  Miruelo,  who  is  said  to  have  preceded  Ponce  de 
Leon,  or,  as  is  claimed  by  some,  by  Vespucci  in  his  pretended  voyage  of  1497; 
but  more  probably  this  region  was  laid  down  from  the  older  maps — see  Be- 
haim's  map,  p.  93 — and  the  name  was  applied  in  accordance  with  the  reports 
among  the  natives  of  a  wonderful  country  or  island,  which  they  called  bimini, 
situated  in  that  direction.  The  map  is  not  large  enough  to  show  exactly  the 
relation  which  Peter  Martyr  supposed  to  exist  between  these  regions  and  the 
rest  of  the  world,  but  the  text  of  the  first  decade  leaves  no  doubt  that  he 
still  believed  them  to  be  parts  of  Asia. 

The  Ptolemy  of  1511  has  a  map  which  I  have  not  seen,  but  which  from 
certain  descriptions  resembles  that  of  Ruysch,  except  that  it  represents  Terra 
Corterealis  as  an  island  separated  from  the  supposed  Asiatic  coast;  the  name 
Sanctse  Crucis  for  South  America  being  still  retained.  As  long  as  the  new 
lands  were  believed  to  be  a  part  of  Asia,  the  maps  bore  some  resemblance  to 
the  actual  countries  intended  to  be  represented,  but  from  the  first  dawning 
of  an  idea  of  separate  lands  we  shall  see  the  greatest  confusion  in  the  efforts 
of  map-makers  to  depict  the  New  World.  JHarrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  no.  68; 
Kunstmann,  Entdeckuny  Am.,  133;  Kohl,  Die  beiden  dHesten  Karten  von  Am. , 
p.  33.  A  copy  of  this  map  was  published  in  LeleweVs  Atlas. 

[1512.]  The  West  India  Islands,  in  which  the  'Spaniards  are  at  length 
firmly  established,  become  now  the  point  of  new  departures.  Conquerors 
and  discoverers  henceforth  for  the  most  part  sail  from  Espanola  or  Cuba 
rather  than  from  Spain.  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  a  wealthy  citizen  who  had 
been  governor  of  Puerto  Rico,  fitted  out  three  vessels  at  his  own  expense, 
and  sailed  in  search  of  a  fountain,  which  according  to  the  traditions  of  the 
natives  had  the  property  of  restoring  youth,  and  which  was  situated  in  the 
land  called  Bimini  far  to  the  north.  This  infatuation  had  been  current  in 
the  Islands  for  several  years,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  name  was  applied  to 
such  a  land  on  Peter  Martyr's  map  of  1511.  Sailing  from  Puerto  Rico 
March  3,  1512,  Ponce  de  Leon  followed  the  northern  coast  of  Espanola,  and 
thence  north-west  through  the  Bahamas,  reaching  San  Salvador  on  the  14th 
of  March.  Thirteen  days  thereafter  he  saw  the  coast  of  Florida,  so  named 
by  him  from  the  day  of  discovery,  which  was  Pascua  Florida,  or  Easter-day. 
The  native  name  of  the  land  was  Cautio.  On  the  2d  of  April  the  Spaniards 
landed  in  30°  8',  and  took  possession  for  the  king  of  Spain;  then  following  the 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN.  129 

coast  southward  they  doubled  Cape  Corrientes  (Canaveral)  May  8,  and  ad 
vanced  to  an  undetermined  point  on  the  southern  or  eastern  coast,  which 
Kohl  thinks  may  have  been  Charlotte  Bay.  All  this  while  they  believed  the 
country  to  be  an  island.  On  the  14th  of  June  Ponce  de  Leon  departed  from 
Florida,  and  on  his  return  touched  at  the  Tortugas,  at  the  Lucayos,  at  Ba 
hama,  and  at  San  Salvador,  arriving  at  Puerto  Rico  the  21st  of  September. 
He  left  behind  one  vessel  under  Juan  Perez  de  Ortubia,  who  arrived  a  few 
days  later  with  the  news  of  having  found  Bimini,  but  no  fountain  of  youth. 
Reise  des  Ponce  de  Leon,  und  Entdeckung  von  Florida,  in  Sammluncj  aller  Reise- 
besch.,  torn.  xiii.  p.  188;  Viages  Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  pp.  50-3: 
Real  ccdula  dando  facultad  d  Francisco  de  Garay,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p. 
148;  -Uitvoerlyke  Scheepstoytdoor  den  Dapperen  Jean  Ponze  de Leongedaan naar 
Florida,  in  Gottfried,  torn,  iii.;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fols.  50-2;  Galvano's 
Discov.,  p.  123.  Kohl  places  the  voyage  in  1513,  relying  on  Peschel,  who,  he 
says,  has  proved  the  year  1512  to  be  an  impossible  date. 

In  1512  the  Regidor  Valdivia  was  sent  by  the  colonists  from  the  gulf  of 
Darien,  then  called  Uraba,  to  Espaiiola  for  supplies.  Being  wrecked  in  a 
violent  tempest,  he  escaped  in  boats  to  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  where  he  and 
his  companions  were  made  captives  by  the  natives.  Some  were  sacrificed  to 
the  gods,  and  then  eaten;  only  two,  Gonzalo  Guerrero  and  Ger6nimo  de  Agui- 
lar,  survived  their  many  hardships,  the  latter  being  rescued  by  Cortes  in  1519. 
Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn.  i.  pp.  368-72;  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  fol.  21-2; 
Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.  lib.  iv.  cap.  vii.;  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yucathan, 
pp.  24-9. 

The  very  rare  map  in  Stobniczci's  Ptolemy,  Cracovise,  1512,  I  have  not  seen. 
It  is  said  to  show  the  New  World  as  a  continuous  coast  from  50°  north  lati 
tude  to  40°  south.  Neither  in  the  text  nor  in  the  map  is  found  the  name 
America. 

[1513.]  In  September,  1513,  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  set  out  from  the  set 
tlement  of  Antigua  on  the  gulf  of  Uraba,  and  crossing  the  narrow  isthmus 
which  joins  the  two  Americas,  discovered  a  vast  ocean  to  the  southward  on 
the  other  side  of  the  supposed  Asia.  The  Isthmus  here  runs  east  and  west, 
and  on  either  side,  to  the  north  and  to  the  south  are  great  oceans,  which  for 
a  long  time  were  called  the  North  Sea  and '  the  South  Sea.  After  exploring 
the  neighboring  coasts  he  returned  to  Antigua  in  January,  1514,  after  an  ab 
sence  of  four  months.  Galvano's  Discov.,  pp.  123-5;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iii. 
cap.  i.;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  iii.  pp.  9-17;  Andayoya's  Narrative,  p.  7; 
Carta  del  Adelantado  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col. 
Doc.  Incd.,  torn.  ii.  p.  526. 

The  Ptolemy  of  1513  has  a  map  which  is  said  to  have  been  made  by  Hyla- 
comylus  as  early  as  1508,  but  concerning  which  there  seems  to  be  much 
uncertainty.  I  give  a  copy  from  the  fac-simile  of  Stevens  and  Varnhagen. 

The  name  Cuba  does  not  appear,  and  in  its  place  is  Isabela.  Many  of  the 
names  given  by  other  maps  to  points  on  the  coast  of  Cuba  are  transferred  to 
the  main-land  opposite.  The  compiler  evidently  was  undecided  whether 
Cuba  was  a  part  of  the  Asiatic  main  or  not,  and  therefore  represented  it  in 
both  ways.  The  coast  line  must  be  regarded  as  imaginary  or  taken  from  the 
old  charts,  unless,  as  M.  Varnhagen  thinks,  Vespucci  actually  sailed  along 
HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.  9 


130 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


the  Florida  coast  in  1497.  This  map  if  made  in  1508  may  be  regarded  as  the 
first  to  join  the  southern  continent,  or  Mundus  Novus,  to  the  main-land  of 
Asia.  This  southern  land  is  called  'Terra  Incognita,'  with  an  inscription 
stating  expressly  that  it  was  discovered  by  Columbus,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  its  supposed  author  proposed  the  name  America  in  honor  of  Vespucci 
only  the  year  before.  In  fact  the  map  is  in  many  respects  incoherent,  and  is 
mentioned  by  most  writers  but  vaguely.  Harrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  no.  74; 
Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  iv.  pp.  109  et  seq.,  and  Preface  to  Ghillany ; 
Kunstmann,  Entdeckuny  Am.,  pp.  130-2;  Kold,  Diebeiden  ciltesten  Kartm  von 
Am.,  p.  33;  Varnhayen,  Nouvelles  Recherches,  Vienna,  1869,  p.  56;  Stevens' 
Notes,  pi.  ii.  no.  i.  pp.  13,  14,  51;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  pp.  385-G;  Santarem, 
in  Bullttin  de  la  Soc.  Geog.,  May,  1847,  pp.  318-23. 


MAP  FROM  PTOLEMY,  1513. 

The  name  America  is  thought  by  Major  to  occur  first  on  a  manuscript  map 
by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  in  the  queen's  collection  at  Windsor,  to  which  he 
ascribes  the  date  of  1513  or  1514. 

[1514.]  Pedrarias  Davila,  having  been  appointed  governor  of  Castilla  del 
Oro,  by  which  name  the  region  about  the  isthmus  of  Darien  was  now  called, 
sailed  from  San  Liicar  with  an  armada  of  fifteen  vessels  and  over  2000  men, 
April  12,  1514.  The  special  object  of  this  expedition  was  to  discover  and 


GRADUAL  ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  TWO  AMERICAS.       131 

settle  the  shores  of  the  South  Sea,  whose  existence  had  been  reported  in 
Spain,  but  whose  discovery  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  was  not  known  before 
the  departure  of  Pedrarias.  Herrcra,  dec.  i.  lib.  x.  cap.  xiii.;  Peter  Martyr, 
dec.  ii.  cap.  vii.;  dec.  iii.  cap.  v.;  Galvano's  Discov.,  p.  125;  Quintana,  Vidas 
de  Espanoles  Celebres,  'Balboa,'  p.  28;  Robertson's  Hint,  Am.,  vol.  i.  p.  207. 
See  chapter  x.  of  this  volume. 

[1515.]  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis  sailed  from  Lepe  October  8,  1515,  with  three 
vessels,  and  surveyed  the  eastern  coast  of  South  America  from  Cape  San 
Roque  to  Rio  Janeiro,  where  he  was  killed  by  the  natives.  Navarrcte,  Col.  de 
Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  48-50.  Three  vessels  were  fitted  out  at  Seville,  well 
manned  and  armed  for  a  cruise  against  the  Caribs,  under  command  of  Juan 
Ponce  de  Leon,  but  the  Spaniards  were  defeated  in  their  first  encounter  with 
the  savages  at  Guadalupe,  and  the  expedition  was  practically  abandoned. 

The  adventures  of  Badajoz,  Mercado,  Morales,  and  others  in  1515-10  and 
the  following  years,  by  which  the  geography  of  the  Isthmus  was  more  fully 
determined,  are  given  elsewhere. 

Schoner,  Luculentissima  quoedd  terrce  totius  descriptio,  Nuremberg,  1515,  and 
another  edition  of  the  same  work  under  the  title  Orbis  Types,  same  place  and 
date,  have  a  chapter  on  America  'discovered  by  Vespucci  in  1497.'  In  Rei-ch, 
Margaritha  PhilosopMca,  Strasburg,  1515,  an  encyclopedia  frequently  repub- 
lished,  is  a  map  which  is  almost  an  exact  copy  of  that  in  the  Ptolemy  of  1513, 
except  in  its  names.  The  main-land  to  the  north-west  of  Cuba  is  called 
Zoana  Mela,  but  the  names  of  certain  localities  along  the  coast  are  omitted. 
Both  Cuba  and  Espanola  are  called  Isabela,  and  the  southern  continent  is 
laid  clown  as  'Paria  sen  Prisilia.'  Harrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  nos.  80-2;  Kunst- 
mann,  Enfdeckmig  Am.,  pp.  130-1;  Kohl,  Die  beiden  ultesten  Karten  von  Am. , 
p.  33;  Stevens'  Notes,  p.  52;  fac-simile,  pi.  iv.  no.  2. 

[1516.]  After  Ponce  de  Leon's  voyage  in  1512  or  1513,  and  probably  before 
that  time,  trips  were  made  by  private  adventurers  northward  from  Espauola 
and  Cuba  to  the  Islands  and  to  Florida.  Among  these  is  that  of  Diego  de 
Miruelo  in  151G,  who  probably  visited  the  western  or  gulf  coast  of  Florida, 
and  brought  back  specimens  of  gold.  No  details  are  known  of  the  expedi 
tion.  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  La  Florida  del  Inca,  Madrid,  1723,  p.  5. 

Lettera  di  Amerigo  vespucci,  Florence,  1516,  the  second  collection  of  the 
four  voyages;  Peter  Martyr,  loannes  ruffus,  De  Orbe  Decades,  Alcala,  1516, 
the  first  edition  of  three  decades;  and  Givstiniani,  Pxalte.rium,  Genoa,  1516, 
which  appends  a  life  of  Columbus  to  the  nineteenth  Psalm,  are  among  the 
new  books  of  the  year. 

[1517.]  Eden,  in  his  dedication  of  an  English  translation  of  Munster'a  Cos 
mography,  in  1553,  speaks  of  certain  ships  "furnished  and  set  forth"  in  1517 
under  Sebastian  Cabot  and  Sir  Thomas  Pert;  but  so  faint  was  the  heart  of 
the  baronet  that  the  voyage  "toke  none  effect."  On  this  authority  some 
authors  have  ascribed  a  voyage  to  Cabot  in  1517,  to  regions  concerning  which 
they  do  not  agree.  An  expedition  whose  destination  and  results  are  unknown, 
can  have  had  little  effect  on  geographical  knowledge;  and  Kohl,  after  a  full 
discussion  of  the  subject,  seems  to  have  proved  against  Biddle,  its  chief  sup 
porter,  that  there  is  not  sufficient  evidence  of  such  a  voyage.  Navigatione  di 
Sebastiano  Cabota,  in  Ramusio,  torn.  ii.  fol.  212;  Kunstmann,  Entdcckung  Am., 


132  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

pp.  54-5;  Roux  de  Roclidle,  in  Bulletin,  Soc.  Geog.,  Apr.  1832,  p.  209;  Peter 
Martyr,  dec.  iii.  cap.  vi. 

Francisco  Hernandez  de  C6rdoba,  with  three  vessels  and  110  men, 
sailed  from  La  Habana  February  8,  1517,  sent  by  the  governor  of  Cuba 
to  make  explorations  toward  the  west.  Touching  at  Cape  Catoche,  in  Yuca 
tan,  he  coasted  the  peninsula  in  fifteen  days  to  Campeche,  and  six  days  later 
reached  Potonchan,  or  Champoton,  where  a  battle  was  fought  with  the  natives, 
and  the  Spaniards  defeated.  Accounts  indicate  that  the  explorers  were  not 
unanimous  in  supposing  Yucatan  to  be  an  island,  as  it  was  afterward  repre 
sented  on  some  maps.  Failing  to  procure  a  supply  of  water  in  the  slough  of 
Lagartos,  Cordoba  sailed  across  the  Gulf  to  Florida,  and  thence  returned  to 
Cuba,  where  he  died  in  ten  days  from  his  wounds.  I  find  nothing  to  show 
what  part  of  Florida  he  touched.  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn.  i.  pp.  349- 
51;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iv.  cap.  i.;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  i.  pp.  497-8;  Gal- 
vano's Discov. ,  pp.  130-1;  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  8-9;  Herrera,  Hint.  Gen., 
dec.  ii.  lib.  ii.  cap.  xvii. ;  Coyolludo,  Hist.  Yucatlian,  pp.  3-8;  Prescotfs  Mex.,  vol. 
i.  pp.  222-24;  Viages  Menores,  in  Navarretc,  torn.  iii.  pp.  53-5;  West-Indixche 
Spieyhel,  p.  188;  Icazbalceta,  Col  Doc.,  torn.  i.  pp.  338-41. 

[1518.]  The  following  year  Juan  de  Grijalva  was  sent  from  Cuba  to  carry 
on  the  explorations  begun  by  Cordoba.  Grijalva  sailed  from  Santiago  de  Cuba 
April  8,  1518,  with  four  vessels,  reached  the  island  of  Santa  Cruz  (Cozumel) 
on  the  3d  of  May,  took  possession  on  the  Gth  of  May,  and  shortly  after  entered 
Ascension  Bay.  From  this  point  he  coasted  Yucatan  270  leagues,  by  his 
estimate,  to  Puerto  Deseado,  entered  and  named  the  Rio  de  Grijalva  (Tabasco), 
and  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  Vera  Cruz  about  the 
19th  of  June.  Advancing  up  the  coast  to  Cabo  Rojo,  he  turned  about  and 
entered  Rio  Tonald,  engaged  in  a  parting  fight  at  Champoton,  followed  the 
coast  for  several  weeks,  and  then  turned  for  Cuba,  arriving  at  Matanzas 
about  the  1st  of  November.  During  his  absence,  Cristobal  de  Olid  had 
coasted  a  large  part  of  Yucatan  in  search  of  Grijalva's  fleet.  Peter  Martyr, 
dec.  iv.  cap.  iii.-iv.;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn.  i.  pp.  351-8,  Oviedo, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  i.  pp.  502-37;  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  8-11,  56-8;  Herrera, 
Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.  lib.  iii.  cap.  i.  ix.;  Robertson's  Hist.  Am.,  vol.  i.  pp.  240-4; 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn.  iv.  pp.  40-50;  Cogolludo,  Hist. 
Yucatlian,  pp.  8-16;  Diaz,  Itineraire,  in  Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  i. 
torn.  x.  pp.  1-47;  Viayes  Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  pp.  53-64;  Alaman., 
Disertaciones,  torn.  i.  pp.  45-8;  Reise  des  Johann  Grijalva  und  allererste  Ent- 
deckung  Neuspaniens,  in  Sammluny,  torn.  xiii.  p.  258;  Itinerario  de  Juan  de 
Grijalva,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  Doc.,  torn.  i.  p.  281. 

I  may  here  remark  that  such  manuscript  maps,  made  generally  by  pilots 
for  government  use,  as  have  been  preserved  are,  as  might  be  expected,  far 
superior  to  those  published  in  geographical  works  of  the  period.  I  give  a 
copy  of  a  Portuguese  chart  preserved  in  the  Royal  Academy  at  Munich. 

•From  the  fact  that  Yucataa  is  represented  as  a  peninsula,  though  not 
named,  while  the  discoveries  of  Grijalva  and  Cortes  are  not  shown,  the  date 
of  1518  may  be  ascribed  to  the  map.  Stevens  believes  it  to  have  been  made 
some  time  about  1514;  Kohl  about  1520;  Kunstmann  some  time  after  1511. 
Unexplored  coasts  are  left  out  instead  of  being  laid  down  from  old  Asiatic 


CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO. 


133 


maps;  as  for  example  the  United  States  coast  from  Newfoundland  (Bacalnaos) 
to  Florida  (Bimini),  and  the  Gulf  coast  from  Florida  to  Yucatan.  In  the  central 
region  the  names  'Terrain  Antipodum'  and  'Antilhas  de  Castela'  are  used 
without  any  means  of  deciding  to  exactly  what  parts  they  are  to  be  applied. 
The  South  Sea  discovered  by  Balboa  in  1513  is  here  shown  for  the  first  time 
with  the  inscription  '  Mar  visto  pelos  Castelhanus. '  To  South  America  the 
name  'Brasill'  is  given.  The  presence  of  two  Mahometan  flags  in  locations 


MAP  IN  MUNICH  ATLAS,  SUPPOSED  TO  HAVE  BEEN  DKAWN  ABOUT  1518. 

corresponding  to  Honduras  and  Venezuela,  shows  that  the  compiler  still  had 
no  doubt  that  he  was  mapping  parts  of  Asia.  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am. ,  pp. 
129  et  seq. ;  Munich  Atlas,  no.  iv.,  from  which  I  take  my  copy;  Kohl's  Hist. 
Discov.,  pp.  179-82,  pi.  x.;  Stevens'  Notes,  pp.  17,  53,  pi.  v.  Pomponius 
Mela's  Libri  de  situ  orbis,  Vienna,  1518,  contains  a  commentary  by  Vadianus, 
written  however  in  1512,  in  which  the  name  America  is  used  in  speaking  of 
the  New  World.  Other  editions  appeared  in  1522  and  1530. 

[1519.]  Stobnicza's  Ptolemy  of  1519  alludes  to  the  New  World  discovered 
by  Vespucci  and  named  after  him. 

Enciao,  Suma  de  yeografia,  Seville,  1519,  is  the  first  Spanish  work  known 
which  treats  of  the  new  regions.  The  author  was  a  companion  of  Ojeda  in 
his  unfortunate  attempt  to  found  a  colony  on  Tierra  Firme.  Another  edition 
appeared  in  1530. 

On  February  18,  1519,  Hernan  Corte"s  set  sail  from  Cuba  to  undertake 


134  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

the  conquest  of  the  countries  discovered  by  C6rdoba  and  Grijalva.  After 
spending  some  time  on  the  island  of  Cozumel,  where  he  rescued  Ger6nimo  de 
Aguilar  from  his  long  captivity  (see  p.  129),  he  followed  the  coast  to  Puo  de 
Grijalva,  where  he  defeated  the  natives  in  battle,  and  took  possession  of  the 
land  in  the  name  of  the  Catholic  sovereigns.  From  this  place  he  continued 
his  voyage  sailing  near  the  shore  to  Vera  Cruz,  where  he  landed  his  forces  and 
began  the  conquest  of  Montezuma's  empire,  the  history  of  which  forms  part 
of  a  subsequent  volume  of  this  series. 

Francisco  de  Garay,  governor  of  Jamaica,  prompted  by  the  reports  of  Ponce 
de  Leon,  C6rdoba,  and  Grijalva,  despatched  four  vessels  in  1510,  under 
Alonso  Alvarez  Pineda,  who  sailed  northward  to  a  point  on  the  Panuco  coast 
(where,  according  to  Gomara,  an  expedition  had  been  sent  during  the  pre 
ceding  year,  under  Camargo).  Prevented  by  winds  and  shoals  from  coasting 
northward  as  he  desired,  he  sailed  along  in  sight  of  the  low  gulf  shores  until 
he  reached  Vera  Cruz,  where  he  found  the  fleet  of  Cortes.  Troubles  between 
the  commanders  arose  from  this  meeting  which  will  be  narrated  hereafter. 

Garay  continued  for  some  time  his  attempts  to  found  a  settlement  in  the 
region  of  Panuco,  but  without  success.  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  v.  cap.  i. ;  Gomara, 
Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  55-6;  West-Indische  SpiegM,  p.  202;  Gomara,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol. 
222-7;  Viayes  Menores,  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  pp.  64-7;  Kunstmann,  Entdeck- 
ung  Am.,  p.  73. 

Soon  after  landing  at  Vera  Cruz  Cortes  despatched  for  Spain  a  vessel  under 
the  pilot  Antonio  de  Alaminos,  with  messengers  who  were  to  clear  up  before 
the  king  certain  irregularities  which  the  determined  conqueror  had  felt 
obliged  to  commit,  and  furthermore  to  establish  his  authority  upon  a  more 
defined  basis.  Alaminos  sailed  July  16,  1519,  following  a  new  route  north 
of  Cuba,  through  the  Bahama  Channel,  and  clown  the  Gulf  Stream,  of  which 
current  he  was  probably  the  first  to  take  advantage.  Touching  at  Cuba  and 
discovering  Terceira  he  reached  Spain  in  October.  Diaz  del  Castillo,  Hist.  Ver- 
dadera  de  la  Conqvista,  Madrid,  1G32,  fol.  37-9;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii. 
lib.  v.  cap.  xiv.;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  243-5. 

The  history  of  the  Darien  colonies  is  elsewhere  recounted  in  this  volume, 
and  the  introduction  here  of  the  numerous  land  and  water  expeditions  on 
and  along  the  Isthmus  would  be  confusing  and  unprofitable.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  in  1519  the  city  of  Panama  was  founded,  and  a  second  expedition  sent 
under  Gaspar  de  Espinosa  up  the  South  Sea  coast.  The  northern  limit 
reached  was  the  gulf  of  San  Lucar  (Nicoya),  latitude  10°  north,  in  Nicaragua, 
and  the  expedition  returned  to  Panamd  by  land  from  Burica.  Andagoya's 
Narrative  of  the  Proceedings  of  Pedrarias  Davila,  London,  1865,  pp.  23-4; 
Kohl,  Die  bciden  altesten  Karten  von  Am. ,  p.  162;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii 
p.  61  et  seq. 

We  have  seen  several  unsuccessful  attempts  by  both  Spaniards  and  Portu 
guese  to  find  a  passage  to  India  by  the  southern  parts  of  Brazil,  Santa  Cruz, 
or  America.  In  1519  a  native  of  Oporto,  Fernando  de  Magalhaens,  called  by 
Spaniards  Magallanes,  and  by  English  authors  Magellan,  after  having  made 
several  voyages  for  Portugal  to  India  via  Good  Hope,  quit  the  Portuguese 
service  dissatisfied,  entered  the  service  of  Spain,  and  undertook  the  oft- 
repeated  attempt  of  reaching  the  east  by  sailing  west.  His  particular  destina- 


THE  NAMING  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN.  135 

tion  was  the  Moluccas,  which  the  Spaniards  claimed  as  lying  within  the  hemi 
sphere  granted  to  them  by  the  treaty  of  Tordesillas  in  1494.  It  appears  that 
Magellan  had  seen  some  map,  of  unknown  origin,  on  Which  was  represented 
a  strait  instead  of  an  open  sea  at  the  southern  point  of  America — probably 
the  conjecture  of  some  geographer,  for,  says  Humboldt,  "dans  le  moyen 
age  les  conjectures  e"taient  inscrits  religieusement  sur  les  cartes."  See  Exam. 
Grit.,  torn.  i.  pp.  306,  326,  354;  torn.  ii.  pp.  17-26.  Sailing  from  San  Lucar 
September  20,  1519,  with  five  ships  and  265  men,  he  reached  Bio  de  Janeiro 
on  the  coast  of  Brazil  on  the  13th  of  December,  and  from  that  point  coasted 
southward.  An  attempt  to  pass  through  the  continent  by  the  Bio  de  la  Plata 
failed,  and  on  March  31, 1520,  the  fleet  reached  Port  St  Julian  inabout  49° south, 
where  it  remained  five  months  until  the  24th  of  August.  On  the  21st  of  Octo 
ber  Magellan  arrived  at  Cabo  de  las  Virgenes  and  the  entrance  to  what  seemed, 
and  indeed  proved,  to  be  the  long-desired  strait.  Having  lost  one  vessel  on 
the  eastern  coast,  and  being  deserted  by  another  which  turned  back  and  sailed 
for  Spain  after  having  entered  the  strait,  with  the  remaining  three  he  passed 
on,  naming  the  land  on  the  south  Tierra  del.Fuego,  from  the  fires  seen  burn 
ing  there.  Emerging  from  the  strait,  which  he  called  Vitoria  after  one  of 
his  ships,  on  the  27th  of  November  he  entered  and  named  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Then  steering  north-west  for  wanner  climes  he  crossed  the  line  February  13, 
1521,  arrived  at  the  Ladrones  on  the  6th  of  March,  and  at  the  Philippines  on  the 
IGth  of  March.  This  bold  navigator,  "second  only  to  Columbus  in  the  history 
of  nautical  exploration,"  was  killed  on  the  27th  of  April,  in  a  battle  with  the 
natives  of  one  of  these  islands;  the  remainder  of  the  force,  consisting  of  115 
men  under  Caraballo,  proceeded  on  their  way,  touching  at  Borneo  and  other 
islands,  and  anchoring  on  the  8th  of  November  at  the  Moluccas,  their  desti 
nation.  From  this  point  one  of  the  vessels,  the  Vitoria,  in  command  of 
Sebastian  del  Cano,  sailed  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  reached  San 
Lucar  September  6,  1522,  with  only  eighteen  survivors  of  the  265  who  had 
sailed  with  Magellan.  Thus  was  accomplished  the  first  circumnavigation 
of  the  globe. 

As  to  the  circumstances  attending  the  naming  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  a  few 
words  may  not  be  out  of  place.  Magellan  was  accompanied  by  one  Antonio 
Pigafetta,  of  Vicenza,  afterward  Caviliere  di  Rhodi,  who  wrote  in  bad  Italian 
a  narrative  of  the  voyage,  which  was  rewritten  and  translated  into  French, 
Primer  voyage  autour  du  Monde,  par  le  Clievallier  Pigafetta,  sur  I'Escadre  de 
Magellan  pendant  les  annees  1519,  20,  21,  et  22,  by  Charles  Amoretti.  "  Le 
mercredi,  28  novembre,"  says  Pigafetta,  liv.  ii.  p.  50,  "nous  debouquames 
du  de"troit  pour  entrer  dans  la  graiide  mer,  &  laquelle  nous  donnumes  ensuite 
le  nom  de  mer  Pacifique;  dans  laquelle  nous  iiaviguumes  pendant  le  cours  de 
trois  mois  et  vingt  jours,  sans  gouter  d'aucune  nourriture  fraiche."  And 
again,  p.  52,  "Pendant  cet  espace  de  trois  mois  et  vingt  jours  nous  parcou- 
rumes  &  pen  pres  quatre  mille  lieues  dans  cette  mer  que  nous  appelames  Paci 
fique,  parce  que  durant  tout  le  temps  de  notre  traversed  nous  ii'essuyames  pas 
le  moindre  tempGte;"  or,  as  Ramusio,  Viaggio  atorno  il  mondofatto  et  descritto 
per  M.  Antonio  Pigafetla,  in  Viaggi,  torn.  iii.  fol.  393,  puts  it,  "  Et  in  questi 
tre  mesi,  &  venti  giorni  fecero  quattro  mila  leghe  in  vn  golfo  per  questo  mar 


136  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Pacifico,  il  qual  ben  si  puo  chiamar  pacifico,  perche  in  tutto  questo  tempo  senza 
veder  mai  terra  alcuna,  non  hebbero  n<§  fortuna  di  vento,  n6  di  altra  tem- 
pesta."  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  v.  cap.  vii.,  speaks  of  it  only  as  "the  huge  Ocean" 
first  found  by  Vasco  Nunez,  and  then  called  the  South  Sea.  Galvano,  Dis- 
cov.,  p.  142,  alludes  to  it  as  a  "  mightie  sea  called  Pacificum."  Oviedo,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn.  ii.  p.  22,  merely  remarks:  "  Es  aquel  estrecho  en  algunas  partes  mas 
6  menos  de  media  legua,  y  9ircundado  de  montailas  altissimas  cargadas  de 
nieve,  y  corre  en  otra,mar  que  le  puso  nombre  el  capitan  Fernando  de  Magal- 
lanes,  el  Mar  Pacifico ;  y  es  muy  profundo,  y  en  algunas  parotes  de  veynte  e 
9inco  hasta  en  treynta  bra9as."  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fo] .  120,  says,  "No  cabia 
de  gozo  por  auer  hallado  aql  passo  para  el  otro  mar  del  Sur,  por  do  pesana 
llegar  presto  alas  yslas  del  Maluco,"  without  any  mention  of  the  word  Paci 
fic.  The  Sammlung  alter  Reisebeschreibungen,  torn.  xi.  p.  346,  gives  it  essen 
tially  the  same  as  Pigafetta:  "In  einer  Zeit  von  drey  Monaten  und  zwanzig 
Tagen,  legete  er  viertausend  Meilen  in  einer  See  zuriick,  welche  er  das  fried- 
fertige  oder  stille  Meer  nannte;  weil  er  keinen  Sturm  auf  demselben  ausstund, 
und  kein  anderes  Land  sah,  als  diese  beyden  Inseln."  Kohl,  Die  beiden  dlte- 
sten  Karten  von  Am.,  p.  161,  is  unable  to  find  the  name  on  the  old  maps:  "Der 
Name  *  Oceano  Pacifico, '  der  auch  schon  auf  den  Reisen  des  Magellan  und 
Loaysa  in  Schwung  kam,  steht  nirgends  auf  unseren  Karten."  Herrera,  dec. 
ii.  lib.  ix.  cap.  xv. ,  describes  the  exit  from  the  strait  in  the  language  follow 
ing:  "a  veyente  y  siete  de  Nouiebre,  salio  al  espacioso  mar  del  Sur,  dando 
infinitas  gracias  a  Dios."  Navarrete,  Viages  al  Maluco ;  P rimer o  el  de  Her- 
nando de Magallanes,  in  torn.  iv.  pp.  49-50,  of  his  collection  says:  "Salio  pues 
Magallanes  del  estrecho  que  nombraron  de  Todos  los  Santos  el  dia  27  de  No- 
viembre  de  1520  con  las  tres  naos  Trinidad,  Victoria,  y  Concepcion,  y  se  hallo 
en  una  mar  oscura  y  gruesa  que  era  indicio  de  gran  golfo;  pero  despues  le 
nombraron  Mar  Pacifico,  porque  en  todo  el  tiempo  que  navegaron  por  el,  no 
tuvieron  tempestad  alguna."  Happening  thus,  that  in  this  first  circumnavi 
gation  of  the  globe,  as  the  strangers  entered  at  its  southern  end  the  South 
Sea  of  Vasco  Nuiiez,  the  waters  greeted  them  kindly,  in  return  they  gave  them 
a  peaceful  title;  other  voyagers  entering  this  same  sea  at  other  times  gave  to 
it  a  far  different  character.  For  further  reference  see  Voyage  de  Fernando  de 
Magdhaens,  in  Berenger,  Col.  Voy.,  torn.  i.  pp.  1-26;  Aa,  Naaulceurlge  Ver- 
sameling,  torn.  ix.  pt.  ii.  p.  7;  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  i.  pt.  ii.  pp.  33-46. 

A  manuscript  map  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  Maiollo  in  1519,  of 
which  a  fac-simile  is  given  in  the  Munich  Atlas,  no.  v.,  shows  the  islands  and 
main-land  from  Yucatan  south  and  east,  closely  resembling,  except  in  names 
of  localities,  the  map  of  1518  (see  page  133).  The  eastern  part  of  Brazil  is 
called  'Sante  Crucis,'  and  on  the  Pearl  Coast  is  an  inscription  to  the  effect 
that  it  was  discovered  by  Columbus.  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  pp.  135-6; 
Schmeller,  in  AbJiandl.  Akademie  der  Wissensch.,  torn.  iv.  pt.  i.  p.  253. 

[1520.]  An  anonymous  pamphlet  without  date,  Copia  drr  Newen  Zeytung, 
is  a  translation  of  a  letter  describing  a  voyage  of  two  thousand  miles  along 
the  Brazilian  coast.  Harrisse  places  it  under  date  of  1520,  and  thinks  it  may 
furnish  grounds  for  the  belief  that  Magellan  was  not  the  first  to  reach  the 
strait.  Varnhagen,  Hist.  Brazil,  Madrid,  1854,  maintains  that  the  voyage 


MAPS  AND  BOOKS. 


137 


described  was  under  Soils  and  Pinzon  in  1508.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Crit.,  torn. 
v.  p.  249,  applies  the  description  to  some  later  voyage  made  between  1525 
and  1540. 

To  Varthema,  Itinerario  Ndlo  Eyitto,  Venetia  (supposed  to  be  1520),  is 
joined  an  account  of  Grijalva's  voyage  to  Yucatan  in  1518  (see  page  132), 
translated  from  the  original  diary  of  Juan  Diaz,  chaplain  of  the  expedition. 
Other  editions  appeared  in  1522-26-35.  Discorso  sopra  lo  itinerario  dl  Lodo- 
uico  Barthema,  in  Ramusio,  torn.  i.  fol.  160.  The  Itinerary  of  Diaz  is  not 
given  by  Ramusio.  Provincice  aive  Regiones  in  India  Occidental^  Valladolid, 
1520,  is  a  Latin  translation  of  an  account,  by  an  unknown  author,  of  the  con 
quest  of  Cuba  by  Diego  Velazquez.  Piyc/Jie,  De  cequinoctiorum  sol,  etc., 
Paris,  supposed  to  have  been  printed  in  1520,  has  a  passage  on  the  lands  dis 
covered  by  Vespucci.  A  New  Interlude,  London,  1519  or  1520,  has  a  verse 
in  which  the  name  America  is  used. 

A  globe  made  by  John  Schoner  in  1520  is  preserved  in  Nuremberg,  and 
copies  have  been  given  by  Ghillany,  Lelewel,  and  Kohl,  of  which  I  give  a 
reduction. 


SCHONER'S  GLOBE,  1520. 

This  is  the  first  drawing  to  represent  all  the  regions  of  the  New  World  as 
distinct,  although  not  distant,  from  the  Asiatic  coast,  which  is  laid  down 
mostly  as  in  Behaim's  globe,  with  some  imaginary  additions  round  the  north 
pole.  This  separation  was  undoubtedly  a  mere  conjecture  of  the  compiler, 
for  the  voyage  of  Magellan,  which  might  have  suggested  such  an  idea,  was 


138  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

not  yet  known  or  even  consummated,  and  the  map  shows  no  knowledge  of 
the  later  voyages  even  to  the  eastern  coast.  All  the  northern  discoveries  are 
gi  ven  as  an  island,  '  Terra Corterealis. '  The  central  and  southern  parts — except 
their  separation  from  Asia — are  accurately  copied  from  the  map  of  Ptolemy, 
1513  (seepage  130),  although  a  strait  leads  through  the  Isthmus  into  the  South 
Sea.  *  Terra  de  Cuba'  is  the  name  applied  to  the  northern  part  of  what  may 
be  regarded  as  the  nucleus  which  afterward  grew  into  North  America,  while 
the  southern  part  is  called  Paria.  Several  names  of  localities  on  the  coast, 
as  'C.  Dellicontis'  and  'C.  Bonaventura, '  are  retained  from  the  map  of  1513, 
although  Kohl  erroneously  calls  all  the  names  new  and  original.  To  the 
southern  continent  various  names  are  applied,  as  America,  Brazil,  Paria 
(repeated),  Land  of  Cannibals  and  of  Parrots.  On  the  original  is  an  antarctic 
region  round  the  south  pole,  called  '  Brasilias  Regio, '  and  separated  from  Amer 
ica  in  lat.  42°  south  by  a  strait,  although  the  discovery  of  such  a  strait  could 
not  at  the  time  have  been  known.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  ii.  p.  28. 
Several  globes  of  about  this  date  preserved  in  Germany  are  said  to  agree  with 
this  of  Schoner's  in  their  general  features.  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  158-03, 
pi.  vii.,  and  Beiden  dltesten  Karten  von  Am.,  p.  33;  Ilarrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet., 
p.  141. 

In  the  Solinus-Camers,  Enarrationes,  Vienna,  1520,  was  published  a  wood 
cut  map,  the  first  to  give  the  name  America.  The  map  was  made  by  Petrus 
Apianus,  and  afterward  used  by  him  in  his  cosmography.  According  to  vari 
ous  descriptions  it  agrees  very  nearly  with  Schoner's  globe  except  in  the 
extreme  north,  where  Engronelant  is  represented  very  much  as  in  the  map  of 
the  Zeni  in  1400  (see  page  82).  Kunstmann,  Entdeckuny  Am.,  pp.  134-5;  Kohl, 
Leiden  dltesten  Karten  von  Am.,  p.  33;  Ilarrisse,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  pp.  184,  192. 

Cortes  with  his  second  letter  dated  October  30,  1520,  sent  to  Spain  a  map 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  which  was  printed  in  1524.  The  map  is  valuable  only 
for  its  list  of  names  along  the  whole  extent  of  the  gulf  coast,  and  it  is  there 
fore  unnecessary  to  reproduce  it  here.  Yucatan  seems  to  be  represented  as 
an  island.  Stevens'  Notes,  pp.  38,  53,  pi.  iv.  no.  vii. 

In  1520  Lucas  Vazquez  de  Aillon  and  other  wealthy  citizens  of  Espaiiola 
sent  two  vessels,  probably  under  one  Jordan,  to  the  Lucayos  Islands  for 
slaves.  Not  succeeding  according  to  their  expectations  in  the  islands,  the 
Spaniards  directed  their  course  northward  toward  the  country  discovered  by 
Ponce  de  Leon  in  1513,  and  finally  touched  the  coast  in  about  32°  or  33n — Port 
Royal  according  to  Navarrete;  Stevens  says  Cape  Fear — a  region  probably 
never  before  visited.  They  called  the  country  Chicora,  and  the  place  of  land 
ing  was  named  Cabo  de  Santa  Elena  and  Rio  Jordan.  They  made  no  explora 
tions  in  any  direction.  One  vessel  and  nearly  all  the  slaves  were  lost  on  the 
return.  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  69-71;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov., 
pp.  245-8;  Stevens'  Notes,  p.  48. 

Panfilo  de  Narvaez  sailed  from  Cuba  in  1520  with  a  large  force  to  dispossess 
Cortes,  who  had  declared  himself  independent  of  his  chief  Velazquez;  but 
after  many  reverses  his  forces  went  over  to  his  opponent.  Gomara,  Hist.  Ltd., 
fol.  52-5;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  i.  p.  540;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn. 
i.  p.  474. 

The   conquest  of  Mexico  once  accomplished,    Hernan  Cortes  very  soon 


SOUTH  SEA  DISCOVERIES.  139 

turned  his  attention  to  the  South  Sea  coasts.  Hearing  from  natives  that  the 
Pacific  extended  as  far  north  as  the  land  he  had  conquered,  he  sent  small 
parties  to  explore  and  take  possession,  which  they  did  at  two  points,  Tehuan- 
tepec  and  Zacatula,  before  the  end  of  1521.  Cortes  was  fully  acquainted 
with  the  cosmographic  theories  of  the  time,  and  was  enthusiastic  in.  their 
application  to  the  discovery  of  islands  and  main,  rich  in  spices  and  precious 
metals.  It  was  now  established  in  a  general  way,  as  shown  by  the  best  maps, 
that  the  newly  discovered  lands  wrere  not  the  main  Asiatic  continent  of  Marco 
Polo,  but  a  great  south-eastern  projection  of  that  continent,  probably  sepa 
rated  from  it  by  a  strait.  Cortes'  idea  was  to  sail  down  the  coast  as  he 
termed  it,  northward  at  first,  until  he  should  either  reach  the  rich  Indian  lands, 
or  on  the  way  find  the  strait  which  should  afford  a  short  cut  from  Spain  to 
those  lands.  His  efforts  will  be  briefly  noticed  here  in  chronologic  order,  but 
fully  presented  in  another  part  of  my  work.  The  best  and  almost  only  au 
thority  is  Cortes,  Cartas. 

[1521.]  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  learning  from  other  voyagers  that  the  land 
of  Florida  discovered  by  him  was  not,  as  he  had  believed  it  to  be,  an  island, 
fitted  out  an  expedition  in  Puerto  Pdco  and  sailed  to  repeat  in  Florida  the 
glorious  achievements  of  Cortes  in  New  Spain.  He  reached  the  west  coast 
of  the  peninsula,  but  wras  killed  by  the  natives  soon  after  landing,  and  his 
men  returned  without  having  accomplished  their  object. 

Peter  Martyr,  De  nvper  svb  D.  Carolo  repertis  Insults,  Basiliae,  1521,  is  the 
first  edition  of  a  part  of  the  fourth  decade. 

[1522.]  Pomponius  Mela,  DeOrbisSitv,  Basilise,  1522,  reproduced  Apianus' 
mapof  1520  (see  page  137),  also  Kohl,  Bdden  dltcsten  Karten,  p.  33.  The  Ptolemy 
of  this  year,  edited  by  Frisius,  contains  twro  maps  resembling  in  their  general 
appearance  the  Ptolemy  map  of  1513,  and  showing  but  little  advance  in  geo 
graphical  knowledge.  These  maps  are  also  in  the  edition  of  1525.  A*her'# 
Catalogue,  no.  civ.,  Berlin,  1873.  Translationu*  kixpanischer,  etc.,  n.  p.,  n.  d., 
has  a  slight  notice  of  the  City  of  Mexico.  Eln  scho'ne  Newe  zeituny,  Augs 
burg  (1522),  notices  the  voyages  of  Columbus  and  the  conquest  of  Mexico. 
Of  the  newe  lades  and  of  ye  people  founde  by  the  Messengers  of  the  Kynye  of 
portijijale,  attributed  to  this  year,  is  regarded  as  the  first  book  in  English  to 
treat  of  America,  which  it  calls  Armeiiica.  Cortes,  Carta  de  Relacio,  Seville, 
1522,  is  the  letter  dated  October  30,  1520,  supposed  to  be  the  conqueror's 
second  letter,  the  first  having  been  lost.  Eight  other  editions  or  translations 
appeared  in  various  forms  before  1532. 

In  1522  Pascual  de  Andagoya  followed  the  west  coast  of  America  south 
ward  from  Panama,  to  a  point  six  or  seven  days'  sail  below  the  gulf  of  San 
Miguel  in  the  province  of  Biru  (Peru),  a  little  beyond  Point  Pinos.  Informa 
tion  obtained  during  this  expedition  concerning  more  southern  lands,  fur 
nished  the  motive  for  the  conquest  of  Peru  undertaken  a  few  years  later  by 
Francisco  Pizarro.  Pascual  de  Anda'joya,  Narrative,  pp.  40-1. 

Gil  Gonzalez  Davila  with  a  fleet  of  four  vessels  sailed  from  the  islands  i:i 
the  Bay  of  Panama,  January  21,  1522,  to  explore  the  South  Sea  coast  north 
westward.  Reaching  the  gulf  of  Nicoya,  the  limit  of  Espinosa's  voyage, 
Gil  Gonzalez  proceeded  by  land  and  discovered  Lake  Nicaragua.  The 
pilot  Andres  Nino  continued  westward,  discovered  and  named  the  gulf  of 


140  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Fonseca,  and  reached,  according  to  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  iv.  cap.  v.-vi.,  the 
province  of  Chorotega,  having  discovered  350  leagues  of  sea-coast  from  Nicoya, 
or  650  leagues  from  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel.  Peter  Martyr  places  Nino's 
ultimate  limit  at  300  leagues  beyond  the  gulf  of  San  Vicente;  Ribero's  map 
at  140  leagues  west  of  the  bay  of  Fonseca.  Kohl,  Balden  dltesten  Karten  von 
Am.,  pp.  163-9,  thinks  he  probably  reached  the  mountains  south  of  Soco- 
nusco.  See  also  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  torn.  iii.  pp.  413,  417-18;  Galvano's 
Discov.,  pp.  148-9;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  iii.  pp.  97-114;  Squier's  Nica 
ragua,  New  York,  1860,  pp.  157-61.  Not  long  afterward  the  cities  of  Granada 
and  Leon  were  founded,  and  communication  with  Nicaragua  from  the  south 
became  of  frequent  occurrence. 

In  1522  Pedro  de  Alvarado  occupied  Tututepec  on  the  Pacific;  while  at 
Zacatula  a  villa  was  founded,  and  a  beginning  made  there  on  several  vessels 
for  exploration  northward.  Cortes,  Cartas,  Letter  of  May  15,  1522. 

[1523.]  Francisco  de  Garay  fitted  out  a  new  fleet  of  eleven  vessels,  with 
850  men,  which  sailed  from  Jamaica  June  26,  1523.  This  force  was  intended 
for  the  conquest  and  settlement  of  Panuco,  but  soon  united  with  the  army  of 
Cortes  without  having  accomplished  anything  of  importance.  Navarrete,  Col. 
de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  67-9;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  v.-vi.; 
Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vii.  cap.  v.;  Cortes,  Carta  tercera  de  Rdacio,  Seville,  1523. 
This  third  letter  was  written  May  15,  1522.  Other  editions  appeared  in 
1524,  and  1532.  For  the  bibliography  of  Cortes'  letters  see  Harrisse,  Bib. 
Am.  Vet.,  pp.  215-23.  Maximilian,  De  Molvccis  Insulis,  Colonise,  1523,  is 
a  letter  written  by  the  emperor's  secretary,  describing  Magellan's  voyage 
round  the  world.  Other  editions  are  mentioned  as  having  appeared  in  1523, 
1524,  1534,  1536,  and  1537. 

[1524.]  Apianus,  Cosmographicus  Liber,  Landshutse,  1524,  contains  a  short 
chapter  on  America,  which  the  author  describes  as  an  island,  because  he  says 
it  is  surrounded  by  water;  furthermore,  he  affirms  this  land  was  named  from 
Vespucci,  its  discoverer.  The  map  of  Solinus-Camers,  1520,  is  repeated  in 
this  and  in  several  succeeding  editions  of  the  cosmography.  Kunstmann,  Ent- 
deckung  Am.,  pp.  134-5.  Francis,  De  Orbls  Sitv  ac  Descriptione,  Antwerp, 
1524,  also  describes  the  New  World. 

In  1524  Cortes'  fleet  at  Zacatula  was  not  yet  launched,  the  work  having 
been  delayed  by  fire.  The  conquest  of  Colima  had  however  made  known  a 
good  port,  and  brought  new  rumors  of  rich  islands  further  north.  The  con 
queror's  plans  were  unchanged  and  his  enthusiasm  undiminished.  His  use 
of  the  term  "la  costa  abajo,"  or  down  the  coast,  when  he  meant  to  sail 
northward,  has  sadly  confused  many  writers  as  to  his  real  intentions,  and  as 
to  his  ideas  of  the  strait.  Cortes,  Cartas,  Letter  of  Oct.  15,  1524. 

In  1524  was  made  the  first  official  French  expedition  to  the  New  World. 
A  fleet  of  four  vessels  was  made  ready  under  Giovanni  Verrazano  at  Dieppe, 
but  three  of  his  ships  were  separated  from  him  in  some  inexplicable  manner 
before  leaving  European  waters;  and  in  the  remaining  one,  the  Dauphine, 
with  fifty  men,  he  sailed  on  the  17th  of  January,  1524,  from  an  island  near 
Madeira.  After  a  voyage  of  forty-nine  days,  during  which  time  he  sailed 
900  leagues,  Verrazano  struck  the  United  States  coast  in  about  latitude  34°, 
perhaps  afc  Cape  Fear.  Thence  he  sailed  first  southward  fifty  leagues,  then 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  141 

turning  about  he  followed  the  coast  northward,  frequently  touching,  to 
Newfoundland,  whence  he  returned  to  Dieppe  in  July,  1524.  Verrazano 
in  his  journal  mentions  only  one  date,  and  names  but  one  locality;  conse 
quently  there  is  much  difference  of  opinion  concerning  his  landings. 

The  southern  limit  of  the  voyage,  so  far  as  it  can  be  known,  was  in  the 
vicinity  of  Cape  Remain,  South  Carolina,  though  some  authors,  apparently 
without  sufficient  authority  — the  voyager  says  he  saw  palms  — have  placed 
the  limit  in  Florida.  It  is  probable  that  a  large  part  of  the  United  States 
coast  was  for  the  first  time  explored  during  this  voyage,  which  also  completed 
the  discovery  of  the  whole  eastern  shore-line  of  America,  except  probably  a 
short  but  indefinite  distance  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  between  the 
limits  reached  by  Ponce  de  Leon  in  1513  and  by  Verrazano;  one  intermediate 
point  having  also  been  visited  by  Aillon  in  1520.  Relations  di  Giouanni  da  Ver- 
razzano  Fiore.nt.ino  delta  terra  per  lid  scoperta  in  nome,  di  sua  Maevtd,  scritta  in 
Dieppa,  adi  8,  Luglio,  MDXXIIII.,  va.Ramu*io,  torn.  iii.  fol.  420.  In  the  preface 
to  this  volume,  edition  of  1556,  the  author  states  that  it  is  not  known  whether 
New  France  is  joined  to  Florida  or  not.  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.  lib.  vi. 
cap.  ix.;  Hakluyt's  Divers  Voy.,  pp.  55-71;  New  York  Hist.  Soc.,  Collec 
tions,  1841,  series  ii.  vol.  i.;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  249-70;  IJakluyt'sVoy., 
vol.  iii.  pp.  295-300;  A  a,  Naaukeuriye  Versamelin;/,  torn.  x.  app.  p.  13.  A 
chart  given  by  Verrazano  to  Henry  VIII.  is  said  to  have  been  used  by  Lock 
in  compiling  the  map  published  in  Halduyfs  Divers  Voy.,  London,  1582.  (Re 
print  by  the  Hakluyt  Society,  1850.  Copy  in  Kohl,  p.  290.) 

In  1522  Pedro  de  Alvarado  had  accomplished  the  conquest  of  Tehuantepec 
on  the  South  Sea;  in  1524  and  the  following  years  he  extended  his  explora 
tions  and  conquests  by  land  across  the  isthmus  over  all  the  north-western 
region  of  Central  America,  joining  his  conquests  to  those  of  his  countrymen 
from  Panama.  In  1523  Crist6bal  de  Olid  made  an  expedition  by  water  to 
Honduras  in  the  service  of  Corte"s,  founding  a  settlement;  and  in  1524  Cortds 
himself  marched  overland  from  Mexico  to  Honduras.  Lettres  de  Pedro  de 
Alvarado  d  Fernan  Cortes,  in  Temaux-Compans,  Voy.,  s6rie  i.  torn.  x.  pp. 
107-50,  and  in  Ramusio,  Viaygi,  torn.  iii.  fol.  29G-300;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  viii. 
cap.  v.  x.;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  iii.  pp.  434,  439,  475-87;  Gomara,  Hist. 
Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  228-33,  245-6,  250-74;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.  lib.  iii. 
cap.  xvii. ;  lib.  vi.  cap.  x.-xii. ;  lib.  vii.  cap.  viii.-ix. ;  lib.  viii.  cap.  i.-vii. ;  Alaman, 
Disertaciones,  torn.  i.  pp.  203-25;  Brasseur  de  Bonrboury,  Hint.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn. 
iv.  pp.  546-50,  598  et  seq.,  631-705. 

Li  this  same  year,  1524,  Francisco  Pizarro  sailed  from  Panama  southward, 
and  began  the  conquest  of  Peru,  which,  as  related  elsewhere  in  this  volume, 
brought  to  light,  before  1540,  nearly  the  whole  western  coast  of  South  America. 
For  references  to  Pizarro's  discovery  see  a  later  chapter  of  this  volume. 

A  meeting  of  the  leading  pilots  and  cosmographers  of  Spain  and  Portugal, 
known  as  the  Council  of  Badajoz,  was  convened  for  the  purpose  of  settling 
disputed  questions  between  the  two  governments.  Failing  in  its  primary 
purpose,  the  council  nevertheless  contributed  largely  to  a  better  knowledge 
of  New  World  geography.  Indeed,  from  this  time  the  European  govern 
ments  may  be  supposed  to  have  had,  and  to  have  delineated  on  their  official 
charts,  tolerably  accurate  ideas  of  the  general  form  of  America  and  of  its 


142  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

relation  to  Asia,  except  in  the  north-west,  although  the  existence  of  a  passage 
through  the  continent  was  still  firmly  believed  in.  Writers  on  cosmography 
and  compilers  of  published  maps  did  not,  however,  for  a  long  time  obtain  the 
knowledge  lodged  in  the  hands  of  government  officials. 

[1525.]  The  man  who  accompanied  Magellan  in  1519,  but  left  him  after 
entering  the  strait  and  returned  with  one  vessel  to  Spain,  was  named  Estevan 
Gomez.  In  1525  this  captain  was  sent  by  Spain  to  search  for  a  corresponding 
strait  in  the  north.  Although  an  official  expedition,  and  the  only  one  ever 
sent  by  Spain  to  northern  parts,  no  journal  has  been  preserved,  and  only 
slight  particulars  derived  from  the  old  chroniclers  are  known.  Gomez  ex 
pected  to  find  a  strait  somewhere  between  Florida  and  Newfoundland,  prob 
ably  not  knowing  the  result  of  Verrazano's  voyage  of  the  preceding  year. 
Cabot  was  at  the  time  piloto  mayor  in  Spain,  and  if  Verrazano  had,  as  is 
claimed  for  him  by  some,  reached  the  southern  United  States  coasts,  it  is  not 
likely  that  Gomez  would  have  looked  there  so  confidently  for  his  strait.  This 
voyage  lasted  about  ten  months,  and  in  it  Gomez  is  supposed  to  have  explored 
the  coast  from  Newfoundland  to  a  point  below  New  York — possibly  to 
Georgia  or  Florida.  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vi.  cap.  x.;  Ilerrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iij. 
lib.  viii.  cap.  viii. ;  KoliVs  Hist.  Discov.,  pp.  271-81;  Navarrde,  Col.  de  Viages, 
torn.  iv.  p.  viii.;  Kunstmann,  Entdeckung  Am.,  pp.  70-1.  According  to  Har- 
risse,  Fries,  Ysleyung  der  Mercarthen  oder  Cartha  Marina,  Strasburg,  1525, 
contains  a  map  of  the  world,  including  America,  but  Kohl  states  that  this 
map,  although  made  in  1525,  was  not  published  till  1530.  Other  publications 
of  the  year  are:  Pietro  Arias  (Pedrarias  Davila),  Lf-ttere  di  Pietro  Arias  Capi- 
tano  gene-rale,  della  conquixta  del  pae^e  del  Mar  Occeano,  written  from  Darien, 
and  printed  without  place  or  elate;  Pigafctta,  Lt>  voyage  tt  nauigation  faict 
par  les  Etpaignoh  es  Isles  de  Mollucques,  an  abridgment  of  the  original 
account  by  the  author,  who  was  with  Magellan;  Cortes,  La  quarta  Relation, 
Toledo,  1525,  dated  October  15,  1524. 

Garcia  de  Loaisa  sailed  from  Corunna  July  24,  1525,  to  follow  Magellan's 
track.  Passing  through  the  strait  between  January  and  May,  152G,  he 
arrived  at  the  Moluccas  in  October.  Viages  al  Maluco,  Scgundo  el  del  Comen- 
dador  Fr.  Garcia  de  Loaisa,  in  Navarrde,  torn.  v. ;  Buraey\  Divcov.  South  Sea, 
vol.  i.  pp.  127-45;  Relaciones  del  viaje  hecJio  d  las  islas  Molucas,  in  Paclieco  and 
Cardenas,  torn.  v.  p.  5. 

[152G.]  One  small  vessel  of  Loaisa's  fleet,  under  command  of  Santiago  cle 
Guevara,  became  separated  from  the  rest  June  1,  1526,  after  having  reached 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Guevara  decided  to  steer  for  the  coast  of  New  Spain, 
which  was  first  seen  in  the  middle  of  July ;  and  on  the  25th  he  anchored  at 
Tehuantepec.  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  v.  pp.  176-81,  224r-5. 

Cortes'  exploring  vessels,  begun  in  1522 — the  first  having  been  burned  on 
the  stocks,  others  were  built  in  their  place — were  now,  after  long  delay,  nearly 
ready  to  sail;  and  Guevara's  vessel  was  brought  up  from  Tehuantepec  to  join 
them.  Cortes,  Cartas,  Letter  of  September,  1526. 

Aillon,  in  1523,  was  made  adelantado  of  Chicora,  the  country  discovered 
by  him  in  1520,  and  immediately  prepared  a  new  expedition  with  a  view  to 
colonize  the  country,  explore  the  coasts,  and  to  find,  if  possible,  a  passage  to 
India.  The  preparations  were  not  completed  until  July,  1526,  when  he 


PACIFIC  COAST  EXPLORATIONS.  143 

sailed  from  Espanola  with  six  vessels,  500  men,  and  ninety  horses.  He 
reached  the  Rio  Jordan — perhaps  St  Helena  Sound,  South  Carolina — and 
thence  made  a  careful  exploration  northward,  at  least  to  Cape  Fear,  and  prob 
ably  much  farther.  Aillon  died  on  the  18th  of  October,  and  after  much 
internal  dissension  150  men,  all  that  remained  alive,  returned  to  Santo 
Domingo.  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn.  iii.  pp.  71-4,  153-60;  Kunatmann, 
Entdeckung  Am. ,  p.  71. 

Oviedo,  De  la  Natural  hystoria  de  las  India*,  Toledo,  1526,  describes  the 
New  World,  but  this  book  is  not  the  great  historical  work,  lately  printed, 
by  the  same  author.  It  may  be  found  also  in  Barcia,  Historiadores  Primi 
tives,  and  in  Ramusio. 

Sebastian  Cabot  attempted  a  voyage  to  India  in  1526,  sailing  with  four 
vessels  in  April,  with  the  intention  of  bearing  succor  to  Loaisa.  Owing  to 
insubordination  among  his  officers,  and  other  misfortunes,  he  reached  only 
the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  after  extensive  explorations  in  that  region,  returned 
to  Spain,  having  been  absent  four  years.  Ovicdo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  ii.  p.  169; 
Diccionario  Universal,  Mexico,  apend.,  'Viages,'  torn.  x.  p.  807;  Roux  de 
Roclidle,  in  Bulletin  de  la  Soc.  Geog.,  April,  1832,  p.  212. 

[1527.]  June  10,  1527,  an  English  expedition — the  last  officially  sent  by 
that  nation  within  the  limits  of  my  sketch — sailed  from  Plymouth,  still  in 
search  of  a  north-west  passage.  The  two  vessels  sailed  in  company  to  lati 
tude  53°,  and  reached  the  coast,  where,  on  the  1st  of  July,  they  were  sepa 
rated  by  a  storm,  and  one  of  them  was  probably  lost.  The  other,  under  John 
Rut,  turned  southward,  followed  the  coast  of  New  England,  often  landing, 
probably  reached  Chicora,  and  returned  to  England  via  the  West  India  Islands, 
arriving  early  in  October.  Hakluytfs  Divers  Voy.,  pp.  27,  33;  Biddle's  Mem. 
Cabot,  pp.  114,  275;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  i.  p.  611;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen., 
dec.  ii.  lib.  v.  cap.  iii. 

Francisco  Montejo,  who  had  accompanied  the  expeditions  of  Grijalva 
and  Corte"s,  and  had  since  been  sent  by  the  latter  as  ambassador  to  Spain, 
obtained  from  the  king  in  1526  a  commission  as  adelantado  to  conquer 
the  "islands  of  Yucatan  and  Cozumel."  He  sailed  from  Seville  in  1527, 
landed  at  Cozumel,  penetrated  the  northern  part  of  the  peninsula,  and  during 
the  following  years  fought  desperately  to  accomplish  its  conquest,  but  failed. 
A  small  colony  struggled  for  existence  at  Campeche  for  several  years,  but  in 
1535  not  a  single  Spaniard  remained  in  Yucatan.  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yucathan, 
pp.  59-94;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  62-3;  Stephens' Incidents  of  Travel  in 
Yucatan,  New  York,  1858,  vol.  i.  pp.  56-62. 

La  Salle,  La  Salade,  Paris,  1527,  contains  references  to  Greenland  and 
other  northern  parts  of  America. 

In  July,  1527,  three  of  the  vessels  built  by  Cortes  made  a  preliminary  trip  up 
the  Pacific  coast  from  Zacatula  to  Santiago  in  Colima  and  back — the  first  voy 
age  along  that  coast.  Rdacion  6  Derrotero,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. , 
torn.  xiv.  pp.  65-9;  Relacion  de  la  Derrota,  in  Florida,  Col.  Doc.,  pp.  88-91. 
But  an  order  from  Spain  required  the  fleet  to  be  sent  to  India  direct — instead 
of  by  the  roundabout  route  proposed  by  Cortes — for  the  relief  of  Loaisa;  and 
the  three  vessels  sailed  from  Zacatula  in  October  under  Saavedra,  arriving 
safely  in  India.  Guevara's  ship  was  too  worm-eaten  to  accompany  them; 


144 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


but  gcTcfal  vessels  were  already  on  the  stocks  at  Tehuantepec  to  replace 
those  sent  across  the  ocean.  Sut'd  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  introd.  pp.  vi.-xi. ;  Na- 
varrete,  Col.  Viages,  torn.  v.  pp.  95-114,  181,  440-86;  Gil,  Memoria,  in  Boletin 
de  la  Soc.  Mcx.  Geog.,  torn.  viii.  p.  477>et  seq. 

In  1527  Robert  Thorne,  English  ambassador  to  Charles  V.,  wrote  a  book  or 
memorial  to  Henry  VIII.  on  cosmography,  on  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
discoveries,  and  on  the  importance  of  exploring  northward  for  a  passage  to 
Cathay.  It  was  afterward  printed  as  The  booke  made  by  the  right  worshipful 
M.  Robert  Thorne,  in  Hakluyfs  Voy.,  vol.  i.  pp.  214-20. 

In  1526  a  commissioner  was  appointed  to  correct  the  Spanish  charts.  Fer 
nando  Colon  was  charged  with  the  revision,  and  in  1527  a  map  was  made 
called  Carta  universal  en  que  se  contiene  todo  lo  que,  del  mundo  se  ha  descubierfo 
fasta  agora.  This  map  has  been  preserved,  and  a  fac-simile  is  given  in  Kohl, 
Beiden  altexten  Karten  von  Am.  It  shows  the  whole  eastern  coast  line  from 
the  strait  of  Magellan  to  Greenland,  and  the  western  coast  from  Panama  to 
the  vicinity  of  Soconusco,  and  indicates  that  the  information  in  possession  of 
the  Spanish  government  was  remarkably  accurate  and  complete.  Yucatan  is 
represented  as  an  island,  and  the  discoveries  on  the  Pacific  side  of  South 
America  are  not  laid  down;  otherwise  this  map  varies  but  little  except  in 
names  from  a  map  made  by  Diego  Ribero,  in  1529,  of  which  I  shall  give  a 
copy.  Kohl,  Beiden  ciltexten  Karttn  von  Am.,  pp.  1-24;  Humloldt,  Exam.  Crit., 
torn.  ii.  p.  184,  and  Preface  to  Ghitlany. 

[1528.]  Bordone,  Libro  dl  Benedetto  Bordone  Nel  qual  si  ragiona  de  tutte 
risole  del  mondo,  Vinegia,  1528,  gives  maps  of  the  larger  American  islands, 
and  also  a  map  of  the  world,  the  American  part  of  which  I  copy  from  the 
original.  No  part  of  the  western  coast  is  shown,  although  the  New  World 
is  represented  as  distinct  from  Asia. 

Kohl,  Beiden  altesten  Karten  von  Am.,  p.  34, 
mentions  another  work  printed  at  Venice  the  same 
year,  which  has  a  map  resembling  that  of  Schemer 
in  1520. 

Panfilo  de  Narvaez  sailed  from  Spain  in  1527  with 
five  ships  and  600  men,  to  conquer  the  northern 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  after  losing  some 
of  his  ships  by  storm,  and  many  of  his  men  by  de 
sertion,  in  cruising  about  Espailola,  Cuba,  and  other 
islands,  he  landed  in  the  vicinity  of  Tampa  Bay 
April  14,  1528,  and  nearly  all  the  company  perished 
in  an  attempt  to  follow  the  coast  toward  Vera  Cruz. 
Cabega  de  Vaca's  Relation,  New  York,  1871,  pp.  13- 
20;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.  lib.  iv.  cap.  iv.-vii.; 
lib.  v.  cap.  v. 

[1529.]  Major,  Prince  Henry,  pp.  440-52,  entertains  the  opinion  that 
Australia  was  discovered  probably  before  1529,  and  certainly  before  1542. 

In  1529  was  made  the  before-mentioned  Spanish  official  map  by  Diego 
Ribero,  which  may  be  supposed  to  show  all  that  was  known  by  European 
pilots  at  that  time  of  New  World  geography.  It  contains  some  improve 
ments  and  additions  to  Colon's  map  of  1527  with  the  same  title,  although 


MAP  BY  BKXEDKTTO 

-BORDONK,  1528. 


NUftO  DE  GUZMAN.  145 

criticised,  perhaps  justly,  by  Stevens  as  partisan  in  its  distribution  of  the 
new  regions  among  the  European  powers.  I  give  a  copy  reduced  from  the 
full-sized  fac-simile  in  Kohl,  Belden  dltesten  Karten  von  Am. 

Greenland  is  called  Labrador  and  is  joined  to  the  continent,  as  the  sepa 
rating  strait  had  not  at  the  time  been  explored.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
Greenland  is  far  less  accurately  laid  down  on  this  and  other  late  maps  than 
on  some  earlier  ones  which  are  supposed  to  have  derived  some  of  their  details 
from  northern  sources.  Labrador,  Newfoundland,  and  Nova  Scotia  have  the 
general  name  of  Bacallaos.  Many  of  the  numerous  islands  along  the  coast 
are  named  in  the  original.  Corresponding  perhaps  to  the  New  England  and 
middle  United  States  we  have  the  '  Tiera  de  Esteva  Gomez, '  stated  by  an  in 
scription  to  have  been  discovered  by  the  Spaniards  in  1525.  From  this  land 
to  Florida  extends  the  'Tiera  de  Ay  lion,'  between  which  and  'Nveva  Espana' 
comes  the  '  Tiera  de  Garay, '  thus  dividing  nearly  all  of  the  northern  continent 
among  the  Spaniards.  The  West  India  Islands  have  here  their  true  number, 
position,  and  names.  Yucatan  is  given  in  its  true  proportions  but  is  sepa 
rated  by  a  strait  from  the  main-land.  The  South  Sea  coast  is  represented 
only  to  the  limit  of  the  voyage  of  Gil  Gonzalez  Davila  on  the  north,  and 
extends  southward  to  the  port  of  Chinchax  in  about  latitude  10°  south,  in 
cluding,  according  to  an  inscription,  the  countries  which  had  been  reached 
by  Pizarro  in  1527.  The  form  of  South  America  is  correctly  laid  down  and 
the  name  'Mvndvs  News'  is  applied  to  the  whole,  which  is  divided  into  the 
provinces  of  'Castilladel  Oro,'  'Perv,'  'Tiera  del  Brasil,'  '  Tiera  dePatagones,' 
and  'Tiera  de  Ferna  de  Magallaes,'  or  land  of  Magellan.  South  of  the  strait 
is  the  'Tiera  de  los  Fuegos,'  whose  true  form  and  extent  were  not  known 
until  Schouten  and  Le  Maire  doubled  Cape  Horn  in  1616. 

Thus  far  I  have  copied  or  mentioned  all  maps  which  could  throw  any  light 
on  the  progress  of  geographical  knowledge,  and  have  endeavored  to  give  a 
statement  of  all  the  voyages  by  which  this  progress  was  made.  Thus  far  we 
have  seen  the  coasts  of  both  North  and  South  America,  except  in  the  south 
west  and  the  far  north-west,  more  or  less  carefully  explored  by  European 
voyagers;  we  have  seen  the  New  World  recognized  as  distinct  for  the  most 
part  from  Asia,  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of  its  form  and  extent  given  by  gov 
ernment  pilots,  and  the  name  America  applied,  except  on  official  maps,  to 
the  southern  continent.  Henceforth  voyages  to  the  parts  already  discovered 
become  of  common  occurrence,  and  numerous  maps,  both  in  manuscript  and 
print,  are  made,  no  one  of  which  I  shall  attempt  to  follow.  In  the  expe 
ditions  of  the  next  and  concluding  ten  years  of  this  Summary  I  shall  notice 
chiefly  those  by  which  a  knowledge  was  acquired  of  the  countries  lying 
toward  California  and  the  great  Northwest,  presenting  several  maps  to  illus 
trate  this  part  of  the  subject. 

[1530.]  During  the  absence  of  Cortes  in  Spain  no  progress  had  been  made 
in  maritime  exploration;  and  by  1530  his  ships  on  the  stocks  at  Tehuantepec 
were  ruined,  but  he  made  haste  to  build  more.  Cortes,  Cartas,  letters  of 
Oct.  10,  1530,  and  April  20,  1532. 

Nuiio  de  Guzman,  formerly  president  of  the  audiencia  of  New  Spain,  and 
the  inveterate  enemy  of  Corte"s,  undertook  with  a  large  force,  recruited  in 
HIST.  CEF.  AM.,  VOL.  I.  10 


14G 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


TIERA  DE  ESTEVA      GOMEZ  > 


DIEGO  RIBERO'S  MAr,  1529» 


PETER  MARTYR,  PTOLEMY,  AND  MUNSTER. 


147 


Mexico,  the  conquest  of  .  the  region  lying  to  the  north-west  of  that  city. 
The  northern  limit  of  his  conquest  in  1530-1  was  Culiacan,  between  which 
and  Mexico  the  whole  country  was  brought  under  Spanish  control  by  expe 
ditions  sent  by  Guzman  in  all  directions  under  different  leaders.  Relation  di 
Nvnno  di  Gvsman,  in  RamuHio,  torn.  iii.  fol.  331,  and  abridged  in  Purchas, 
His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  iv.  p.  1556;  Jornada  que  hizo  Nuno  de  Guzman  A  la  Nueva 
Galicla,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  ii.;  Primera  relation,  p.  288;  Ter- 
cera  relation,  p.  439;  Cuarta  relation,  p.  461;  Doc.  para  Hist,  de  Mex.,  serie 
iii.  p.  669;  Mota  Padilla,  Conquista  de  Nueva  Galicia,  MS.  of  1742;  Oviado, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  iii.  pp.  559-77;  Gil,  Memoria,  in  Boletin  de  la  Soc.  Mex. 
Geog.,  torn.  viii.  p.  424  et  seq. 

Hakluyt,  in  his  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  p.  700,  states  that  one  William  Hawkins, 
of  Plymouth,  made  voyages,  in  a  ship  fitted  out  at  his  own  expense,  to  the 
coast  of  Brazil  in  1530  and  1532,  bringing  back  an  Indian  king  as  a  curiosity. 

Peter  Martyr,  De  Orbe  novo,  Copluti,  1530,  is  the  first  complete  edition  of 
eight  decades;  and  Opus  Epistolarum,  of  the  same  date  and  place,  is  a  col 
lection  of  over  eight  hundred  letters  written  between  1488  and  1525,  many  of 
them  relating  more  or  less  to  American  affairs. 

In  the  Ptolemy  of  1530,  in  several  subsequent  editions,  and  in  Munster's 
Cosmography  of  1572  et  seq.,  is  the  map  of  which  the  following  is  a  reduction. 


THE  NEW  WORLD,  FROM  PTOLEMY,  1530. 

I  give  this  drawing,  circulated  for  many  years  in  standard  works,  to  illus 
trate  how  extremely  slow  were  cosmographers  to  form  anything  like  a  correct 
idea  of  American  geography,  and  how  little  they  availed  themselves  of  the 
more  correct  knowledge  shown  on  official  charts.  The  following  map,  made 
in  1544,  illustrates  still  further  the  absurdities  circulated  for  many  years 


148 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


under  the  name  of   geography.      Scores  of  additional  examples  might  be 
given. 


KUSCELLI'S  MAP,  1544. 

[1532.  ]  At  last,  in  the  middle  of  1532,  Cortds  was  able  to  despatch  from  Aca- 
pulco  two  vessels,  under  Hurtado  de  Mendoza  and  Mazuela,  to  make  the  first 
voyage  up  the  coast  beyond  Colima.  Mendoza  touched  at  Santiago  and  at  the 
port  of  Jalisco,  near  the  later  San  Bias,  discovering  the  islands  of  Magdalena, 
or  Tres  Marias.  Then  they  took  refuge  from  a  storm  in  a  port  located  only 
by  conjecture,  probably  on  the  Sonora  coast,  where  after  a  time  the  vessels 
parted.  Mendoza  went  on  up  the  coast.  Having  landed  and  ascended  the 
Rio  Tamotchala — now  the  Fuerte — he  was  killed,  with  most  of  his  men,  by 
the  Indians.  The  rest  were  massacred  a  little  later,  when  the  vessel  grounded 
and  broke  up  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Petatlan,  or  Sinaloa.  Meanwhile, 
Mazuela  with  the  other  vessel  returning  down  the  coast  was  driven  ashore 
in  Banderas  Bay,  where  all  his  men  but  two  or  three  were  killed  by  the 
natives.  Authorities,  being  voluminous,  complicated,  and  of  necessity  fully 
presented  elsewhere,  are  omitted  here. 

Cortes,  De  Insvlis  nvper  inventis,  Colonise,  1532,  is  a  translation  of  Hernan 
CorteV  second  and  third  letters,  with  Peter  Martyr's  De  Insults,  and  a  letter 
from  Fray  Martin  de  Valencia,  dated  Yucatan,  June  12,  1531,  with  some 
letters  from  Zumarraga,  first  bishop  of  Mexico. 

Grynwvs,  Novvs  Orbix,  Paris  and  Basle,  1532,  is  a  collection  of  the  voyages 
of  Columbus,  Pinzon,  Vespucci,  and  others.  In  this  work  the  assertion  is 
made  that  Vespucci  discovered  America  before  Columbus,  which  aroused  the 
wrath  of  Las  Casas,  and  seems  to  have  originated  the  subsequent  bitter 
attacks  on  Vespucci.  About  the  maps  originally  published  with  this  work 
there  seems  to  be  some  doubt,  most  copies,  like  my  own,  having  no  map. 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA  DISCOVERED. 


149 


According  to  Stevens'  Notes,  pp.  19,  51-2,  pi.  iii.  no.  4,  the  Paris  edition  of 
Grynaeus  contained  a  map  made  by  Orontius  Fine  in  1531.  The  following  is 
a  reduction  from  Stevens'  fac-simile  on  Mercator's  projection: 


OKONTIUS  FINE'S  MAP,  1531. 

All  of  the  New  World,  so  far  as  explored,  is  represented  with  tolerable 
accuracy,  but  the  unexplored  South  Sea  coast  is  made  to  extend  westward 
from  the  region  of  Acapulco,  and  to  join  the  southern  coast  of  Asia,  which  is 
laid  down  from  the  ancient  chronicles.  Instead  of  being,  as  Stevens  terms  it, 
a  "  culmination  of  absurdities,"  I  regard  this  map  as  more  consistent  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  time  than  any  other  printed  during  the  first  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  North  America  when  found  was  regarded  as  Asia;  South 
America  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  a  large  island,  and  later  an  immense 
south-eastern  extension  of  Asia;  subsequent  explorations,  chiefly  that  of 
Magellan,  showed  the  existence  of  a  vast  ocean  between  southern  America 
and  southern  Asia;  official  maps  left  unexplored  regions  blank,  expressing  no 
theory  as  to  the  northern  extension  of  the  Pacific  Ocean;  other  maps,  as  we 
have  seen,  without  any  authority  whatever,  make  that  ocean  extend  north 
and  completely  separate  Asia  from  the  New  World.  The  present  map,  how 
ever,  clings  to  the  original  idea  and  makes  North  America  an  eastern  exten 
sion  of  Asia,  giving  the  name  America  to  the  southern  continent. 

The  map  in  the  Basle  edition  of  Grynoeus,  also  given  in  Stevens'  Notes,  pi. 
iv.  no.  4,  closely  resembles  Schoner's  Globe  of  1520  (see  page  137). 

[1533.]  The  expedition  of  Becerra,  Grijalva,  and  Jimenez,  sent  out  by 
Cortes  to  search  for  Hurtado  de  Mendoza  and  to  continue  north-western  dis 
coveries,  sailed  from  Santiago  in  November.  This  voyage,  like  those  follow 
ing,  will  be  fully  treated  elsewhere  in  this  work.  The  only  result,  so  far  as 
the  purposes  of  this  chapter  are  concerned,  was  the  discovery  of  the  Revilla 
Gigedo  group  of  islands  and  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Lower 
California,  supposed  then  to  be  an  island.  Jimenez  landed  and  was  killed  at 


150  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Santa  Cruz,  now  known  as  La  Paz.  The  subsequent  expedition  of  1535-6, 
headed  by  Corte"s  in  person,  added  only  very  slightly  to  geographical  knowl 
edge  of  the  north-west.  Many  points  were  touched  and  named  along  the 
coast;  but  comparatively  few  can  be  definitely  located  except  by  the  aid  of 
information  afforded  by  the  earlier  explorations  of  Guzman  by  land. 

Schoner,  Opvscvlvm  Geographicvm,  supposed  to  have  been  printed  in  1533, 
maintains  that  the  New  World  is  part  of  Asia,  and  contains,  so  far  as  known, 
the  first  charge  against  Vespucci.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn.  v.  pp.  174-5. 
Other  books  of  the  year  are:  Franck,  Weltbuch,  Tubingen,  1533,  which  in 
cludes  America  in  a  description  of  the  world;  and  Zummaraga,  Botscliafft  des 
Grossmechtigsten  Knigs  Dauid,  n.  p.  n.  d.,  containing  a  letter  from  Mexico  dated 
in  1532. 

[1534.]  In  1534,  1535,  and  1540,  Jacques  Cartier  made  three  voyages  for 
France,  in  which  Newfoundland  and  the  gulf  and  river  of  St  Lawrence 
were  carefully  explored.  Prlma  Relatione  di  lacqves  Carthier  della  Terra 
Nvova  delta  la  Nuoua  Francia,  trouata  neW  anno  MDXXXIIII.,  in  Ramusio, 
torn.  iii.  fol.  435;  Hakluyt's  Voy.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  201-36;  Sammlung  alier  Reise- 
beschreibungen,  torn.  xv.  p.  29. 

Simon  de  Alcazaba  sailed  from  San  Lucar  in  September,  1534,  with  two 
ships  and  280  men,  intending  to  conquer  and  settle  the  western  coast  of 
South  America  south  of  Peru.  After  spending  a  long  time  in  the  strait 
of  Magellan,  he  was  finally  prevented  by  the  mutiny  of  his  men  from  pro 
ceeding  farther.  His  explorations  in  the  Patagonian  regions  were  more 
extensive  than  had  been  made  before.  Seventy-five  men,  the  remnant  of  his 
expedition,  reached  Espafiola  in  September,  1535,  one  vessel  having  been 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Brazil.  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  155-65;  Gal- 
vano^s  Discov.,  pp.  198-9;  Herrera,  dec.  v.  lib.  vii.  cap.  v.;  Diccionario  Univ., 
app.  torn.  x.  p.  807;  Burners  Discov.  South  Sea,  vol.  i.  p.  171. 

The  books  of  1534  are,  Francis  of  Bologna,  La  .Lefcra,  Venetia,  n.d.;  Chro- 
nica  compendiosissima,  Antwerp,  1534,  containing  letters  from  priests  in 
Mexico;  Vadianus,  Epitome,  Tigura,  1534,  includes  the  Insuloe  Oceani;  Peter 
Martyr,  Libro  Primo  Della  Ilistoria,  Vinegia,  1534,  which  has  joined  to  it  a 
libro  secondo  by  Oviedo,  and  an  anonymous  third  book  on  the  conquest  of 
Peru;  two  anonymous  works,  Lete.ro,  de  la  nobil  cipta,  and  Copia  delle  Lettere 
del  Prefetto  della  India,  being  letters  from  Peru,  the  latter  describing  the 
conquest;  Honter,  De  coxmographice,  Basileos,  1534,  with  a  chapter  on  the  new 
islands;  Xeres,  Uerdadera  relacion  de  la  conquista  del  Peru,  Seville,  1534; 
and  an  anonymous  work  on  the  same  subject,  La  conquista  del  Peru,  Seville, 
1534. 

[1535.]  In  this  year  appeared  the  first  edition  of  the  great  historical  work 
of  Gonzalo  Hernandez  de  Oviedo  y  Vald£s,  La  Ilistoria  general  de  las  Lidias, 
Seville,  1535.  Only  nineteen  of  the  fifty  books  which  comprise  the  whole 
work  appear  in  this  edition;  the  work  complete  has  since  been  published  in 
Madrid,  1851-5.  Steinhowel,  Chronica  Beschreibung,  Franckenfort,  1535,  has 
a  chapter  on  'America  discovered  in  1497.' 

[1536.]  In  April,  1528,  as  we  have  seen,  Pdnfilo  de  Narvaez  had  landed 
on  the  west  coast  of  Florida,  probably  at  Tampa  Bay,  and  attempted  with 
three  hundred  men  to  reach  Panuco  by  land.  The  company  gradually  melted 


NEW  MEXICO  INVADED.  151 

from  famine,  sickness,  and  battles  with  the  savages,  until  only  Alvar  Nuuez 
Cabeza  de  Vaca  with  a  few  companions  remained.  They  were  held  as 
slaves  by  the  natives  of  the  Gulf  coast  for  six  years;  and  then  escaping,  tra 
versed  Texas,  Chihuahua,  and  Sonora,  by  a  route  which  has  not  been  very 
definitely  fixed.  Cabeza  de  Vaca  with  three  companions  reached  the  Spanish 
settlements  in  northern  Sinaloa  early  in  1536,  and  their  reports  served  as  a 
powerful  incentive  to  more  extended  exploration.  Rdatione  che  fece  Alvaro 
Nvnez  detto  Capo  di  vacca,  in  Ramusio,  torn.  iii.  fol.  310-30;  Purchas,  His 
Pilrjrimes,  vol.  iv.  p.  1499;  Cabega  de  Vaca's  Relation,  New  York,  1871; 
Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  se"rie  i.  torn,  vii.;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  iii.  p.  582 
et  seq. ;  Barcia,  Historiadores  Prim.,  torn!  i. 

Peter  Martyr,  De  Rebus  Oceanids,  Paris,  1536,  contains  nine  decades.  This 
work,  with  Sacro  Bosco,  Sphera  Volgare,  Venetiis,  1537,  and  Nunez,  Tratado 
da  Sfera,  Olisipone,  1537,  closes  the  bibliographical  part  of  this  Summary,  in 
which,  following  Harrisse  as  the  latest  authority,  I  have  endeavored  to 
mention  all  the  original  works  by  which  the  geographical  results  of  voyages 
of  discovery  were  made  known  prior  to  1540. 

[1537.]  After  the  abandonment  of  California  by  the  colony,  Cortes  sent 
two  vessels  under  Hernando  de  Grijalva  and  Alvarado  (not  Pedro)  to  Peru 
with  supplies  and  reinforcements  for  Pizarro.  There  are  vague  reports  that 
Grijalva  sailed  westward  from  Peru  and  made  a  long  cruise  in  the  Pacific, 
visiting  various  islands  which  cannot  be  located.  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  v. 
lib.  viii.  cap.  x.;  dec.  vii.  lib.  v.  cap.  ix.;  Galvano's  Discov.,  pp.  202-3;  Burnley's 
Discov.  South  Sea,  vol.  i.  p.  180. 

[1538.]  Fernando  de  Soto  landed  on  the  west  coast  of  Florida,  crossed  the 
peninsula  to  that  part  discovered  by  Aillon  in  1526,  wandered  four  or  five 
years  in  the  interior  of  the  southern  United  States  and  followed  the  course 
of  the  Mississippi,  probably  as  far  up  as  to  the  Ohio.  Here  Soto  died, 
and  the  remnant  of  his  company,  after  penetrating  farther  west  to  the  buffalo 
country,  floated  down  the  Mississippi  and  returned  to  Mexico  in  1543. 
Soto's  travels  are  esteemed  by  Kohl  as  "the  principal  source  of  knowledge 
regarding  these  regions,  for  more  than  a  hundred  years."  Discov.  and  Conq. 
of  Terra  Florida,  Halduyt  Soc.,  London,  1851;  Selection  of  Curious  Voy.y 
Sup.  to  Halduyt,  London,  1812,  p.  689;  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  iv.  p. 
1532;  Ferdinands  von  Soto  Reise  nach  Florida,  in  Sammlung,  torn.  xvi.  p.  395. 

[1539.]  In  August,  1539,  three  vessels  under  Alonso  de  Camargo  were 
despatched  from  Seville  for  India  via  the  South  Sea,  and  reached  Cabo  de  las 
Virgenes  January  20,  1540.  One  of  the  vessels  was  wrecked  in  the  strait  of 
Magellan;  another  returned  to  Spain,  and  the  third  entered  the  Pacific,  and 
finally,  after  touching  Chile  in  38°  30',  arrived  at  Arequipa  in  Peru.  This 
voyage  is  supposed  to  have  afforded  the  first  knowledge  of  the  intermediate 
coast  between  the  strait  of  Magellan  and  Peru.  Diccionario  Univ. ,  app.  torn. 
x.  p.  807;  Ilerrcra,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  vii.  lib.  i.  cap.  viii.;  Burners  Discov.  South 
Sea,  vol.  i.  p.  186. 

Cabeza  de  Vaca  brought  to  Sinaloa  and  thence  to  Mexico  accounts  of  won 
derful  towns  in  the  northern  regions  traversed  by  him;  and  in  March,  1539, 
Fray  Marcos  de  Niza,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  men  who  had  seen  the 
reported  wonders,  set  out  from  Culiacan  and  proceeded  northward  in  search 


152  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

of  the  Seven  Cities  of  whose  existence  other  rumors  were  current  besides 
those  brought  by  Alvar  Nunez.  Marcos  de  Niza  reached  the  Pueblo  towns  of 
Zuni  and  brought  back  greatly  exaggerated  reports  of  the  wealth  of  the 
people  and  the  magnificence  of  their  cities.  Relatlone  del  Reverendo  Fra  Marco 
da  Nizza,  in  Ramutio,  torn.  iii.  fol.  356;  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  iv.  p. 
1560;  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col  de  Doc.,  torn.  iii.  p.  325;  HaHuyfs  Toy., 
vol.  iii.  pp.  366-73;  Ternaux-Compam,  Voy.,  serie  i.  torn.  ix.  p.  256.  See 
also  Whipple,  Ewbanlc,  and  Turner,  in  Pacific  R.  R.  Reports,  vol.  iii.  pp. 
104-8. 

Mza's  report  prompted  Corte"s  to  renewed  efforts  in  his  Californian  enter 
prise,  and  in  July,  1539,  Francisco  de  Ulloa  was  sent  from  Acapulco  with 
three  vessels  to  prosecute  the  discoveries  by  water.  Ulloa  spent  some  time 
in  the  port  of  Santiago  for  repairs,  lost  one  vessel  in  a  gale  near  the  entrance 
to  the  gulf,  visited  Santa  Cruz,  and  then  followed  the  main  coast  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Colorado,  and  returned  along  the  coast  of  the  Peninsula  to 
Santa  Cruz,  where  he  arrived  on  the  18th  of  October.  From  this  place  he 
doubled  the  southern  point  of  California,  and  sailed  up  the  western  coast  to 
Cedros  Island,  and  somewhat  beyond.  During  the  whole  voyage  he  touched 
and  named  many  places,  whose  names  have  seldom  been  retained,  but  some 
of  which  may  be  with  tolerable  certainty  identified.  In  April  the  vessels 
separated,  one  returning  by  a  quick  passage  to  Colima.  Ulloa  himself  with 
the  other  vessel  attempted  to  continue  his  explorations  northward,  with  what 
success  is  not  known.  According  to  Gomara  and  Bernal  Diaz,  he  returned 
after  several  months  spent  in  fruitless  endeavors  to  reach  more  northern 
latitudes ;  other  authorities  state  that  he  was  never  heard  from.  Preciado, 
who  accompanied  the  expedition,  wrote  of  it  a  detailed  but  not  very  clear 
narrative  or  journal.  Relatlone  dello  scoprimento  che  nel  nome  dl  Dio  va  a 
far  Varmata  dell'  illustrissimo  Fernando  Cortese,  etc.  (Preciado's  Relation), 
in  Ramusio,  torn.  iii.  339-54,  and  in  Hakluyt's  Voy.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  397-424; 
Gomara,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol.  292-3;  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol.  234;  Herrera, 
Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  vi.  lib.  ix.  cap.  viii.  et  seq. ;  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  v. 
p.  856;  Sutily  Mexicana,  Viage,  pp.  xxii.-vi.;  Burney's  Dixcov.  South  Sea,  vol. 
i.  pp.  193-210;  Venegas,  Noticia  de  la  California,  quoted  from  Gomara,  torn. 
i.  pp.  159-61;  Clavigero,  Storia  della  California,  torn.  i.  p.  151. 

[1540.]  Also  in  consequence  of  Marcos  de  Niza's  reports,  Francisco  Vazquez 
de  Coronado,  who  had  succeeded  Nufiode  Guzman  and  Torre  as  governor  of  New 
Galicia,  set  out  from  Culiacan  in  April,  1540,  penetrated  to  the  Pueblo  towns, 
or  the  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola,  and  thence  to  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  and 
far  toward  the  north-east  to  Quivira,  whose  location,  fixed  by  him  in  latitude 
40°,  has  been  a  much  disputed  question.  While  in  Sonora,  he  sent  forth 
Melchor  Diaz,  who  explored  the  head  of  the  gulf,  and  the  mouths  of  the  rivers, 
Gila  and  Colorado,  where  he  found  letters  left  by  Alarcon.  See  infra.  From 
Cibola,  Coronado  sent  Garcia  Lopez  de  Cdrdenas  west,  who  passed  through 
the  Moqui  towns  and  followed  the  Colorado  for  some  distance.  Coronado 
returned  in  1542.  Relatione  che  mando  Francesco  Vazquez  di  Coronado,  in 
Ramu*io,  torn.  iii.  fol.  359;  PacAecoand  Cdrdenas,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn.  iii.  p.  511. 
Halduyfs  Voy.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  373-82,  has  the  same  and  Gomara's  account. 
Ternaux-Compam,  Voyages,  serie  i.  torn,  ix.,  gives  the  relations  of  Coro- 


CALIFORNIA  AND  ARIZONA  DISCOVERED. 


153 


nado,  Castaneda,  and  Jaramillo.  See  also  Wlilpple,  Ewbanl,  and  Turner,  in 
Pacific  R.  R.  Reports,  vol.  iii.  pp.  108-12;  Simpson,  in  Report  of  Smithsonian 
Institution,  1869. 

To  cooperate  with  Coronado's  land  expedition,  Hernando  de  Alarcon  was 
despatched  from  Acapulco  in  May,  1540.  Alarcon  followed  the  coast  to  the 
head  of  the  gulf,  and  ascended  the  Buena  Guia  (Colorado)  some  eighty-five 
leagues  in  boats,  but  hearing  nothing  from  Coronado,  he  returned  after  bury 
ing  letters,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  were  found  by  Melchor  Diaz.  Beside  the 
references  given  above,  see  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viaye,  p.  xxviii.;  Burners 
Discov.  South  Sea,  vol.  i.  pp.  211-16;  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  iv.  p.  1560; 
Schoolcraftfs  Arch.,  vol.  iv.  p.  21  et  seq.;  vol.  vi.  p.  69;  Doc.  Hist.  Mex., 
serie  iii.  p.  671. 

I  here  present  reductions  of  two  maps  of  the  time  to  illustrate  the  explora 
tions  on  the  north-west  coast,  with  which  I  close  this  sketch.  The  first  was 
made  by  the  pilot  Castillo  in  1541,  and  is  taken  from  Cortes,  Hist.  Nueva- 
Expana,  edited  by  Lorenzana,  Mexico,  1770,  p.  325. 


CASTILLO'S  MAP,  1541. 

A  similar  chart  is  mentioned  by  Senor  Navarrete  as  existing  in  the  hydro- 
graphic  archives  in  Madrid.  The  second,  from  the  Munich  Atlas,  no.  vi.,  is 
of  uncertain  date.  Peschel  places  it  between  1532  and  1540;  and  it  was 
certainly  made  about  that  time,  as  Yucatan  is  represented  as  an  island, 
and  California  as  a  peninsula,  although  later  it  came  again  to  be  considered 
an  island,  as  at  its  first  discovery. 


154 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


MANUSCRIPT  HAP,  AUTHOR  UNKNOWN,  SUPPOSED  TO  HAVE  BEEN  DRAWN 
BETWEEN  1532.  AND  1510. 


This,  then,  was  Discovery.  And  in  the  progress  of  discovery  we  may  trace 
the  progress  of  mind.  We  can  but  wonder  now,  when  we  see  our  little  earth 
belted  with  steam  and  lightning,  how  reluctantly  the  infant  intellect  left  its 
cradle  to  examine  its  surroundings.  Wrapped  in  its  Mediterranean  swad- 
dlings,  it  crept  forth  timidly,  tremblingly,  slowly  gaining  courage  with 
experience,  until,  throwing  off  impediments,  it  trod  the  earth  in  the  fearless 
pride  of  manhood.  Like  all  science,  philosophy,  and  religion,  cosmography 
was  at  first  a  superstition.  Walled  within  narrow  limits,  as  we  have  seen, 
by  imaginary  frost  and  fire,  shaken  from  fear  of  heaven  above  and  hell  be 
neath,  there  is  little  wonder  that  the  ancients  dared  not  venture  far  from 
home;  nor  that,  when  men  began  to  explore  parts  unknown,  there  should 
appear  that  romance  of  geography  so  fascinating  to  the  Greek  mind,  that  halo 
thrown  by  the  dimness  of  time  and  distance  over  strange  seas  and  lands. 
From  this  time  to  that  of  the  adaptation  of  the  magnet  to  purposes  of  navi 
gation,  about  a  score  of  centuries,  there  was  little  progress  in  discovery. 

Is  it  not  strange  how  the  secrets  of  nature,  one  after  another,  reveal  them 
selves  according  to  man's  necessities  ?  Who  would  have  looked  for  the  deliv 
erance  of  pent-up  humanity  from  certain  mysterious  qualities  in  magnetic 
iron  ore,  which  floated  toward  the  north  that  side  of  a  cork  on  which  it  was 
placed  ?  When  Vasco  da  Gama  and  Columbus  almost  simultaneously  opened 
to  Europe  oceanic  highways  through  which  were  destined  to  flow  the  treasures 
of  the  eastern  and  the  western  Indies,  then  it  was  that  a  new  quality  was 
discovered  in  the  loadstone;  for  in  addition  to  its  power  to  take  up  iron,  it 
was  found  to  possess  the  rare  virtue  of  drawing  gold  and  silver  from  distant 
parts  into  the  coffers  of  European  princes;  then  it  was  that  paths  were  marked 
out  across  the  Sea  of  Darkness,  and  ships  passed  to  and  fro  bearing  the 
destroyers  of  nations,  and  laden  with  their  spoils. 


CHAPTER  II. 

COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 
1492-1500. 

EARLY  EXPERIENCES  —  THE  COMPACT  —  EMBARKATION  AT  PALOS  —  THE 
VOYAGE — DISCOVERY  or  LAND — UNFAVORABLE  COMPARISON  WITH  THE 
PARADISE  OF  MARCO  POLO — CRUISE  AMONG  THE  ISLANDS — ONE  NATURE 
EVERYWHERE — DESERTION  OF  PINZON — WRECK  OF  THE  SANTA  MARIA 
— THE  FORTRESS  OF  LA  NAVIDAD  ERECTED — RETURN  TO  SPAIN — RIGHTS 
OF  CIVILIZATION — THE  PAPAL  BULL  OF  PARTITION — FONSECA  APPOINTED 
SUPERINTENDENT  OF  THE  INDIES — SECOND  VOYAGE — NAVIDAD  IN  RUINS 
— ISABELA  ESTABLISHED  —  DISCONTENT  OF  THE  COLONISTS  —  EXPLORA 
TIONS  OF  THE  INTERIOR — COASTING  CUBA,  AND  DISCOVERY  OF  JAMAICA 
— FAILURE  OF  COLUMBUS  AS  GOVERNOR— INTERCOURSE  WITH  SPAIN — 
DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  INDIANS — GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INDIES — DIEGO 
AND  BARTOLOME  COLON — CHARGES  AGAINST  THE  ADMIRAL — COMMISSION 
OF  INQUIRY  APPOINTED — SECOND  RETURN  TO  SPAIN — THIRD  VOYAGE — 
TRINIDAD  DISCOVERED  —  SANTO  DOMINGO  FOUNDED  —  THE  ROLDAN 
REBELLION  —  FRANCISCO  DE  BOBADILLA  APPOINTED  TO  SUPERSEDE 
COLUMBUS  — ARBITRARY  AND  INIQUITOUS  CONDUCT  OF  BOBADILLA  — 
COLUMBUS  SENT  IN  CHAINS  TO  SPAIN. 

IN  the  developments  of  progress  the  agent, 
however  subordinate  to  the  event,  cannot  fail  to 
command  our  intelligent  curiosity.  The  fact  is  less 
one  with  us  than  the  factor.  The  instrument  is 
nearer  us  in  pulsating  humanity  than  the  event, 
which  is  the  result  of  inexorable  causations  wholly 
beyond  our  knowledge.  That  America  could  not 
have  remained  much  longer  hidden  from  the  civilized 
world  does  not  lessen  the  vivid  interest  which  at 
taches  to  the  man  Columbus,  as  he  plods  along  the 
dusty  highway  toward  Huelva,  leading  by  the  hand 
his  boy,  and  bearing  upon  his  shoulders  the  more 
immediate  destinies  of  nations. 

(155) 


156  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

Nor  are  we  indifferent  to  the  agencies  that  evolved 
the  agent.  Every  signal  success  springs  from  a  for 
tuitous  conjunction  of  talent  and  opportunity;  from 
a  coalition  of  taste  or  training  with  the  approaching 
fancy  or  dominant  idea  of  the  times.  While  assist 
ing  his  father  wool-combing,  the  youthful  Genoese 
was  toughening  his  sinews  and  acquiring  habits  of 
industry;  while  studying  geometry  and  Latin  at 
Pavia,  while  serving  as  sailor  in  the  Mediterranean, 
or  cruising  the  high  seas  as  corsair,  he  was  knitting 
more  firmly  the  tissues  of  his  mind,  and  strengthen 
ing  his  courage  for  the  life-conflict  which  was  to 
follow.  Without  such  discipline,  in  vain  from  the 
north  and  south  and  west  mi^ht  Progress  come 

O  O 

whispering  him  secrets;  for  inspiration  without  action 
is  but  impalpable  breath,  leaving  no  impression,  and 
genius  unseasoned  by  application  decomposes  to  cor 
ruption  all  the  more  rank  by  reason  of  its  richness. 

His  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  Bartolommeo 
Perestrello,  a  distinguished  navigator  under  Prince 
Henry;  his  map-making  as  means  of  support;  his 
residence  on  the  isle  of  Porto  Santo,  and  his  interest 
while  there  in  maritime  discovery;  his  conversations 
and  correspondence  with  navigators  and  cosmogra- 
phers  in  various  quarters;  his  zealous  study  of  the 
writings  of  Marco  Polo,  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  and 
Carpini,  and  his  eager  absorption  of  the  fantastic 
tale  of  Antonio  Leone,  of  Madeira;  his  ponderings 
on  ocean  mysteries,  and  his  struggles  with  poverty; 
his  audience  of  John  of  Portugal,  and  the  treachery 
of  that  monarch  in  attempting  to  anticipate  his  plans 
by  secretly  sending  out  a  vessel,  and  the  deserved 
defeat  which  followed;  his  sending  his  brother  Bar- 
tolome  with  proposals  to  England;  his  stealing  from 
Lisbon  with  his  son  Diego,  lest  he  should  be  arrested 
for  debt;  his  supposed  application  to  Genoa;  his 
interviews  with  the  dukes  of  Medina  Sidonia  and 
Medina  Celi,  and  the  letter  of  the  latter  to  Queen 
Isabella  of  Castile ;  his  visit  to  the  court  at  Cordova, 


TERMS  OF  AGREEMENT.  157 

and  the  dark  days  attending  it;  the  conference  of 
learned  men  at  Salamanca,  and  .their  unfavorable 
verdict;  the  weary  waitings  on  the  preoccupied  sov 
ereigns  at  Malaga  and  Seville;  the  succor  given  at 
La  Rdbida,  and  the  worthy  prior's  intercession  with 
the  queen;  the  humble  dignity  of  the  mariner  at 
Granada  amidst  scenes  of  oriental  splendor  and  gen 
eral  rejoicings,  which  only  intensified  his  discontent; 
the  lofty  constancy  in  his  demands  when  once  a  royal 
hearing  was  obtained;  the  fresh  disappointment  after 
such  long  delay,  and  the  proud  bitterness  of  spirit 
with  which  he  turned  his  back  on  Spain  to  seek  in 
France  a  patron  for  his  schemes;  the  final  appeal  of 
Santangel,  who  afterward  assisted  in  obtaining  the 
money,  and  the  conversion  of  Isabella,  who  now 
offered,  if  necessary,  to  pledge  her  jewels  to  meet  the 
charges  of  the  voyage;  the  despatching  of  a  royal 
courier  after  the  determined  fugitive,  who  returned 
in  joy  to  receive  the  tardy  aid — these  incidents  in 
the  career  of  Columbus  are  a  household  story. 

And  therein,  thus  far,  we  see  displayed  great  per 
sistency  of  purpose  by  one  possessed  of  a  conception 
so  stupendous  as  to  overwhelm  well-nigh  the  strong 
est;  by  one  not  over-scrupulous  in  money-matters, 
or  morality;  proud  and  sensitive  whenever  the  pet 
project  is  touched,  but  affable  enough  otherwise, 
and  not  above  begging  upon  necessity.  It  was  a 
long  time  to  wait,  eighteen  years,  when  every  day 
was  one  of  alternate  hope  and  despair;  and  they  were 
not  altogether  worthless,  those  noiseless  voices  from 
another  world,  which  kept  alive  in  him  the  inspira 
tion  that  oft-times  now  appeared  as  the  broken 
tracery  of  a  half-remembered  dream. 

An  agreement  was  made  by  the  sovereigns  and 
the  mariner,  that  to  Columbus,  his  heirs  and  succes 
sors  forever,  should  be  secured  the  office  of  admiral, 
and  the  titles  of  viceroy  and  governor-general  of  all 
the  lands  and  seas  he  should  discover,  with  power 
to  nominate  candidates  from  whom  the  sovereigns 


158  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

might  choose  rulers  for  the  realms  discovered;  that 
one  tenth  of  the  net  returns  of  gold,  pearls,  or  other 
commodities  brought  therefrom  should  be  his;  that 
in  disputes  arising  from  the  new  traffic  he,  or  his 
lieutenant,  should  be  sole  arbitrator  within  his 
domain,  the  high  admiral  of  Castile  being  judge 
within  his  district;  and  that  by  contributing  one 
eighth  of  the  cost  of  any  enterprise  to  the  regions 
found  by  him  he  should  receive  one  eighth  the 
profits.  To  these  dignities  and  prerogatives  was 
added  the  right  of  the  discoverer,  and  of  his  heirs, 
to  prefix  to  their  names  the  title  'Don,'  which  should 
elevate  them  into  respectability  beside  the  grandees 
of  Spain.  This  agreement  was  signed  by  Ferdinand 
as  well  as  by  Isabella,  although  the  crown  of  Castile 
alone  assumed  the  risk,  and  alone  was  to  receive  the 
benefit. 

It  was  not  a  common  spectacle  in  those  days  along 
the  southern  seaboard  of  Spain,  that  of  science  whip 
ping  superstition  into  its  service.  Nevertheless,  by 
royal  order,  reiterated  by  Penalosa  in  person  with 
pronounced  effect,  the  devil-fearers  of  Palos  were 
forced  to  provide  ships  and  seamen  for  what  they 
regarded  as  anything  but  an  orthodox  adventure. 
This  they  did  with  the  greatest  reluctance.  Even 
under  pressure  of  that  civil  and  ecclesiastical  tyranny 
which  bowed  mankind  to  the  dust,  even  though  com 
manded  by  the  king,  and  with  all  things  sanctified  to 
their  service  by  the  priest,  these  mechanical  sea 
farers,  who  halted  not  before  tangible  danger  in  any 
form,  shrank  from  the  awful  uncertainty  of  a  plunge 
into  the  mysteries  of  the  dim,  lowering,  unintelli 
gible  west.  Then  came  bravely  forward  the  brothers 
Pinzon,  and  not  only  assisted  in  providing  two  ships, 
so  that  Queen  Isabella,  after  all,  might  wear  her 
jewels  while  her  deputy  was  scouring  the  high  seas 
for  new  dominions,  but  furnished  Columbus  with 
money  to  equip  another  vessel  and  to  pay  his  eighth 


FIRST  VOYAGE.  159 

of  the  charge  which  should  secure  him  one  eighth  of 
the  profits  — a  service  never  sufficiently  remembered 
or  rewarded  by  either  Columbus,  his  masters,  or 
successors. 

The  expedition  comprised  one  hundred  and  twenty 
men,  in  three  small  vessels,  the  Santa  Maria, 
decked,  and  carrying  the  flag  of  the  admiral,  and 
the  Pinta  and  Nina,  open  caravels,  commanded  by 
Martin  Alonso  Pinzon  and  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon 
respectively.  Among  others  were  the  inspector- 
general  of  the  armament,  Rodrigo  Sanchez;  the 
chief  alguacil,  Diego  de  Arana;  the  royal  notary, 
Rodrigo  de  Escobar;  and  four  pilots,  Francisco 
Martin  Pinzon,  Sancho  Ruiz,  Pedro  Alonso  Nino, 
and  Bartolome  Roldan.  The  commander -in -chief 
with  his  tall,  enduring  form  bowed  by  an  idea;  his 
long,  thin  face,  with  its  large,  round  eyes,  high 
forehead,  straight,  pointed  nose;  features,  in  which 
tenacity  and  gloom  struggled  for  the  predominance, 
surrounded  by  thin  locks  and  gray  beard  —  was 
scarcely  a  personage  either  to  inspire  confidence  or 
win  affection.  The  squadron  sailed  from  the  port 
of  Palos  August  3,  1492. 

But  for  the  fact  that  it  was  the  first,  the  voyage 
was  quite  commonplace;  the  most  serious  occur 
rences  being  the  breaking  of  a  rudder,  which  obliged 
the  expedition  to  put  in  at  the  Canaries  for  repairs, 
and  the  variation  of  the  needle,  which  caused  a  little 
fright  among  the  pilots.  The  sea  wTas  tranquil, 
toward  the  last  extremely  so,  and  the  wind  generally 
favorable;  yet  no  small  trepidation  attended  this 
gradual  loosening  of  hold  upon  the  substantial  world, 
and  the  drifting  daily  farther  and  farther  into  the 
fathomless  unknown.  Hence  it  was  with  the  wildest 
joy  that  early  in  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  October 
the  cry  of  Land !  was  heard,  and  that  soon  afterward 
the  venturesome  navigators  felt  beneath  their  feet 
the  indubitable  isle  to  which  they  gave  the  name 
San  Salvador,  taking  possession  for  Castile. 


160  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

Now  the  sovereigns  had  promised  that  he  who  first 
saw  land  should  be  recompensed  by  a  pension  of  ten 
thousand  rnaravedis,  equivalent  to  thirty-six  dollars. 
It  was  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  that  Rodrigo 
de  Triana,  a  mariner  on  board  the  Pinta,  gave  the 
signal,  the  first  that  proved  true  after  several  had 
been  mistakenly  made;  whereupon  he  claimed  the 
reward.  But  previously,  during  the  night,  Columbus 
had  fancied  he  descried  a  fitful  light  that  should  be 
on  some  shore.  On  the  strength  of  this  surmise  he 
secured  to  himself  the  insignificant  sum,  which,  to 
say  nothing  of  its  justness,  was  not  a  very  magnan 
imous  proceeding  in  so  great  a  discoverer.  We  are 
told  of  Triana,  that,  burning  under  a  sense  of  wrong, 
after  returning  to  Spain,  he  passed  into  Africa  and 
turned  Mahometan.  However  this  may  have  been, 
dawn  had  shown  them  the  island,  which  seemed 
itself  but  dawn,  to  be  dispelled  by  the  full  sun's  rays 
when  the  night's  dream  had  passed.  Over  the  track 
less  waste  of  sea,  suspended  between  earth  and  sky, 
the  good  ships  had  felt  their  way,  until  now,  like 
goddesses,  they  sa±  at  anchor  on  the  other  side  of 
Ocean. 

Though  this  land  was  unlike  the  Zipangu  of  his 
dreams,  Columbus  was  not  disposed  to  complain;  but 
rather,  midst  tears  and  praises,  to  kiss  the  earth,  be 
it  of  whatsoever  quality,  and  smile  benignantly  upon 
the  naked  natives  that  crept  timidly  forward,  won 
dering  whether  the  ships  were  monsters  of  the  deep, 
or  bright  beings  dropped  from  heaven. 

Of  a  truth,  it  was  a  wonderful  place,  this  India  of 
Marco  Polo  that  the  Genoese  now  sought.  Inter- 

O 

sected  by  rivers  and  canals,  spanned  by  bridges  under 
which  the  largest  ships  might  sail,  were  fertile  prov 
inces  fragrant  with  fruit  and  spices.  Mangi  alone 
boasted  twelve  thousand  cities  with  gorgeous  palaces, 
whose  pillars  and  roofs  were  emblazoned  in  gold,  and 
so  situated  as  to  be  compassed  within  a  few  days7 


THE  TWO  INDIAS  COMPARED.  161 

travel.  The  cities  and  fortresses  of  Cathay  were 
counted  by  tens  of  thousands,  and  their  busy  popu 
lation  by  millions.  On  every  side  were  gardens 
and  luxurious  groves ;  pleasure-boats  and  banqueting- 
barges  floated  on  the  lakes,  and  myriads  of  white 
sails  swept  over  the  bays.  The  mountains  were 
veined  with  silver,  the  river-beds  paved  with  gold, 
and  pearls  were  as  common  as  pebbles.  Sheep  were 
as  large  as  oxen,  and  oxen  were  as  large  as  elephants. 
Birds  of  brilliant  plumage  filled  the  enchanting  air, 
and  strange  beasts  of  beauty  and  utility  roamed  the 
forests.  The  inhabitants  were  arrayed  in  silks  and 
furs,  and  fed  on  luscious  viands;  there  were  living 
springs  that  cured  all  diseases.  The  army  of  the 
great  Khan,  the  happy  ruler  of  all  these  glories, 
was  in  number  as  the  grains  of  the  sand  which  the 
sea  surrounds;  and  as  for  vessels  of  war,  and  horses, 
and  elephants,  there  were  a  thousand  times  ten  thou 
sand.  What  a  contrast  to  such  a  creation  was  this 
low-lying  strip  of  jungle-covered  sand,  peopled  by 
copper-hued  creatures  dwelling  in  huts,  and  sustain 
ing  life  by  the  natural  products  of  the  unkempt 
earth  !  This,  however,  was  but  an  outlying  island 
of  Cathay;  the  main-land  of  Asia  could  not  be  far 
distant;  in  any  event,  here  was  India,  and  these 
people  were  Indians. 

There  was  little  enough,  now  appearing,  in  the 
India  thus  far  found  to  enrich  Spain.  In  their  noses 
the  natives  displayed  gold,  always  a  royal  monopoly 
when  discovered ;  and  they  brought  cotton  for  barter, 
on  which  the  admiral  immediately  laid  the  same 
restriction.  Being  informed,  by  signs,  that  the  metal 
came  from  the  south,  after  examining  the  shore 
thereabout  in  boats,  the  Spaniards  set  sail  on  the 
14th,  took  possession  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Concep- 
cion  on  the  loth,  of  Fernandina,  now  Exuma,  the 
day  following,  and  afterward  of  Isabela,  now  Isla 
Larga,  or  Long  Island;  also  of  a  group  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  Islas  de  Arena.  Soils  and 

HIST.  GEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    11 


162  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

other  substances,  atmospheres  and  sunshines,  were 
all  familiar;  plants  and  animals,  though  differing  in 
degree  and  kind,  were  similar  to  those  they  had 
always  been  accustomed  to  see.  One  creation  was 
everywhere  apparent;  one  nature;  one  rule.  It  was 
wonderful,  stupendous!  And  if  these  human  kind 
have  souls,  what  a  jubilee  is  here  in  dressing  them 
for  eternity! 

Crossing  the  Bahama  Bank,  they  came  on  the 
28th  to  Cuba,  which  Columbus  called  Juana,  and 
which,  with  its  dense  uprolling  green  spangled  with 
parrots,  gay  woodpeckers,  and  humming-birds,  scarlet 
flamingoes  and  glittering  insects;  its  trees  of  royal 
palm,  cocoanut,  cedar,  mahogany,  and  shrubs  of 
spicy  fragrance;  its  unknown  fruits  and  foods;  its 
transparent  waters  whose  finny  denizens  flashed  back 
the  sunlight  from  their  variegated  scales,  all  under 

o  o 

the  brightest  of  skies,  all  breathed  upon  by  softest 
airs,  and  lapped  in  serenest  seas,  was  more  like  his 
own  Zipangu,  if,  indeed,  it  was  not  Mangi  itself. 

Coasting  eastward,  the  Pinta  sailed  away  and  left 
the  other  vessels,  and  it  was  with  deep  chagrin  that 
Columbus  saw  no  attention  paid  his  signals  to  return. 
Pinzon  had  heard  of  gold-fields  in  advance  of  him, 
and  he  was  going  to  reap  them.  The  wreck  of  the 
Santa  Maria  a  month  afterward,  leaving  the  admiral 
only  the  little  Nina,  made  his  situation  all  the  more 
critical,  and  set  his  anger  blazing  afresh  over  the 
desertion.  Nor  was  this  the  first  indication  of 
mutiny  and  disruption  among  his  people  during  the 
voyage.  If  the  truth  must  be  told,  the  character  of 
the  man,  though  inured  to  the  cruel  hardihood  of  the 
age,  seems  here  to  be  undergoing  change ;  else  it  was 
not  originally  as  either  he  or  his  friends  have  esti 
mated.  The  new  and  varied  experiences  amidst  the 
new  and  varied  phenomena  attending  the  idea  and 
its  consummation  make  it  a  matter  of  no  wonder 
that  his  head  began  to  be  a  little  turned.  He  had 
pondered  painfully  on  what  Aristotle  taught  regard- 


SAILING  AMONG  THE  ISLANDS.  163 

ing  the  sphericity  of  the  earth,  on  what  Seneca  said 
about  sailing  to  the  Indies  westwardly,  and  on  the 
terrestrial  paradise  placed  by  Dante  at  the  antipodes 
of  the  holy  city;  and  now  he  was  here  among  those 
happy  regions  of  which  so  long  ago  philosophers  had 
spoken  and  poets  sung.  Under  the  inspiration  of 
rare  intelligence,  and  by  wonderful  courage  and  force 
of  will,  this  Genoese  sailor  had  brought  to  his  own 

'  O 

terms  the  world's  proudest  sovereigns.  Success,  in 
his  mind  the  most  perfect,  the  most  complete,  was  by 
this  time  proved  beyond  peradventure.  At  the  out 
set  he  had  suspected  himself  the  special  agent  of  the 
supernatural;  now  he  was  sure  of  it.  It  was  meet, 
therefore,  that  all  men  should  fear  and  obey  him. 
Impelled  to  activity,  he  was  impelled,  if  necessary, 
to  severity.  During  the  passage  he  had  deemed 
it  expedient  several  times  to  deceive  the  sailors, 
who  were  consequently  backward  about  reposing  in 
him  the  respect  and  confidence  due  a  commander. 
Suspicious  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns  from  the  first, 
his  fears  constantly  increased  as  the  magnitude  of 
his  discovery  slowly  unfolded  before  him,  that  he 
should  eventually  be  robbed  of  it.  He  was  jealous 
lest  any  of  those  who  had  shared  with  him  the  perils 
of  the  adventure  should  secure  to  themselves  some 
part  of  the  honor  or  profit  attending  it.  He  had 
quarrelled  with  the  Pinzons,  who,  having  staked 
their  money  and  lives  on  what  was  generally  regarded 
a  mad  risk,  thought  some  consideration  from  the 
commander  their  due.  The  admiral's  temper  was 
tamed  somewhat  by  the  very  boldness  of  Pinzon's 
act;  for  when  the  Pinta  returned  from  her  cruis- 
ings,  little  was  then  said  about  it;  but  if  ever  the 
opportunity  should  come,  her  commander  must  pay 
dearly  for  his  disobedience. 

Cuba  failed  to  display  any  opulent  oriental  city, 
but  furnished  tobacco  and  maize,  gifts  from  sav- 
agism  to  civilization  as  comforting,  perhaps,  as  any 
received  in  return.  The  mariners  next  discovered 


164  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

and  coasted  Hayti,  or  Espanola,  thus  occupying  the 
greater  part  of  December.  On  the  northern  side 
of  the  island,  out  of  the  wrecked  Santa  Maria 
and  her  belongings,  Columbus  built  and  equipped  a 
fortress,  which  he  called  La  Navidad;  and  leaving 
there  thirty-nine  men  under  command  of  Diego  de 
Arana,  with  Pedro  Gutierrez  and  Rodrigo  de  Esco- 
bedo,  lieutenants,  on  the  4th  of  January,  1493,  he 
embarked  for  Spain.  Those  left  behind  were  ex 
pected  by  the  ardent-minded  admiral,  during  his 
absence,  to  obtain,  in  trade,  a  ton  of  gold,  beside 
discovering  mines  and  spices. 

Violent  storms  attended  the  homeward  voyage; 
but  on  the  15th  of  March  the  expedition  reached 
Palos  in  safetv,  after  touching  at  the  Azores  and 

«//  O 

the  coast  of  Portugal.  Then  followed  rejoicings. 
Over  Spain,  over  Europe,  the  tidings  flew:  A  New 
World  to  the  westward !  Bells  rang  and  choirs 
pealed  hosannas.  A  New  World  for  Spain;  now 
were  their  Catholic  Majesties  well  paid  by  their 
heavenly  master  for  brave  doings  on  Mahometans 
and  Jews ! 

With  six  natives,  and  divers  birds  and  plants  and 
other  specimens  from  the  Islands,  Columbus  set  out 
for  Barcelona,  then  the  residence  of  the  Spanish  sov 
ereigns.  Throughout  the  journey,  the  highway  and 
houses  were  thronged  with  spectators  eager  for  a 
glimpse  of  the  strange  spectacle.  Arrived  at  court, 
the  great  mariner  was  most  graciously  received, 
being  permitted  even  to  be  seated  in  the  presence  of 
royalty.  He  told  his  tale.  It  is  said  that  all  present 
wept.  Columbus  was  as  much  excited  as  any.  In 
a  delirium  of  joy  he  vowed  within  seven  years  to 
appoint  an  army  of  four  thousand  horse  and  fifty 
thousand  foot  for  the  rescue  of  Jerusalem,  and  to  pay 
the  cost  out  of  his  own  pocket;  but,  Unfortunately,  he 
never  found  himself  in  funds  sufficient  to  fulfjl  his 
pious  promise.  The  original  compact  between  the 
sovereigns  and  the  discoverer  was  confirmed,  and  to 


A  HAPPY  PEOPLE.  165 

the  latter  was  granted  a  family  coat  of  arms.  While 
Columbus  was  feted  by  the  nobles,  and  all  the  world 
resounded  with  his  praises,  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon 
lay  a-dying;  the  reward  for  his  invaluable  services, 
exceeding  a  hundred-fold  all  that  Isabella  and  Ferdi 
nand  together  had  done,  being  loss  of  property,  loss 
of  health,  the  insults  of  the  admiral,  the  scorn  of  the 
queen,  all  now  happily  crowned  by  speedy  death. 

Never  had  nature  made,  within  historic  times,  a 
paradise  more  perfect  than  this  Cuba  and  this  Hayti 
that  the  Genoese  had  found.  Never  was  a  sylvan 
race  more  gentle,  more  hospitable  than  that  which 
peopled  this  primeval  garden.  Naked,  because  they 
needed  not  clothing;  dwelling  under  palm-leaves, 
such  being  sufficient  protection;  their  sustenance  the 
spontaneous  gifts  of  the  ever  generous  land  and  sea; 
undisturbed  by  artificial  curbings  and  corrections,  and 
tormented  by  no  ambitions,  their  life  was  a  summer 
day,  as  blissful  as  mortals  can  know.  It  was  as 
Eden;  without  work  they  might  enjoy  all  that  earth 
could  give.  Disease  and  pain  they  scarcely  knew; 
only  death  was  terrible.  In  their  social  intercourse 
they  were  sympathizing,  loving,  and  decorous,  prac 
tising  the  sublimest  religious  precepts  without  know 
ing  it,  and  serving  Christ  far  more  perfectly  than 
the  Christians  themselves.  With  strangers  the  men 
were  frank,  cordial,  honest;  the  women  artless  and 
compliant.  Knowing  no  guile,  they  suspected  none. 
Possessing  all  things,  they  gave  freely  of  that  which 
cost  them  nothing.  Having  no  laws,  they  broke 
none;  circumscribed  by  no  conventional  moralities, 
they  were  not  immoral.  If  charity  be  the  highest 
virtue,  and  purity  and  peace  the  greatest  good,  then 
were  these  savages  far  better  and  happier  beings 
than  any  civilization  could  boast.  That  they  pos 
sessed  any  rights,  any  natural  or  inherent  privileges 
in  regard  to  their  lands  or  their  lives;  that  these 
innocent  and  inoffensive  people  were  not  fit  subjects 


1G6  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

for  coercion,  conversion,  robbery,  enslavement,  and 
slaughter,  was  a  matter  which  seems  never  to  have 
been  questioned  at  that  time  by  any  priest  or  poten 
tate  of  Christendom.  However  invalid  in  any  of  the 
Spanish  courts  might  have  been  the  argument  of  a 
house-breaker,  that  in  the  room  he  entered  he  dis 
covered  a  purse  of  gold,  and  took  it,  Spaniards  never 
thought  of  applying  such  logic  to  themselves  in 
regard  to  the  possessions  of  the  unbaptized  in  the 
new  lands  their  Genoese  had  found. 

What  Spain  required  now  was  a  title  such  as  the 
neighboring  nations  of  Europe  should  recognize  as 
valid.  So  far  as  the  doctrine  was  concerned,  of  ap 
propriating  to  themselves  the  possessions  of  others, 
they  were  all  equally  sound  in  it.  Europe  with  her 
steel  and  saltpetre  and  magnetic  needle  was  stronger 
than  naked  barbarians,  whose  possessions  were  there 
upon  seized  as  fast  as  found.  The  right  to  such 
robbery  has  been  held  sacred  since  the  earliest  records 
of  the  human  race;  and  it  was  by  this  time  legalized 
by  the  civilized  nations.  Savagism  had  no  rights; 
the  world  belonged  to  civilization,  to  Christianity 
if  Christ  were  stronger  than  Mahomet,  to  whatever 
idea,  principle,  or  power  that  could  take  it.  In  none 
of  their  pretended  principles,  in  none  of  their  codes 
of  honor  or  ethics,  was  there  any  other  ultimate 
appeal  than  brute  force;  their  deity  they  made  to  fit 
the  occasion,  whatever  that  might  be.  This  they 
did  not  know,  however.  They  thought  themselves 
patterns  of  justice  and  fair  morality;  and 'all  that 
troubled  them  was  in  what  attitude  they  would  stand 
toward  each  other  with  regard  to  their  several  dis 
coveries  and  conquests.  The  recognized  theory  of 
Christendom  was  that  the  earth  belonged  to  the  Lord 
who  made  it,  and  the  children  of  the  Lord  were  alone 
entitled  to  inherit  it.  The  unconverted  were  the  sons 
of  Belial,  the  enemies  of  God,  and  as  such  should  be 
exterminated.  The  Almighty  ruled  not  this  world 
in  person,  but  through  the  pope  at  Rome,  whose 


THE  WORLD  PARTITIONED  BY  THE  POPE.  167 

captain  and  vicegerent  he  was,  and  whom  all  princes 
even  must  obey.  The  first  right,  as  they  chose  to 
call  their  claim,  was  that  of  discovery.  To  the  finder 
belonged  the  spoils,  but  always  in  the  name  of  God, 
the  creator,  the  owner.  God  and  Mahomet,  or  God 
and  Christ,  Mahomet  or  Christ,  whichsoever  was  the 
stronger,  in  his  name  should  the  thievery  be  done. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  being 
Christian,  applied  for  a  confirmation  of  title  to  Alex 
ander  VI. ,  then  sovereign  pontiff  of  Christendom,  at 
the  same  time  insinuating,  in  a  somewhat  worldly 
fashion,  that  learned  men  regarded  the  rights  of  their 
Catholic  Majesties  secure  enough  even  without  such 
confirmation.  No  valid  objections  before  the  holy 
tribunal  could  be  raised  against  Christian  princes 
powerful  enough  to  sustain  their  pretensions  to  own 
ership  while  propagating  the  true  faith  in  heathen 
lands;  but  Pope  Eugene  IV.  and  his  successors  had 
already  granted  Portugal  all  lands  discovered  by 
Portuguese  from  Cape  Bojador  to  the  Indies.  In 
order,  therefore,  to  avoid  conflict,  the  bull  issued  the 
2d  of  May,  1493,  ceding  Spain  the  same  rights 
respecting  discoveries  already  granted  Portugal,  was 
on  the  day  following  defined  to  this  effect: — An  im 
aginary  line  of  demarcation  should  be  drawn  from 
pole  to  pole,  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores 
and  Cape  Verde  Islands;  all  lands  discovered  east  of 
that  line  should  be  Portugal's,  while  west  of  that 
line  all  should  belong  to  Spain.  Thus  by  a  very 
mortal  breath  and  the  flourish  of  a  pen,  the  unknown 
world,  with  all  its  multitudes  of  interests  and  inhab 
itants,  was  divided  between  these  two  sovereignties, 
occupying  the  peninsula  of  south-western  Europe; 
though  in  their  wisdom  they  forgot  that  if  the  world 
was  round,  Portugal  in  going  east  and  Spain  in  going 
west  must  somewhere  meet,  and  might  yet  quarrel 
on  the  other  side.  Subsequently,  that  is  to  say  on 
the  7th  of  June,  1494,  by  treaty  between  Spain  and 
Portugal  the  papal  line  of  partition  was  removed, 


168  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

making  it  three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues  west 
of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  Portugal  having  com 
plained  of  want  of  sea-room  for  southern  enterprise. 
This  removal  ultimately  gave  the  Portuguese  Brazil. 
And  ecclesiastics  claim  that  care  was  ever  exercised 
by  the  Spanish  crown  to  comply  with  the  obligations 
thus  laid  upon  it  by  this  holy  sanction. 

Appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the 
New  World  was  Juan  Rodriguez  de  Fonseca,  arch 
deacon  of  Seville,  and  afterward  patriarch  of  the 
Indies.  Although  high  in  ecclesiastical  preferment, 
he  was  a  bustling  man  of  business,  and  ably  filled  the 
office  during  a  period  of  some  thirty  years.  Of  un 
flinching  devotion  to  his  sovereign,  sedate,  stern  in 
the  accomplishment  of  his  duty,  and  obliged  as  he 
was,  in  the  interests  of  the  crown,  to  exercise  occa 
sional  restraint  on  the  rashness  or  presumption  of  the 
conquerors,  he  incurred  their  enmity  and  was  reviled 
by  their  biographers.  That  he  was  retained  so  long 
in  office  by  such  able  monarchs  as  Ferdinand  and 
Charles  goes  far  to  prove  invalid  the  charges  of 
misrule  and  villainy  so  liberally  made  against  him. 
Associated  with  Fonseca  was  Francisco  Pinelo,  as 
treasurer,  and  Juan  de  Soria  as  contador,  or  auditor. 
Their  chief  office  was  at  Seville,  with  a  custom-house 
at  Cadiz  belonging  to  the  same  department.  This 
was  the  germ  of  the  famous  Casa  de  Contratacion  de 
las  Indicts,  or  India  House  of  Trade,  so  long  domi 
nant  in  the  government  of  the  New  World. 

Thus  all  went  swimmingly.  Columbus  found  no 
difficulty  in  fitting  out  a  fleet  for  a  second  venture,  a 
royal  order  being  issued  that  all  captains,  with  their 
ships  and  crews,  in  all  the  Andalusian  ports,  should 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  for  that  purpose.  Sev 
enteen  vessels  sailed  from  Cadiz  the  25th  of  Septem 
ber,  1493,  having  on  board  twelve  hundred  persons,— 
miners,  mechanics,  agriculturists,  and  gentlemen, — with 
horses,  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  hogs,  and  fowls;  the  seeds 
of  vegetables,  of  orchard  fruits,  of  oranges,  lemons, 


THE  SECOND  VOYAGE.  169 

melons,  and  grain  for  planting;  together  with  pro 
visions,  medicines,  implements,  goods  for  trade,  arms, 
ammunition,  and  all  the  requirements  for  founding 
a  colony.  Among  the  passengers  were  Diego  Colon, 
the  admiral's  brother,  Bernal  Diaz  de  Pisa,  contador, 
Fermin  Cedo,  assay er,  and  Alonso  de  Ojeda  and 
Juan  de  la  Cosa,  subsequently  famous  in  New  World 
discoveries;  also  twelve  priests,  chief  among  whom 
was  Bernardo  Buil,  a  Benedictine  monk,  sent  by  the 
pope  as  his  apostolic  vicar,  with  all  the  ornaments 
and  vestments  for  full  service;  also  bloodhounds  to 
aid  in  Christianizing  and  civilizing  the  natives.  The 
work  of  conversion  had  already  been  begun  by  bap 
tizing  in  solemn  state  the  six  savages  brought  over 

£}  O  O 

by  Columbus,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  with  Prince 
Juan  standing  sponsors.  The  3d  of  November  the 
expedition  reached  Dominica,  so  named  from  the  day 
of  arrival,  Sunday.  Next  was  discovered  an  island 
to  which  Columbus  gave  the  name  of  his  ship,  Mari- 
galante;  then  Guadalupe,  where  were  tamed  geese, 
and  pine-apples,  also  human  bones,  significant  of  the 
presence  of  the  horror-breeding  Caribs,  or  cannibals. 
Thus  cruising  among  these  Caribbee  Islands,  and 
naming  them  one  after  another,  Columbus  continued 
his  way  and  finally  came  to  Navidad,  only  to  find  the 
fortress  in  ruins,  its  former  occupants  having  fallen 
victims  to  their  own  licentiousness. 

Choosing  a  site  a  little  to  the  east  of  Navidad,  still 
on  the  north  side  of  Hayti,  the  Spaniards  landed 
their  effects,  and  laid  out  a  city,  which  they  called 
Isabela,  surrounding  it  with  ramparts.  As  soon  as 
the  vessels  could  be  laden  with  gold,  they  were  to  be 
sent  back  to  Spain;  but  the  death  of  the  Spaniards 
left  at  Navidad  had  somewhat  marred  original  plans. 

While  Columbus  lay  ill,  directing  affairs  as  best  he 
might,  early  in  January,  1494,  two  parties  under 
Ojeda  and  Grorvalan  reconnoitred  the  island,  each  in  a 
different  direction,  and  returning,  reported  gold.  As 
it  was  inconvenient  to  their  anchorage,  and  as  many 


170  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

of  the  colonists  were  prostrate  with  disease,  it  was 
deemed  best  to  let  the  ships  go  back  empty  rather 
than  detain  them  longer;  hence,  on  the  2d  of  Feb 
ruary,  twelve  of  the  largest  craft  put  to  sea  under 
command  of  Antonio  de  Torres,  having  on  board 
further  specimens  of  the  people  and  products  of  the 
country.  By  this  departure  was  sent  a  request  for 
immediate  supplies. 

Murmurs  now  arose  against  Columbus,  the  sick 
and  disappointed  claiming,  and  not  wholly  without 
cause,  that  he  had  deceived  them,  had  lured  them 
thither  with  false  hopes  to  die.  And  they  begged 
Diaz  de  Pisa,  already  at  the  head  of  a  faction,  and 
Cedo,  who  said  there  was  not  gold  in  those  isles  in 
paying  quantities,  to  seize  the  remaining  ships  and 
sail  with  them  for  Spain.  But  the  admiral,  hearing 
of  it,  arrested  Diaz,  and  held  him  in  irons  on  board 
one  of  the  vessels  to  await  trial  in  Spain. 

Recovered  from  illness,  Columbus  left  his  brother 
Diego  in  command  at  Isabela,  and  set  out,  at  the 
head  of  four  hundred  men,  for  the  golden  mountains 
of  Cibao,  in  the  interior  of  the  island,  intending 
there  to  build  a  fortress,  and  to  work  the  mines  on 
an  extensive  scale.  Arrived  at  a  favorable  locality, 
where  gold  seemed  plentiful  in  the  brooks,  the  Span 
iards  threw  up  a  strong  wooden  fort,  which  they 
called  Santo  Tomds,  a  piece  of  pleasantry  aimed 
at  the  doubting  assayer,  Cedo.  Leaving  in  com 
mand  Pedro  Margarite,  Columbus  returned  to  Isa 
bela.  Afterward  a  smaller  post  was  built,  called 
Magdalena,  and  the  command  was  given  to  Luis  de 
Arriaga. 

The  natives  could  not  welcome  so  large  an  invasion, 
which  they  now  clearly  saw  would  bring  upon  them 
serious  results.  Thereupon  they  withdrew  from  the 
vicinity  of  Santo  Tomas,  refusing  all  intercourse  with 
its  inmates;  and  as  a  Spanish  hidalgo  could  by  no 
means  work,  even  at  gold-gathering,  success  in  that 
direction  was  not  marked.  Provisions  and  medicine 


COLONIZATION  A  FAILURE.  171 

then  began  to  fail,  and  fresh  discontent  arose,  even 
Father  Buil  arraying  himself  in  opposition  to  the 
admiral. 

As  much  to  keep  his  people  occupied  as  through 
any  expectation  of  profit,  Columbus  sent  another 
expedition  into  the  interior  of  Hayti,  and  himself 
crossed  to  the  south  side  of  Cuba  in  three  caravels, 
intending  thence  to  reach  Cathay.  Soon  he  discov 
ered  to  the  southward  a  lofty  isle,  which  he  called  at 
first  Santa  Gloria,  then  Santiago,  but  which  finally 
retained  its  native  name,  Jamaica,  that  is  to  say, 
Island  of  Springs.  After  reaching  nearly  the  west 
ern  end  of  Cuba,  thinking  it  still  the  continent  of 
Asia,  and  that  possibly  he  might  by  that  way  reach 
Spain,  in  which  event  he  could  then  see  what  was 
beyond,  he  coasted  the  south  sides  of  Jamaica  arid 
Hayti,  and  returned  to  Isabela,  where  he  arrived 
insensible  from  excitement  and  fatigue.  When  he 
awoke  to  bodily  suffering,  which  for  a  time  had  been 
drowned  in  delirious  energy,  there,  to  his  great  joy, 
he  found  his  brother  Bartolome,  who  had  come  from 
Spain  with  three  well-laden  ships  to  his  assistance. 

Great  events  generally  choose  great  men  for  their 
accomplishment,  though  not  unfrequently  we  see  no , 
small  dust  raised  by  an  insignificant  agent.  As  a 
mariner  and  discoverer,  Columbus  had  no  superior; 
as  colonist  and  governor,  he  had  by  this  time  proved 
himself  a  failure.  There  are  some  things  great  men 
cannot  do  as  well  as  their  inferiors.  It  was  one 
thing  to  rule  at  sea,  and  quite  another  to  rule  on 
shore.  In  bringing  to  his  India  these  unruly  Span 
iards,  he  had  sown  for  himself  the  whirlwind.  Had 
he  been  less  pretentious,  less  ambitious,  less  grasping, 
his  later  days  would  have  been  more  successful  as  well 
as  more  peaceful.  Discovery  was  his  infatuation;  he 
was  never  for  a  moment  unattended  by  a  consuming 
curiosity  to  find  a  western  way  to  civilized  India. 
Had  he  been  possessed  of  sound  practical  judgment 


172  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

in  the  matter,  of  the  same  knowledge  of  himself  and 
of  political  affairs  that  he  had  of  navigation,  he  would 
have  seen  that  he  could  not,  at  the  same  time,  gratify 
his  passion  for  discovery  and  successfully  govern  col 
onies.  In  his  fatal  desire  to  assume  rulership,  and 
upon  the  ill-understood  reports  of  simple  savages, 
with  no  knowledge  of  the  resources  or  capabilities 
of  the  country,  without  definite  purpose  or  mature 
plans,  he  had  brought  upon  himself  an  avalanche 
of  woes.  Beside  his  incapacity  for  such  a  task,  his 
position  was  rendered  all  the  more  trying  by  the 
fact  that  he  was  a  foreigner,  whose  arbitrary  acts 
galled  his  impatient  subordinates,  and  finally  wrought 
them  to  the  pitch  of  open  rebellion.  The  Spaniards 
were  quick  enough  to  perceive  that  this  Genoese 
sailor  was  in  no  wise  fitted  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
a  prosperous  Spanish  colony;  and  when  during  his 
absence  he  left  in  command  his  brother,  to  whom 
attached  no  prestige  of  high  achievement  to  make 
up  for  his  misfortune  in  not  being  born  in  Spain, 
complications  grew  daily  worse.  Even  the  ecclesi 
astics  were  against  the  admiral;  for  although  them 
selves  the  high-priests  of  a  bloody  fanaticism,  they 
saw  that,  between  the  fires  of  nature  and  the  super 
natural,  this  man  was  becoming  mad.  They  saw  the 
religious  hypochondria,  which  had  already  inflamed 
his  intellect,  now  aggravated  by  the  anxieties  incident 
to  the  government  of  a  turbulent  element  under  cir 
cumstances  unprecedented,  undermining  his  health, 
and  bringing  rapidly  upon  him  those  mental  and 
physical  distempers  which  rendered  the  remainder 
of  his  life  prolonged  misery.  Thus  we  may  plainly 
see  how  Columbus  brought  upon  himself  the  series 
of  calamities  which  are  commonly  found  charged  to 
unscrupulous  sovereigns  and  villainous  rivals. 

And  thickly  enough  misfortunes  4  were  laid  upon 
him  on  his  return  to  Isabela.  Margarite,  who  had 
been  ordered  to  explore  the  island,  leaving  C)jeda  in 
command  at  Santo  Tomiis,  had  abandoned  himself  to 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  NATIVES.  173 

licentious  idleness,  followed  by  outrages  upon  the  na 
tives,  which  notwithstanding  their  pacific  disposition 
had  driven  them  to  retaliation. 

And  here  was  the  beginning  of  these  four  centu 
ries  of  such  rank  injustice,  such  horrible  atrocities 
inflicted  by  the  hand  of  our  much-boasted  Christian 
civilization  upon  the  natives  of  the  New  World,  as 
well  might  make  the  Almighty  blush  for  ever  having 
created  in  his  own  image  such  monsters  as  their 
betrayers  and  butchers.  It  is  the  self -same  story, 
old  and  new,  from  Espanola  to  Darien  and  Mexico, 
from  Brazil  to  Labrador,  and  from  Patagonia  to 
Alaska,  by  sailor  and  cavalier,  by  priest  and  puritan, 
by  gold-hunter  and  fur-hunter — the  unenlightened 
red  man  welcoming  with  wonder  his  destroyer,  upon 
whom  he  is  soon  forced  to  turn  to  save  himself,  his 
wife,  his  children,  but  only  at  last  to  fall  by  the 
merciless  arm  of  development  beneath  the  pitiable 
destiny  of  man  primeval. 

Throwing  off  all  pretence  of  allegiance  to  Columbus, 
when  satiated  with  his  excesses,  Margarite,  with  a 
mutinous  crew  at  his  heels  and  accompanied  by 
Father  Buil,  had  taken  such  ships  as  best  suited 
them  and  had  departed  for  Spain.  Two  caciques,  or 
native  chieftains,  Guatiguana,  and  Caonabo  the  Carib, 
with  their  followers  had  arisen  in  arms,  had  killed 
some  of  the  Spaniards,  had  besieged  Magdalena  and 
Santo  Tonics,  and  had  even  cast  an  ominous  eye  on 
Isabela.  Such  were  the  chief  occurrences  at  the  set 
tlement  during  the  absence  of  the  admiral. 

First  of  all,  Columbus  made  his  brother  Bartolome 
adelantado,  that  is  to  say,  leader  of  an  enterprise, 
or  governor  of  a  frontier  province.  Then  he  sent 
relief  to  the  fortress  of  Magdalena,  and  established 
another  military  post  near  where  was  subsequently 
Santiago,  which  he  called  Concepcion.  Later  the 
chain  was  continued  by  building  other  posts ;  one  near 
the  Rio  Yaqui,  called  Santa  Catalina,  and  one  on 
the  river  Yaqui,  called  Esperanza.  Meamyhile  Ojeda 


174  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

offered  to  take  the  redoubtable  Carib,  Caonabo,  by 
stratagem;  which  was  accomplished,  while  he  was 
surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  warriors,  by  first  win 
ning  the  admiration  and  confidence  of  the  cacique, 
and  then  on  the  plea  of  personal  ornamentation  and 
display  obtaining  his  consent  to  wear  some  beautiful 
bright  manacles,  and  sit  bound  behind  Ojeda  on  his 
steed;  in  which  plight  he  was  safely  brought  by  the 
dashing  cavalier  at  the  head  of  his  horsemen  into 

O 

Isabela. 

About  this  time  Antonio  de  Torres  arrived  with 
four  ships  from  Spain,  and  was  sent  back  with  the 

fold  which  had  been  collected,  and  five  hundred 
ndians  to  be  sold  as  slaves.  By  this  departure 
went  Diego  Colon  to  refute  the  charges  of  incom- 
petency  and  maladministration  now  being  preferred 
against  his  brother  at  court. 

Though  suffering  from  a  fresh  attack  of  fever,  on 
the  27th  of  March,  1495,  accompanied  by  the  ade- 
lantado  and  all  his  available  forces,  Columbus  set 
out  from  Isabela  to  subjugate  the  caciques  of  the 
island,  who  had  combined  to  extirpate  the  Spaniards. 
Charging  the  naked  red  men  amidst  the  noise  of  drum, 
trumpet,  and  halloo,  with  horse  and  bloodhound, 
lance,  sabre,  and  firelock,  a  peace  was  soon  con 
quered.  Multitudes  of  the  inhabitants  were  butch 
ered,  and  upon  the  rest  was  imposed  such  cruel  tribute 
that  they  gradually  sank  beneath  the  servitude.  But 
when  the  white  men  thus  had  the  domain  to  them 
selves,  they  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  it.  It  was 
not  for  them  to  till  the  soil,  or  labor  in  the  mines; 
hence  famine  threatened,  and  they  were  finally  re 
duced  to  the  last  extremity. 

There  is  little  wonder,  under  the  circumstances, 
that  orders  were  issued  in  Spain  to  depose  Columbus, 
first  by  the  appointment  of  a  commission  of  inquiry, 
and  finally  by  removal. 

Thus  far  the  government  of  the  Indies,  as  the 
New  World  began  to  be  called,  had  been  administered 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INDIES. 


solely  by  the  admiral,  according  to  agreement,  with 
Fonseca  as  superintendent  in  Spain.  None  but  them 
were  permitted  to  freight  or  despatch  any  vessel  to  the 
New  World.  Columbus  was  authorized  to  appoint 
two  subordinate  officers  subject  to  royal  sanction; 
and  yet  the  sovereigns  took  offense  when  he  named 
Bartolome  adelantado,  which  office  was  not  that  of 
lieutenant-governor,  as  many  writers  aver,  but  nearer 
that  of  territorial  governor,  with  political  as  well  as 
military  powers,  usually  appointed  by  and  subject 
only  to  the  king.  Assuming  a  certain  degree  of  state, 
the  admiral  appeared  at  Isabela  richly  dressed,  with 
ten  escuderos  de  a  pie,  or  squires  of  foot,  and  twenty 
familiares,  composing  his  civil  and  military  family. 
He  had  been  directed  before  leaving  Spain  to  appoint 
in  each  of  the  several  settlements  or  colonies  which 
should  be  planted  an  alcalde,  or  justice,  exercising 
the  combined  duties  of  mayor  and  judge,  with  juris 
diction  in  civil  and  criminal  cases,  appeal  being  to  the 
admiral;  also  an  alguacil  mayor,  or  high  sheriff;  and, 
if  necessary,  an  ayuntamiento,  or  town  council.  All 
edicts,  orders,  and  commissions  must  be  issued  in 
the  name  of  the  sovereigns,  countersigned  by  the 
notary,  with  the  royal  seal  affixed.  The  admiral  had 
been  further  directed  to  build  a  warehouse  where 
the  royal  stores  should  be  kept,  and  all  traffic  should 
be  subject  to  his  direction.  When  he  sailed  upon 
his  Cuban  expedition  he  left  for  the  direction  of 
the  colony  a  junta,  of  which  his  brother  Diego  was 
president,  and  Alonso  Sanchez  Carvajal,  Juan  de 
Luxan,  Pedro  Fernandez  Coronel,  and  Father  Bull, 
councillors. 

Diego  Colon  was  a  well-meaning  man,  gentle  and 
discreet,  approaching  in  visage  and  dress  nearer  the 
priest  than  the  cavalier;  he  was  neither  shrewd  nor 
energetic.  Bartolome  was  quite  the  opposite,  and  in 
many  respects  was  the  ablest  of  the  brothers.  Pow 
erful  in  mind  and  body,  authoritative  and  determinate 
in  demeanor,  generous  in  disposition,  fearless  in  spirit, 


176  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

a  thorough  seaman,  a  man  of  no  narrow  worldly 
experience,  fairly  educated,  and  talented  with  the 
pen,  he  was  neither  the  amiable,  inefficient  Diego, 
nor  the  dreamy,  enthusiastic  admiral. 

Quick  to  notice  in  their  deputy  any  indication  of 
misrule,  or  undue  assumption  of  authority,  their 
Majesties  did  not  fail  to  lend  an  attentive  ear  to  the 
charges  preferred  against  him.  Yet  the  record  does 
not  show  from  first  to  last  that  either  Isabella  or 
Ferdinand  ever  really  desired  or  intended  to  do 
Columbus  injustice  or  injury.  When  Torres  returned 
from  Spain,  after  the  first  accusation  had  been  made, 
the  sovereigns,  besides  a  letter  expressing  the  warmest 
confidence  in  the  discoverer,  and  high  consideration 
for  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  sent  a  special  real 
provision  ordering  all  to  obey  the  admiral  as 
themselves,  under  penalty  of  ten  thousand  mara- 
vedis  for  every  offence.  When  further  accusations 
came,  instead  of  divesting  him  of  his  authority, 
they  sent  as  commissioner  of  inquiry  Juan  Aguado, 
a  warm  friend  of  the  admiral.  Often  they  checked 
Fonseca's  too  harsh  measures  with  regard  to  Colum 
bus  and  his  brothers,  and  interposed  their  royal 
protection  from  such  officers  as  acted  too  severely 
under  the  exasperating  folly  of  the  admiral.  To 
satisfy  the  discoverer  would  have  been  impossible  for 
any  patron,  so  wild  were  his  desires,  so  chimerical 
his  plans,  so  injudicious  his  acts. 

Aguado  arrived  at  Isabela  in  October.  He 
brought  four  caravels  laden  with  supplies,  and  Diego 
Colon,  passenger.  Soon  it  was  noised  abroad  that 
the  conduct  of  the  admiral  was  to  be  questioned, 
whereat  both  white  men  and  red  rejoiced.  Aguado 
could  but  see  the  pitiable  state  of  things  upon  the 
island,  idleness,  poverty,  excesses,  and  disobedience 
among  the  colonists,  folly  and  mismanagement  among 
the  rulers,  and  seeing,  could  but  report  accordingly; 
for  which,  and  for  no  other  reasons  that  I  am  able  to 


THIRD  VOYAGE.  177 

discover,  the  biographers  of  Columbus  heap  upon  the 
commissioner  opprobrious  epithets. 

When  Aguado  returned  to  Spain,  Columbus  ac 
companied  him  to  make  such  excuses  before  the 
sovereigns  as  best  he  might.  They  embarked  from 
Isabela  March  10,  1496,  leaving  the  adelantado  in 
command,  and  carrying  with  them  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  disaffected  colonists,  and  a  number  of 
Indian  captives,  among  whom  was  the  proud  and 
once  powerful  chieftain,  Caonabo,  so  treacherously 
taken  by  Ojeda.  Contrary  winds  and  starvation 
attended  them,  Caonabo  dying  during  the  voyage. 
Arrived  at  Cadiz  in  June,  the  admiral  found  Pedro 
Alonso  Nino  about  to  sail  with  three  caravels  for 
Hayti.  Nino  carried  out  more  priests,  and  brought 
back  more  slaves. 

Columbus  appeared  in  Spain  in  a  Franciscan  garb 
and  with  dejected  demeanor.  To  all  the  world, 
except  to  himself,  it  was  by  this  time  evident  that 
his  gorgeous  India  was  a  myth,  and  settlement  on 
the  supposition  of  its  existence  a  mistake.  He 
seemed  now  dazed  by  reverses,  as  formerly  he  had 
been  dazed  bv  successes.  Nevertheless,  he  con- 

c/ 

tinued  to  make  as  much  as  possible  of  his  discov 
eries,  parading  a  brother  of  Caonabo  in  a  broad  gold 
collar  with  a  massive  gold  chain  attached. 

Still  the  sovereigns  were  gracious.  They  scarcely 
alluded  to  the  complaints  and  ever-increasing  charges 
against  the  admiral,  but  confirmed  anew  his  dignities, 
enlarged  his  perquisites,  and  showed  him  every  kind 
ness.  The  title  of  adelantado  was  formally  vested 
by  them  in  Bartolome.  When  asked  for  more  ships 
and  money,  they  readily  granted  both;  moreover, 
they  offered  the  admiral  a  tract  of  land  in  Hayti, 
twenty-five  by  fifty  leagues,  which,  however,  he 
declined;  they  offered  him  sixty  sailors,  a  hundred 
and  forty  soldiers,  one  hundred  miners,  mechanics, 
and  farmers,  and  thirty  women,  the  f services  of 
all  to  be  paid  by  the  crown.  But  because  there 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    12 


178  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

was  some  delay,  occasioned  by  the  operations  in 
Italy  and  the  armada  for  Flanders,  the  biographers 
of  the  admiral  again  break  out  in  abuse  of  the 
sovereigns  and  their  servants.  The  truth  is,  Ferdi 
nand  and  Isabella  stood  by  the  Genoese  much 
longer  than  did  their  subjects.  For  example,  when 
certain  millions  of  niaravedis,  equivalent  to  over  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to-day,  had  been  appropri 
ated,  and  eight  vessels  equipped,  so  unpopular  had  the 
admiral  and  his  enterprises  become,  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  press  sailors  into  the  service,  and  empty 
the  prisons  for  colonists.  And  it  was  only  when 
their  admiral,  viceroy,  and  governor  of  the  Indies  so 
far  forgot  himself,  when  on  the  point  of  sailing,  as 
publicly,  and  with  his  own  hand  and  foot,  to  strike 
down  and  kick  Jimeno  de  Berviesca,  an  official  under 
Fonseca,  that  the  sovereigns  began  to  realize  the 
unfitness  of  Columbus  for  the  management  of  colo 
nies.  It  was  a  serious  offense  to  attack  a  public 
servant;  and  when  this  was  done  under  the  very 
eyes  of  royalty,  and  by  the  man  they  had  so  de 
lighted  to  honor,  the  truth  came  home  to  them, 
and  they  never  afterward  regarded  the  Genoese  with 
the  same  degree  of  favor.  Yet  for  his  great  merits, 
his  genius,  enthusiasm,  and  perseverance,  and  for  the 
glory  unparalleled  conferred  by  him  on  Spain,  they 
would  ever  be  to  him  just  and  generous.  He  could 
never  become  again  the  pauper  pilot,  as  he  had  been 
called  at  Granada  while  begging  help  for  his  first 
voyage. 

Two  vessels  were  despatched  to  the  colony  under 
Pedro  Fernandez  Coronel  early  in  1498.  On  the 
30th  of  May  Columbus  embarked  from  San  Lucar 
with  six  vessels,  arrived  at  the  northern  seaboard 
of  South  America,  and  discovered  there  the  isle  of 
Trinidad  the  31st  of  July,  sailed  through  the  gulf 
of  Paria,  where  gold  and  pearls  were  seen  in  profu 
sion,  discovered  the  Margarita  Islands,  and  came  to 


AFFAIRS  AT  SAXTO  DOMINGO.  179 

Hayti,  arriving  off  the  river  Ozema,  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  island,  the  30th  of  August. 

Prior  to  the  last  departure  of  the  admiral  for 
Spain,  gold  had  been  discovered  in  this  vicinity, 
and  during  his  absence  a  military  post,  called  San 
Crist6bal,  had  been  planted  there,  and  at  the 
adjacent  harbor  a  fort  built,  which  was  named 
Santo  Domingo,  and  which  was  from  this  time 
the  capital  of  the  Indies.  At  intervals  during  the 
past  two  years,  the  adelantado  at  the  head  of  his 
marauders  had  scoured  the  island,  collecting  the 
quarterly  tribute,  the  priests  preaching  creeds  to  the 
men,  while  the  cavaliers  outraged  the  women.  In 
surrections  had  been  occasionally  organized  by  the 
caciques,  but  were  usually  stifled  by  the  prompt  and 
politic  action  of  the  adelantado.  Many  of  the  col 
onists  had  gradually  relaxed  in  their  loyalty  to 
Columbus,  until  finally,  at  the  instigation  of  Fran 
cisco  Roldan,  they  declared  their  independence  of 
the  adelantado,  though  still  acknowledging  fealty  to 
Spain.  After  creating  no  small  disturbance  about 
Concepcion  and  Isabela,  Roldan  had  retired  with  his 
band  to  the  province  of  JaragUci. 

On  landing  at  Santo  Domingo,  the  admiral  first 
proclaimed  his  approval  of  the  adelantado's  measures, 
and  then  set  about  to  pacify  the  colonists.  With  the 
common  people,  many  officers  of  trust  had  joined  the 
revolt  of  Roldan.  Columbus  offered  amnesty  to  all, 
which  was  at  first  refused,  and  letters  from  both 
sides  were  sent  to  Spain.  But  at  length  there  was 
reconciliation;  Roldan  became  a  partisan  of  Colum 
bus,  and  assisted  in  subduing  other  hostile  factions, 
which  resulted  in  flinging  Adrian  de  Moxica  off  the 
battlements  of  Fort  Concepcion. 

The  distracted  state  of  the  colony,  the  continued 
charges  against  Columbus,  and  the  inadequate 
returns  from  large  outlays,  impelled  the  sovereigns 
to  send  out  another  commission  with  power  to  punish 
offenders,  civil  and  criminal,  and,  if  necessary,  to 


180  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

supersede  the  admiral  in  the  government.  The  com 
missioner  chosen  for  this  purpose  was  Francisco  de 
Bobadilla,  an  arrogant,  shallow-minded  man,  who 
delighted  rather  in  degrading  merit  than  in  exercising 
justice.  He  was  authorized  by  letters  patent  to 
acquaint  himself  concerning  the  truth  of  the  rebellion 
against  the  admiral;  what  robberies,  cruelties,  or 
other  overt  acts  had  been  committed;  he  was  di 
rected  to  seize  the  person  and  sequestrate  the  prop 
erty  of  any  offender,  or  punish  in  any  way  he  might 
deem  best.  A  provisional  letter  was  addressed  by 
the  sovereigns  to  the  admiral  of  the  ocean  sea, 
ordering  him  to  surrender  to  the  commissioner  all  forts, 
arms,  ships,  houses,  cattle,  or  other  public  property, 
which  letter  was  to  be  used  only  if  necessary. 
Bobadilla,  accompanied  by  a  body-guard  of  twenty- 
five  men,  sailed  with  two  caravels  in  July,  1500,  and 
arrived  at  Santo  Domingo  on  the  23d  of  August. 
By  this  opportunity  some  of  the  Indians  sent  over 
by  Columbus  were  returned  in  charge  of  six  friars. 
This  was  done  partly  through  motives  of  humanity, 
and  partly  because  the  enslavement  of  the  lords 
aboriginal  of  the  New  World  proved  no  more  profita 
ble  than  pious.  Unaccustomed  to  labor,  and  to  the 
atmosphere  of  civilization,  they  died  under  the  inflic 
tion.  Yet  the  diabolical  traffic  had  been  passed  upon 
and  permitted  by  the  jurists  and  divines  of  the  day; 
notwithstanding  his  Holiness  had,  after  profound 
consideration  of  the  subject,  declared  the  savages 
endowed  with  souls.  In  fact,  a  decision  to  the 
contrary  would  have  deprived  the  Church  of  much 
business  and  .influence  in  America. 

Among  the  first  objects  to  meet  the  eye  of 
Bobadilla,  on  landing,  were  the  bodies  of  two 
Spaniards  swinging  from  gibbets,  which  argued  not 
very  favorably  for  the  quietude  of  the  island. 
Columbus  was  absent  at  Fort  Concepcion;  the 
adelantado  and  Roldan  were  pursuing  rebels  in 
Jaragua;  Diego  Colon,  who  was  in  charge  at  Santo 


UNWARRANTED  CONDUCT  OF  BOBADILLA.  181 

Domingo,  was  peremptorily  commanded  to  surrender 
certain  prisoners,  which  he  refused  to  do  until  the 
admiral,  whose  commission  was  higher  than  that  of 
Bobadilla,  and  under  whom  he  served,  should  order 
it.     Thereupon  Bobadilla  broke   open  the  jail,  and 
the  prisoners  were    finally  set  at  liberty.     He  not 
only  assumed  the  custody  of  the  crown  property,  but 
he  entered  the  house  of  Columbus,  took  possession 
of  his  effects,  and   made   his   residence   there.     He 
sided  with  the  late  insurgents,  giving  ear  only  to 
them.     Next  he  ordered  to  appear  before  him  the 
admiral,    who    came    with    all    quietness,    and    was 
immediately  ironed  and  cast  into  prison.     The  broth 
ers    of   Columbus   met   the    same   fate.      It    was    a 
most  villainous  proceeding  on  the  part  of  Bobadilla, 
wholly  unauthorized,  wholly  unnecessary.     Columbus 
was  condemned  before  he  was  tried.     While  in  the 
act  of  coming  forward  of  his  own  accord,  not  with 
hostile  front,  but  unattended,  he  was  seized,   man 
acled,  and  incarcerated.     It  was  not  until  afterward 
that  he  was  charged  with  inflicting  on  the  colonists, 
even  on  hidalgos,  oppressive  labor,  abuse,  and  cruel 
punishments;  with  failing  to  provide  them  sufficient 
food;  with  opposing  royal  authority;  with  secreting 
gold  and  pearls;  and  with  unjust  treatment  of  the 
natives,  making  unnecessary  war  upon  them,  levying 
iniquitous  tribute,  preventing  their  conversion,  and 
sending  them  as  slaves  to  Spain.     Some  went  so  far 
as  to  hint  at  an  intended  transfer  of  allegiance  to 
some  other  power.     But  were  all  the  calumnies  true, 
twice  told,  which  vile,  revengeful  men  had  heaped 
upon  him,  he  would  not  have  merited  the  treatment 
that  he  now  received  at  the  hand  of  their  Majesties' 
agent.      Ever   loyal,  high-minded,  and  sincere,  ever 
performing  his  duties  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  the 
worst  that  can  be  truthfully  said  of  him  is  that  he 
was  unfitted  by  temperament  and  training,  unfitted 
by  his  genius,  by  those  very  qualities  which  made 
him  so  superior  to  other  men  in  other  directions,  for 


182  COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  DISCOVERY. 

organizing  in  a  tropical  wilderness  that  social  thrift 
upon  which  might  be  built  a  staid  community  out 
of  the  ignorant,  presumptuous,  and  desperate  element 
fresh  from  preying  on  Jews  and  Moors. 

After  having  been  subjected  to  much  insult  and 
indignity,  the  three  brothers  were  placed  on  ship 
board  and  sent  to  Spain.  Andres  Martin,  master  of 
the  caravel,  offered  to  remove  the  manacles,  but  the 
admiral  said  no.  It  was  by  the  king's  agent  the 
irons  were  put  on;  it  must  be  by  the  king's  order  if 
ever  they  are  taken  off.  "And  I  will  always  keep 
these  chains,"  he  added  with  proud  bitterness,  "  as 
memorials  of  reward  for  faithful  services." 

Both  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  and  all  the  people 
were  shocked  to  see  the  illustrious  discoverer  in  such 
a  plight.  Immediately  the  sovereigns  heard  of  it  the 
chains  were  stricken  off,  and  the  prisoners  released. 
From  the  odious  abasement  into  which  he  had  been 
unjustly  thrust  by  an  infamous  agent,  Columbus  was 
once  more  lifted  high  into  favor  by  the  sovereigns, 
whose  moist  eyes  testified  their  hearts'  sincerity. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEN. 

RODRIGO  DE  BASTIDAS  —  EXTENSION  OF  NEW  WORLD  PRIVILEGES  —  THE 
.ROYAL  SHARE — JUAN  DE  LA  COSA  —  SHIPS  OF  THE  EARLY  DISCOV 
ERERS —  COASTING  DARIEN  —  THE  TERRIBLE  TEREDO — WRECKED  ON 
ESPANOLA — SPANISH  MONEY — TREATMENT  OF  BASTIDAS  BY  OVANDO — 
ACCUSED,  AND  SENT  TO  SPAIN  FOR  TRIAL  —  HE  is  IMMEDIATELY 
ACQUITTED  — FUTURE  CAREER  AND  CHARACTER  OF  BASTIDAS  — THE 
ARCHIVES  OF  THE  INDIES — THE  SEVERAL  COLLECTIONS  OF  PUBLIC  DOCU 
MENTS  IN  SPAIN  —  THE  LABORS  OF  MUNOZ  AND  NAVARRETE —  BIBLIO 
GRAPHICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  PRINTED  COLLECTIONS  OF  NAVARRETE, 
TERNAUX-COMPANS,  SALVA  AND  BARANDA,  AND  PACHECO  AND  CAR 
DENAS. 

THE  first  Spaniard  to  touch  the  territory  which 
for  the  purposes  of  my  work  I  have  taken  the  liberty 
to  denominate  the  Pacific  States  of  North  America 
was  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas,  a  notary  of  Triana,  the 
gypsy  suburb  of  Seville. 

Although  the  discoveries  of  Columbus  had  been 
made  for  Castile,  and  Castilians  regarded  their  rights 
to  the  new  lands  superior  to  those  of  any  others,  even 
other  inhabitants  of  Spain;  and  although  at  first 
none  might  visit  the  New  World  save  those  author 
ized  by  Columbus  or  Fonseca;  yet,  owing  to  inade 
quate  returns  from  heavy  expenditures,  and  the 
inability  of  the  admiral  properly  to  control  coloniza 
tion  in  the  several  parts  of  the  ever- widening  area, 
at  the  solicitation  of  several  persons  desirous  of  en 
tering  the  new  field  of  commerce  and  adventure  at 
their  own  charge,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1495,  the 
sovereigns  issued  a  proclamation  granting  native- 
born  subjects  of  Spain  permission  to  settle  in  Hayti, 

(183) 


184  DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEN. 

or  Espanola,1  as  I  shall  continue  to  call  the  island, 
and  to  make  to  other  parts  private  voyages  of  dis 
covery  and  trade,  under  royal  license.  The  regula 
tions  were  that  the  vessels  so  sailing  should  be 
equipped  under  royal  inspection,  that  they  should 
depart  only  from  the  port  of  Cadiz,  and  that  they 
should  carry  one  or  two  crown  officers.  The  sov 
ereigns  retained,  without  payment,  one  tenth  of  the 
tonnage,  and  were  to  receive  one  tenth  of  the  gross 
returns.  Settlers  on  Espanola  were  to  receive  grants 
of  land,  and  one  year's  provision;  of  the  gold  they 
gathered  they  were  to  pay  two  thirds  to  the  crown; 
on  all  other  products  one  tenth.  Although  this  ?tep 
was  taken  without  consulting  Columbus,  it  was  the 
aim  of  the  sovereigns  fully  to  respect  his  rights  in 
the  matter;  therefore,  and  in  lieu  of  his  property  in 
one  eighth  of  all  the  tonnage,  for  every  seven  vessels 
thus  privately  adventured  he  was  privileged  to  de 
spatch  one  on  his  own  account.  The  admiral  still 
complaining,  such  parts  of  the  proclamation  as  in 
any  wise  interfered  with  his  rights  were  revoked, 
and  his  former  privileges  confirmed,  the  2d  of  June, 
1497.2 

1  The  island  known  to-day  as  Hayti  was  named  by  Columbus  Iwula  His- 
paniw,  Island  of  Spain.     On  one  of  his  maps  it  is  called  Insula  Hy^panicKt 
and  on  another  Ilyspana.     By  the  early  navigators  and  chroniclers  the  name 
was  turned   into   Spanish  and   spoken  and  written  La  Ma  Espanola,  the 
Spanish  Isle,  or  La  Espanola.     Hispaniola,  as  it  is  called  at  a  later  period 
by  English  authors,  is  neither  Latin  nor  Spanish;  it  may  be  a  syncope  of  the 
words  Inxiila  Hyspanice,  or  more  likely  it  is  a  corruption  of  La  Espanola  by 
foreigners  to  whom  the  Spanish  n  was  not  familiar.     The  choice  lies  between 
the  mutilation,  Hiapaniola,  of  English  authors,  and  the  correct  but  unfamiliar 
Espanola,  and  I  adopt  the  latter. 

2  Usually  two  royal  officers  went  out  by  each  departure;  a  treasurer  to 
take  charge  of  the  gold,  and  a  notary  to  watch  the  treasurer  and  write 
down  what  was  seen  and  done.     The  government  was  exceedingly  strict  in 
its  regulations  of  discoveries  by  sea,  as  well  as  in  all  matters  relative  to  com 
merce  and  colonization.     Notice  was  given  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  Sep 
tember  3,  1501,  by  Charles  V.  November  17,  152(5,  and  by  Philip  II.  in  15G3, 
that  no  one  should  go  to  the  Indies  except  under  express  license  from  the 
king.     In  1526  Charles  V.  ordered  that  the  captain  of  any  discovering  or 
trading  vessel  should  not  go  ashore  within  the  limits  mentioned  in  his  patent 
without  the  permission  of   the  royal  officers  and  priests  on  board,  under 
penalty  of  confiscation  of  half  the  goods.     The  law  of  1556  stipulates  that 
ships  must  be  properly  equipped,    provisioned  for  one  year,   always   sail 
in  pairs,  and  carry  in  eacli  two  pilots  and  two  priests.     In  his  ordenanzaa 
de  pollacioncs   of    10G3    Philip  II.     directs    that    vessels    making    discov- 


THE  NEW  WORLD  OPENED  TO  SETTLEMENT.  185 

Among  those  to  take  advantage  of  this  permission, 

eries  shall  carry  scissors,  combs,  knives,  looking-glasses,  rifles,  axes,  fish 
hooks,  colored  caps,  glass  beads,  and  the  like,  as  means  of  introduction  and 
traffic.  Recopilacion  de  Leyes  de  los  Reynos  de  las  I/tdias,  ii.  6-7.  In  regard 
to  the  share  of  the  crown  in  the  gold  gathered  our  popular  writers  seem  to 
have  found  original  authorities  somewhat  vague.  It  is  clearly  enough  stated 
that  settlers  are  to  pay  two  thirds;  the  question  is  whether  in  relation  to 
discoverers  gold  is  included  in  products  of  which  one  tenth  was  to  go  to 
the  crown,  or  whether  the  exception  to  a  rule  was  unintentionally  omitted. 
Mr  Irving  glides  gracefully  over  the  difficulty  with  the  same  degree  of  in- 
definiteness  that  he  finds  in  the  authorities.  Mr  Prescott  states  positively, 
History  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  ii.  488,  that  'the  ships  fitted  out  under 
the  general  license  were  required  to  reserve ....  two  thirds  of  all  the  gold ' 
for  the  crown,  quoting  Munoz  and  Navarrete  as  vouchers,  the  words  of  neither 
justifying  the  statement.  Munoz,  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,  i.  240,  says,  'se 
concedio  d  todos  generalmente,  sin  mas  gravamen  que  pagar  la  decima 
de  lo  que  se  rescatase,'  while  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  ii.  167,  printing 
the  real  provision  itself,  states  simply  'es  nuestra  merced  que  de  lo  que 
las  dichas  personas  hallaren.  en  las  dichas  islas  6  tierra-firme  hayan  para 
si  las  nueve  partes,  6  la  otra  diezma  parte  sea  para  Nos! '  The  misstatement 
of  the  talented  author  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  is  rendered  all  the  more 
conspicuous  when  on  the  very  next  page  quoted  by  him  Muiioz  settles  the 
whole  matter  exactly  contrary  to  Prescott's  account.  'A  todos  se  permiti6 
llevar  viveres  y  mercancias,  rescatar  oro  de  los  uaturales  contribuyemlo  al  rcy 
con  la  de"cima. '  And  after  thus  stating  distinctly  that  all  might  trade  with 
the  natives  for  gold  on  paying  one  tenth  to  the  crown,  he  gives  the  reason 
why  miners  must  pay  two  thirds  to  the  crown;  or  if  the  recipient  of  pecuniary 
aid  from  the  crown,  then  four  fifths;  it  was  because  of  the  supposed  exceed 
ing  richness  of  the  mines,  the  ease  with  which  gold  could  be  obtained;  and, 
further,  the  dependence  of  the  crown  on  its  mines,  more  than  on  anything  else 
for  a  colonial  revenue.  Prior  to  1504  the  regulation  of  the  royal  share  was 
not  fixed,  some  of  the  traders  paying  one  tenth  gross,  some  one  fifth  gross, 
and  some  one  fourth  net.  Bobadilla,  in  1500,  granted  twenty  years'  licenses 
to  settlers  in  Espanola  to  work  gold  mines  by  paying  only  one  eleventh  to 
the  crown.  Summarizing  the  subsequent  laws  upon  the  subject,  we  find 
ordered  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  February  5,  1504,  reiterated  by  Philip, 
1572,  that  all  dwellers  in  the  Indies  must  pay  to  the  crown  one  fifth  of  all 
gold,  silver,  lead,  tin,  quicksilver,  iron,  or  other  metal  obtained  by  them; 
likewise  traders  were  to  pay  one  fifth  of  all  gold,  silver,  or  other  metals, 
pearls,  precious  stones,  or  amber  obtained  by  them.  September  14,  1519, 
Charles  V.  declared  that  of  all  gold  received  in  trade  from  the  natives  one  fifth 
must  be  paid  to  him;  and  March  8,  1530,  he  said  that  where  a  reward  has  been 
promised  to  a  prospector  of  mines  the  royal  treasury  would  pay  two  thirds 
of  that  reward,  and  the  private  persons  interested  one  third.  It  was  ordered 
September  4,  1536,  and  reiterated  June  19,  1540,  that  all  persons  must  pay 
the  king's  fifth  on  the  before-mentioned  articles,  whether  obtained  in  battle 
or  by  plundering-expeditions,  or  by  trade.  Of  all  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and 
precious  stones  received  as  ransom  of  a  cacique  or  other  principal  personage 
the  king  was  to  have  one  third;  the  remainder,  after  deducting  the  king's 
fifth,  was  to  be  divided  among  the  members  of  the  expedition.  Of  the  spoils 
secured  from  a  cacique  slain,  in  battle,  or  executed,  one  half  was  the  crown's, 
and  one  half,  except  the  king's  fifth,  the  property  of  the  conquerors.  June 
5,  1551,  it  was  ordered,  and  reiterated  August  24,  1619,  that  beside  the  king's 
share,  there  be  levied  a  duty  of  1^  per  cent,  to  pay  for  smelting,  assaying, 
and  stamping.  By  the  ordenanzas  de  poblacioms  of  Philip  II.,  1563,  the 
adelaiitado  of  a  discovery  by  land,  and  his  successor,  and  the  settlers  were  to 
pay  the  crown  but  one  tenth  on  metals  and  precious  stones  for  the  term  of 
ten  years.  Recop.  de  Indias,  ii.  10,  63,  75-7,  79,  and  480-1. 


186  DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEX. 

beside  Bastidas,  was  Alonso  de  Ojeda,  who  embarked 
with  four  vessels  from  Spain  in  May,  1499,  in  com 
pany  with  Juan  de  la  Cosa  and  Amerigo  Vespucci, 
sailed  along  the  seaboard  of  South  America  from 
Paria  and  the  Pearl  Coast,  discovered  by  Columbus, 
to  the  gulf  of  Venezuela,  so  called  because  like 
Venice  the  native  villages  were  built  over  the  water. 
At  Cape  de  la  Vela,  Ojeda  left  the  coast  and  crossed 
to  Espaiiola,  whence  he  was  driven  off  by  Roldan 
at  the  command  of  Columbus.  He  reached  Spain  in 
June,  1500;  and  though  his  ships  were  crowded  with 
slaves,  after  paying  expenses  there  were  left  but  five 
hundred  ducats  to  divide  among  fifty-five  persons. 
Sailing  in  a  caravel  of  only  fifty  tons,  a  few  days 
later  than  Ojeda,  were  Pedro  Alonso  Nino  and 
Cristobal  Guerra,  who,  following  the  track  of  Colum 
bus  and  Ojeda  to  the  Pearl  Coast,  thence  crossed  to 
Margarita,  returned  to  the  main-land  and  coasted 
Cumand,  and  finally  returned  to  Spain,  arriving 
about  two  months  before  Ojeda,  well  laden  with  gold 
and  pearls.  This  was  the  first  really  profitable 
voyage,  pecuniarily,  to  the  New  World.  Then  there 
was  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon,  who  sailed  in  four 
caravels  in  December,  1499,  and  shortly  after  Diego 
de  Lepe,  in  two  vessels,  both  going  to  Brazil. 

Quite  exceptional  to  the  ordinary  adventurer  was 
Bastidas.  He  was  a  man  of  standing  in  the  com 
munity,  possessed  of  some  means  himself  and  having 
wealthy  friends;  he  was  intelligent  and  influential, 
and  withal  humane,  even  Las  Casas  admitting  that 
no  one  ever  accused  him  of  illtreating  the  Indians. 

The  friends  of  the  honest  notary,  among  them 
Juan  de  Ledesma,  were  ready  enough  to  join  him, 
pecuniarily,  in  a  venture  to  the  famous  Pearl  Coast, 
as  the  South  American  shore  of  the  admiral's  third 
voyage  was  now  called.  Obtaining  from  Fonseca's 
office  a  royal  license,3  and  enlisting  the  cooperation 

3  The  document  may  be  seen  to-day  in  the  archives  of  the  Indies.     Begin- 


SHIPS  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 


187 


of  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  already  veteran  in  western 
pilotage,  Bastidas  equipped  two  caravels,4  embarked 

ning:  'EL  REY  E  LA  REINA.  El  asiento  que  se  torn  6  por  nuestro  mandado 
con  vos  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas,  vecino  de  la  cibdad  de  Sevilla,  para  ir  a  desco- 
brir  por  el  mar  Oceano,  con  dos  navios,  es  lo  siguiente:' — it  goes  on  to  state, 
'  First,  that  we  give  license  to  you,  the  said  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas,  that  with 
two  vessels  of  your  own,  and  at  your  own  cost  and  risk,  you  may  go  by  the 
said  Ocean  Sea  to  discover,  and  you  may  discover  islands  and  firm  land;  in 
the  parts  of  the  Indies  and  in' any  other  parts,  provided  it  be  not  the  islands 
and  firm  land  already  discovered  by  the  Admiral  Don  Cristobal  Colon,  our 
admiral  of  the  Ocean  Sea,  or  by  Crist6bal  Guerra;  nor  those  which  have  been 
or  may  be  discovered  by  other  person  or  persons  by  our  order  and  with  our 
license  before  you;  nor  the  islands  and  firm  land  which  belong  to  the  most 
serene  prince,  the  king  of  Portugal,  our  very  dear  and  beloved  son;  for  from 
them  nor  from  any  of  them  you  shall  not  take  anything,  save  only  such 
•  things  as  for  your  maintenance,  and  for  the  provision  of  your  ships  and 
crew  you  may  need.  Furthermore,  that  all  the  gold,  and  silver,  and 
copper,  and  lead,  and  tin,  and  quicksilver,  and  any  other  metal  whatever; 
and  afjofar,  and  pearls,  and  precious  stones  and  jewels,  and  slaves  and 
negroes,  and  mixed  -breeds,  which  in  these  our  kingdoms  may  be  held  and 
reputed  as  slaves;  and  monsters  and  serpents,  and  whatever  other  animals 
and  fishes  and  birds,  and  spices  and  drugs,  and  every  other  thing  of  whatso 
ever  name  or  quality  or  value  it  may  be;  deducting  therefrom  the  freight 
expenses,  and  cost  of  vessels,  which  in  said  voyage  and  fleet  may  be  made; 
of  the  remainder  to  us  will  belong  the  fourth  part  of  the  whole,  and  the 
other  three  fourths  may  be  freely  for  you  the  said  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas,  that 
you  may  do  therewith  as  you  choose  and  may  be  pleased  to  do,  as  a  thing  of 
your  own,  free  and  unincumbered.  Item,  that  we  will  place  in  each  one  of 
the  said  ships  one  or  two  persons,  who  in  our  name  or  by  our  order  shall  be 
witnesses  to  all  which  may  be  obtained  and  trafficked  in  said  vessels  of  the 
aforesaid  things;  and  that  they  may  put  the  same  in  writing  and  keep  a  book 
and  account  thereof,  so  that  no  fraud  or  mistake  happen.'  After  stating 
further  under  whose  direction  the  ships  should  be  fitted  out,  and  what  should 
be  done  on  the  return  of  the  expedition,  the  document  is  dated  at  Seville,  June 
5,  1500,  and  the  signatures  follow:  'Yo  EL  REY.  Yo  LA  REINA.  Por  man- 
dado  del  Rey  6  de  la  Reina,  GASPAR, 
DE  GRIZIO.  '  All  this  under  penalty 
of  the  forfeiture  of  the  property  and 
life  of  the  captain  of  the  expedition, 
Rodrigo  de  Bastidas.  Archivo  de  In- 
dias,  printed  in  Pacheco  and  Carde 
nas,  Col  Doc.,  ii.  362-6. 

*  It  is  often  remarked  with  won 
der  in  what  small  and  apparently  in 
secure  vessels  the  early  navigators 
traversed  perilous  seas  and  explored 
unknown  coasts.  That  shipwreck  so 
often  attended  their  ventures  is  less 
surprising  than  that  so  many  escaped 
destruction.  Two  of  the  three  ves 
sels  employed  by  Columbus  were 
open  boats,  according  to  March  y 
Laborcs,  Historia  de  la  Marina  Real 
Espanola,  i.  98,  of  forty  tons  each,  n 

and  the  decked  Santa  Maria,  only 

sixty  tons.  The  term  caravel  was  originally  given  to  ships  navigated  wholly  by 
sails  as  distinguished  from  the  galley  propelled  by  oars.  _  It  has  been  applied 
to  a  great  variety  of  vessels  of  different  size  and  construction.  The  caravels  of 


188  DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEN. 

at    Cddiz   in    October,   1500,  took  on   board  wood, 

the  New  World  discoverers  may  be  generally  described  as  long,  narrow  boats  of 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  tons  burden,  with  three  or  four  masts  of  about  equal 
height  carrying  sometimes  square  and  sometimes  lateen  sails,  the  fourth  mast 
set  at  the  heel  of  the  bowsprit  carrying  square  sails.  They  were  usually  half- 
decked,  and  adorned  with  the  lofty  forecastle  and  loftier  poop  of  the  day.  The 


GALLEY. 


GALEAZA. 


latter  constituted  over  that  part  of  the  vessel  a  double  or  treble  deck,  which  was 
pierced  for  cannon.  A  class  of  vessels  like  the  Santa  Maria,  beside  a  double 
stern  deck,  had  a  forward  deck  armed  with  small  pieces  for  throwing  stones  and 
grape.  In  the  archives  of  Mallorca  is  a  picture  of  a  caravel  drawn  in  1397, 


GALLEON. 


and  a  very  fair  representation  of  those  in  use  a  century  later  may  be  found  on 
Juan  de  la  Cosa's  map.  The  large  decked  ships  of  from  100  to  1200  tons  had 
two,  three,  or  four  masts,  and  square  sails,  with  high  poop  and  sometimes 
high  prow.  In  naval  engagements  and  in  discovery  the  smaller  vessels  seemed 
to  be  preferred,  being  more  easily  handled.  Columbus,  at  Paria,  complained 
of  his  vessel  of  100  tons  as  being  too  large.  In  his  ordenanzas  de  poUaciones 


VOYAGE  OF  BASTED  AS. 


189 


water,  meat,  and  cheese  at  Gomera,  and  steering  a 
little  north  of  the  admiral's  last  track,  came  to  a 

of  15G3  Philip  II.  required  every  discoverer  to  take  at  least  two  vessels  of 
not  over  sixty  tons  each,  in  order  to  enter  inlets,  cross  the  bars  of  rivers,  and 
pass  over  shoals.  The  larger  ships,  if  any  were  of  the  expedition,  must 
remain  in  a  safe  port  until  another  safe  port  was  found  by  the  small  craft. 
Thirty  men  and  no  more  were  to  go  in  every  ship,  and  the  pilots  must  write 
down  what  they  encountered  for  the  benefit  of  other  pilots.  Recop.  de  India.',; 
ii.  5-6.  The  galera  was  a  vessel  of  low  bulwarks,  navigated  by  sails  and 


NAVfo. 

oars,  usually  twenty  or  thirty  oars  on  either  side,  four  or  five  oarsmen  to 

a  bench.     It  frequently  carried  a  large  cannon,  called  cruxia,  two  of  medium 

size,  and  two  small  guns.     The  galeaza  was  the  largest  class  of  galera,  or 

craft  propelled  wholly  or  in  part  by  oars.     It  had  three  masts;  it  commonly 

carried  twenty  cannon,  and  the  poop  accommodated  a  small  army  of  fusileers 

and  sharpshooters.     A  galeota  was 

a  small  galera,  having  only  sixteen 

or  twenty  oarsmen  on  a  side,  and 

two  masts.     The  (j  ale  on  was  a  large 

armed  merchant  vessel  with  high 

bulwarks,  three  or  four  decks,  with 

two  or  three  masts,  square-rigged, 

spreading  courses  and  top-sails,  and 

sometimes  top -gallant  sails.     One 

fleet  of  twelve  galleons,  from  1000  to 

1200  tons  burden,  was  named  after 

the  twelve  apostles.     Those  which 

plied  between  Acapulco  and  Manila 

were  from  1200  to  2000  tons  burden. 

A  yaleoncillo  was  a  small  galeon. 

The  came  was  a  large  carrying  ves- 

sel,  the  one  intended  for  Columbus' 

second  voyage  being  1250  fancies,  or 

1500  tons.     A  nao,  or  navio,  was  a  large  ship  with  high  bulwarks  and  three 

masts.     A  nave  was  a  vessel  with  deck  and  sails;  the  former  distinguishing 

it  from  the  barca,  and  the  absence  of  oars  from  a  galera.     The  bergantin,  or 


100  DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEX. 

green  isle,  which  he  called  Isla  Verde,  and  reached 
the  mainland  near  Venezuela.  Coasting  westward, 
he  passed  Santa  Marta,  and  arrived  at  the  Magda- 
lena  River  in  March,  1501,  so  naming  it  on  arrival 
from  the  day,  which  was  that  of  the  woman's  con 
version.  There  he  narrowly  escaped  shipwreck. 
Continuing,  and  trading  on  the  way,  he  found  the 
ports  of  Zamba  and  Coronados — the  latter  so  called 
because  the  natives  wore  large  crowns — the  islands  of 
San  Bernardo,  Baru,  and  the  Arenas,  off  Cartagena 
Bay.  Next  he  saw  Fuerte  and  tenantless  Tortuga, 
touched  at  the  port  of  Cenu,  passed  Point  Caribana, 
entered  the  gulf  of  Uraba,  and  saw  the  farallones, 
or  craggy  islet  peaks,  rising  abruptly  from  the  water 
near  the  Darien  shore.  Thus  far  from  Cape  de  la 
Vela  he  had  discovered  one  hundred  and  fifty 
leagues5  of  new  seaboard.  And  because  when  the 
tide  was  low  the  water  was  fresh,  he  called  the 
place  Golfo  Dulce.  Thus  came  the  Spaniards  upon 
the  isthmus  that  unites  the  two  Americas;  and 
along  it  they  sailed  to  Point  Manzanilla,  in  which 
vicinity  were  El  Retrete  and  Nombre  de  Dios.6 

It  is  a  balmy  beginning,  this  of  these  men  from 
Spain,  of  that  intercontinental  commerce  which  is 
shortly  to  bring  destruction  on  one  side  and  retro- 
brig,  had  low  bulwarks;  the  beryantin-cjoleta  was  a  hermaphrodite  brig,  or 
brigantine,  built  for  fast  sailing.  The  name  brigantine  was  applied  in  America 
also  to  an  open  flat-bottomed  boat  which  usually  carried  one  sail  and  from 
eight  to  sixteen  men,  with  a  capacity  for  about  100  persons. 

5  The  Spanish  league  varies  with  time  and  place.  It  was  not  until  1801 
that  the  diverse  measurements  of  the  several  original  kingdoms  were  by  royal 
order  made  uniform,  the  legal  league  then  becoming  throughout  all  Spain 
20,000  Spanish  feet.  Of  these  leagues  there  are  twenty  to  the  degree, 
making  each  three  geographical  miles,  being,  as  specified  by  the  law,  the  dis 
tance  travelled  on  foot  at  a  steady  gait  in  one  hour.  The  land  league  was, 
by  law  of  Alfonso  the  Wise,  3000  paces,  as  specified  by  the  Side  Partidas. 
The  discoverers  roughly  estimated  a  league  at  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
and  a  half  English  miles.  A  marine  or  geographical  league  at  that  time  was 
about  7500  varas,  or  little  less  than  four  English  miles,  there  being  nearly  17^ 
to  a  degree  of  latitude.  In  different  parts  of  Spanish  America  the  league 
13  different,  being  sometimes  quite  short.  In  Cuba  a  league  consists  of 
5078  varas,  and  in  Mexico  of  5000  varas.  The  vara  is  the  Spanish  yard, 
comprising  three  Spanish  feet  of  eleven  English  inches  each.  Since  the 
decline  of  Roman  influence,  the  Spaniards  have  had  no  equivalent  for  the 
English  mile. 

tiSee  next  chapter,  note  18. 


GLORIES  OF  THE  ISTHMUS.  191 

gression  on  the  other;  a  commerce  which  shall  end 
only  with  the  next  general  cataclysm.  Threading 
their  way  among  islands  smothered  in  foliage,  which 
seemed  upon  the  glossy  water-surface  as  floating 
fragments  of  the  thickly  matted  verdure  of  the  main 
land,  listening  to  notes  unfamiliar  to  their  ears,  and 
seeing  these  strange  men  and  women  so  like  and  yet 
so  unlike  Spaniards,  they  find  themselves  wondering 
whether  they  are  in  the  world  or  out  of  it.  We 
who  so  well  know  our  little  planet  and  its  ways  can 
scarcely  imagine  what  it  was  in  the  darkness  to  be 
taken  up  at  Seville,  and  put  down  amidst  the  magic 
play  of  light  and  shade  at  Darien.  Probably  now 
the  world  was  round;  yet  still  it  might  be  fungiform, 
or  crescent-shaped,  or  amorphous,  having  a  smooth  or 
ragged  edge,  from  which  a  fearful  slipping-off  might 
any  moment  ensue.  All  they  can  know  is  what  they 
see,  and  that  they  cannot  half  know,  for  they  can 
scarcely  more  than  half  see  or  feel  or  smell.  Some 
part  of  the  perpendicular  rays  of  the  incandescent  sun 
falling  on  their  toughened  skins  they  can  feel;  some 
part  of  the  water  that  from  the  surcharged  reservoirs 
of  low-lying  clouds  so  frequently  and  freely  pours  upon 
the  spot  whence  it  is  pumped  by  this  same  vertical 
sun.  They  can  turn  their  bewildered  eyes  toward 
the  south  and  see  beyond  its  clean  white  border  the 
mainland  stretching  off  in  billows  of  burnished  green 
to  the  far-away  hazy  horizon,  where  like  a  voluptuous 
beauty  it  imprints  a  kiss  upon  the  blushing  sky ;  they 
may  lie  in  the  gray  mist  of  evening  and  dream,  and 
dream,  their  minds — how  many  removes  from  the 
intelligence  of  the  impatient  sea  and  the  self-tuned 
life  upon  the  shore?  Or  they  may  drift  about  in  the 
amber  light  of  a  soft  vaporous  morning  without  much 
dreaming;  one  thing  at  least  to  them  is  real,  and 
that  is  gold.  Without  the  aid  of  divine  revelation 
they  fathom  the  difference  between  the  precious  solid 
substance  and  hollow  brass.  So  do  the  savages, 
thinking  the  latter  much  the  prettier ;  and  thus 


192  DISCOVERY  OF  DAEIEN. 

both  sides,  each  believing  the  others  fools  and  well 
cheated,  are  happy  in  their  traffic.  The  Spaniards 
are  enchanted  less  by  the  lovely  garb  in  which  nature 
everywhere  greets  them  than  by  the  ease  with  which 
the  golden  harvest  is  gathered.  Thus  all  betokens 
the  most  flattering  success  when  a  luckless  event 
casts  a  shadow  over  their  bright  fortunes. 

The  two  ships  were  found  to  be  leaking  badly. 
An  examination  was  made,  when  the  bottoms  were 
found  pierced  by  teredos  ;7  and  thus  before  they  knew 
it  their  vessels  were  unfit  for  service.  Hoping  still 
to  reach  Cddiz,  Bastidas  immediately  set  sail,  touched 
at  Jamaica  for  wood  and  water,  and  continued  his 
voyage  as  far  as  Contramaestre,  an  islet  one  league 
distant  from  Espanola,  where  he  was  obliged  to 
anchor  and  repair  his  ships.  Again  embarking  for 
Spain,  he  was  met  by  a  gale  which  threw  him  back 
upon  the  island.  Buffeted  in  a  second  attempt,  he 
ran  the  ships  for  safety  into  the  little  port  of  Jaragud, 
where  they  filled  and  sank,  the  loss  in  vessels,  slaves, 
Brazil-wood,  cloth,  and  gold,  being  not  less  than  five 
millions  of  maravedis.8  For  notwithstanding  the  esti- 

7  Called  by  the  Venetians  bissas,  and  by  the  Spaniards  broma;  a  terrible 
pest  to  tropical  navigators  before  the  days  of  copper-bottoming.  This,  and 
another  tropical  marine  worm,  the  Simnorla  terebrans,  brought  hither  by  ships, 

Elay  havoc  with  the  wharf-piling  of  San  Francisco  and  other  west-coast 
arbors. 

bThe  early  chroniclers  make  their  reckonings  of  values  under  different 
names  at  different  times.  Thus  during  the  discoveries  of  Columbus  we  hear 
of  little  else  but  maravedis;  then  the  peso  de  oro  takes  the  lead,  together 
with  the  castellano;  all  along  marco  and  ducado  being  occasionally  used.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  before  and  after,  Spanish  values 
were  reckoned  from  a  mark  of  silver,  which  was  the  standard.  A  mark  was 
half  a  pound  either  of  gold  or  silver.  The  gold  mark  was  divided  into  fifty 
castellanos;  the  silver  mark  into  eight  ounces.  In  the  reign  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  the  mark  was  divided  by  law  into  C5  reales  de  vellon  of  34  mara 
vedis  each,  making  2210  maravedis  in  a  mark.  To  show  how  changeable 
were  the  values  of  subsidiary  Spanish  coins,  and  how  utterly  impossible  it  is 
accurately  and  at  all  times  to  determine  by  their  names  the  amount  of  metal 
they  represent,  •  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  in  the  reign  of  Alfonso  XI. , 
1312-1350,  there  were  125  maravedis  to  the  mark,  while  in  the  reign  of  Ferdi 
nand  VII.,  1808-1833,  a  mark  was  divided  into  5440  maravedis.  In  Spanish 
America  a  real  is  one  eighth  of  a  peso,  and  equal  to  2i  reales  de  vellon.  The 
peso  contains  one  ounce  of  silver;  it  was  formerly  called  peso  de  ocho  reales  de 
plata,  whence  came  the  term  pieces  of  eight,  a  vulgarism  at  one  time  in  vogue 
among  the  merchants  and  buccaneers  in  the  West  Indies.  This  coin  is  desig 
nated  more  particularly  as  peso  fuerte,  or  peso  duro,  to  distinguish  it  from 


SPANISH  MONEY  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.         193 

mable  reputation  for  piety,  justice,  and  humanity 
which  he  has  always  borne,  the  good  Bastidas  did 
not  scruple  gently  to  entrap  on  board  his  ships,  along 
the  shore  of  Darien,  several  scores  of  unsuspecting 
natives,  to  be  sold  as  slaves;  nor,  having  thus  exer 
cised  his  virtues  in  the  holy  klopemania  of  the  day, 
did  he  scruple  to  abandon  with  his  sinking  ships  the 
greater  portion  of  these  innocent  wretches  in  order 
to  save  the  more  of  his  gold,  which  per  pound  was 
deemed  of  greater  proximate  and  certain  value  than 
even  heathen  souls  that  buy  immortal  metal. 

Thus  observing  everywhere,  as  perforce  we  must 
as  we  proceed,  the  magnanimity  and  high  morality 
with  which  our  so  prized  and  petted  civilization 
greeted  weak,  defenceless,  and  inoffensive  savagism, 
we  are  prepared  when  shipwrecked  mariners  are 
thrown  upon  a  distant  isle  inhabited  by  their  own 
countrymen,  holding  fast  the  same  saving  faith — we 
are  prepared  by  their  reception,  which  we  shall  pres 
ently  see,  to  exclaim  with  uplifted  hands,  Behold, 
how  these  Christians  love  one  another  ! 

peso  sendllo,  equivalent  in  value  to  four  fifths  of  the  former.  The  mutilator 
of  Herrera  translates  pesos  de  oro  as  pieces  of  eight,  in  which  as  in  other 
things  he  is  about  as  far  as  possible  wrong.  The  castellano,  the  one  fiftieth 
of  the  golden  mark,  in  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  was  equivalent 
to  490  maravedis  of  that  day.  The  pe*o  de  oro,  according  to  Oviedo,  was 
exactly  equivalent  to  the  castellano,  and  either  was  one  third  greater  than 
the  ducado,  or  ducat.  The  doblon,  the  popular  name  for  the  excdente,  was 
first  struck  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  as  a  gold  coin  of  the  weight  of 
two  castellanos.  The  modern  doubloon  is  an  ounce  of  coined  gold,  and 
is  worth  16  pesos  fuertes.  Reduced  to  United  States  currency  the  peso 
fuerte,  as  slightly  alloyed  bullion,  is  in  weight  nearly  enough  equivalent  to 
one  dollar.  Therefore  a  mark  of  silver  is  equal  to  eight  dollars ;  a  piece  of 
eight,  equal  to  one  peso,  which  equals  one  dollar ;  a  real  de  vellon,  five  cents ; 
a  Spanish -American  real,  12^  cents;  a  maravedi,  ??«  of  a  cent;  a  castellano,  or 
peso  de  oro,  $2.56;  a  doubloon,  $5.14;  a  ducat,  $1.92;  a  mark  of  gold,  $128, 
assuming  the  United  States  alloy.  The  fact  that  a  castellano  was  equivalent 
to  only  490  maravedis  shows  the  exceedingly  high  value  of  silver  as  compared 
with  gold  at  the  period  in  question.  The  modern  ounce,  or  doubloon,  is  val 
ued  at  about  $16.  As  to  the  relative  purchasing  power  of  the  precious  metals 
at  different  times  during  the  past  four  centuries  economists  differ.  The 
returns  brought  by  the  first  discoverers  began  the  depreciation,  which  was 
rapidly  accelerated  by  the  successive  conquests,  notably  of  Mexico  and  Peru. 
Any  one  may  estimate;  no  one  can  determine  with  exactness.  Robertson, 
Prescott,  and  other  writers  make  but  guess-work  of  it  (see  Hixt.  America, 
and  Conq.  Mexico,  passim)  when  they  attempt  to  measure  the  uncertain 
and  widely  diversified  denominations  of  centuries  ago  by  the  current  coin  of 
to-day. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    13 


194  DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEN. 

After  burning  superfluous  ammunition,  the  Span 
iards  gathered  up  their  valuables,  and  placing  them 
on  the  backs  of  such  captives  as  for  that  purpose 
they  had  kindly  permitted  to  live,  set  out  in  three 
divisions  over  separate  routes,  so  as  to  secure  a  more 
liberal  supply  of  provisions  on  the  way,  for  Santo 
Domingo,  distant  seventy  leagues.  In  his  license,  as 
we  have  seen,  Bastidas  was  authorized  to  trade  only 
in  lands  discovered  by  himself.  But  on  the  way  his 
followers  with  their  trinkets  had  purchased  food  from 
the  natives;  for  which  offence,  on  his  arrival  at  Santo 
Domingo,  Bastidas  was  seized  by  Bobadilla  and  cast 
into  prison.  In  vain  did  all  the  shipwrecked  com 
pany  protest  that  they  had  bought  only  such  articles 
as  were  necessary  for  their  nourishment  during  the 
march.  To  their  affirmations  the  governor  turned  a 
deaf  ear;  and  as  Bobadilla  was  about  to  depart  for 
Spain,  the  notary  was  ordered  thither  for  trial,  sail 
ing  in  July,  1502. 

Before  the  sovereigns  Bastidas  found  no  difficulty 
in  justifying  his  conduct;  and  so  rich  were  the  re 
turns  from  his  traffic  with  the  natives  of  Darien, 
that  notwithstanding  the  unfortunate  termination  of 
the  adventure  he  was  enabled  to  pay  a  large  sum 
into  the  royal  treasury.  For  their  important  suc 
cesses,  to  Kodrigo  de  Bastidas  was  awarded  an  annual 
Eension  of  fifty  thousand  maravedis,  and  to  Juan  de 
i  Cosa  a  similar  sum  with  the  title  of  alguacil  mayor 
of  Uraba,  all  to  be  paid  them  out  of  returns  from  the 
new  lands  which  they  had  found.  "Such,"  remarks 
Irving,  "was  the  economical  generosity  of  King 
Ferdinand,  who  rewarded  the  past  toils  of  his  ad 
venturous  discoverers  out  of  the  expected  produce 
of  their  future  labors."9 

9  Las  Casas,  who  was  at  Santo  Domingo  when  the  shipwrecked  mariners 
arrived,  saw  Bastidas,  and  part  of  his  gold,  and  the  natives  of  Darien  whom 
he  had  brought,  and  who  in  place  of  the  Aclamic  fig-leaf  wore  a  funnel- 
shaped  covering  of  gold.  There  were  great  riches,  it  was  said;  three  chests 
full  of  gold  and  pearls,  which  on  reaching  Spain  were  ordered  to  be  publicly 
displayed  in  all  the  towns  through  which  the  notary  passed  on  his  way  to 


ARCHIVES  OF  THE  INDIES.  195 

court.  This,  as  an  advertisement  of  the  Indies,  was  done  to  kindle  the  fires 
of  avarice  and  discontent  in  sluggish  breasts,  that  therefrom  others  might  be 
induced  to  go  and  gather  gold  and  pay  the  king  his  fifth.  Afterward  Bas 
tidas  returned  with  his  wife  and  children  to  Santo  Domingo,  and  became  rich 
in  horned  cattle,  having  at  one  time  8000  head;  and  that  when  a  cow  in 
Espauola  was  worth  50  pesos  de  oro.  In  1504  he  again  visited  Uraba,  in  two 
ships,  and  brought  thence  600  natives,  whom  he  enslaved  in  Espauola.  In 
1520  the  emperor  gave  him  the  pacification  of  Trinidad  with  the  title  of  ade- 
lantado;  which  grant  being  opposed  by  Diego  Colon,  on  the  ground  that  the 
island  was  of  his  father's  discovering,  Bastidas  waived  his  claim,  and  accepted 
the  governorship  of  Santa  Marta,  where  he  went  with  450  men,  and  was 
assassinated  by  his  lieutenant,  Villafuerte,  who  thought  to  succeed  him,  and  to 
silence  the  governor's  interposed  objections  to  the  maltreatment  of  the  natives. 
Thus  if  the  humane  Bastidas,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  day,  did 
inhumanly  enslave  his  fellow-creatures,  he  gave  his  life  at  last  to  save  them 
from  other  cruelties;  which  act,  standing  as  it  does  luminous  and  alone  in  a 
century  of  continuous  outrage,  entitles  him  to  the  honorable  distinction  of 
Spain's  best  and  noblest  conquistador.  As  the  eloquent  Quintana  says:  'Bas 
tidas  no  se  hizo  celebre  ni  como  descubridor  ni  como  conquistador;  pero  su 
memoria  debe  ser  grata  a  todos  los  amantes  de  la  justicia  y  de  la  humanidad, 
por  haber  sido  uno  de  los  pocos  que  trataron  a  los  indios  con  equidad  y  man- 
sedumbre,  considerando  aquel  pais  mas  bien  como  un  objeto  de  especulaciones 
mercantiles  con  iguales,  que  como  campo  de  gloria  y  de  conquistas.' 

Among  the  standard  authorities  mention  is  made  of  Bastidas  and  his  voy 
age  by  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.,  iii.  10-12,  who  refutes  certain  of  Oviedo's  un 
important  statements  in  Hi«toria  General?/  Natural  de  las  Indias,  i.  76-7;  ii. 
334-5;  by  Herrera,  i.  148-9;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  67;  and  in  Galvatio's 
Discov.,  99-100,  and  102-3.  But  before  these  I  should  place  original  docu 
ments  found  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  25-28,  545-6,  and  591-3,  and  in  the 
Coleccion  of  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  of  both  of  which  works  I  shall  presently 
speak  more  fully.  In  torn.  ii.  pp.  362-6  of  this  latter  collection  is  given  the 
Asiento  que  hizo  con  sus  Majestades  Cattilicas  fiodrigo  de  Bastidas,  before  men 
tioned;  and  on  pp.  366-467,  same  volume,  is  Information  de  los  servicios  del 
adelantado  Rodriyo  de  Bastidas,  conquistador  y  pacijicador  de  Santa  Marta. 
Next  in  importance  to  the  chroniclers  are,  Historia  de  la  Marina  Heal  Espanola, 
i.  284;  Morelli,  FaMi  Novi  Orbis,  11;  Robertson's  Hist.  Am.,  i.  159;  Help's 
Spanish  Conquest,  i.  294;  Acosta,  Compend.  Hist.  Nueva  Granada,  21;  Irving's 
Columbus,  iii.  53-6,  and  Quintana,  Vidas  de  Espanoles  Celebris,  '  Vasco  Nunez 
de  Balboa,'  1.  Robinson's  Acct.  Discov.  in  West,  105;  Lardner's  Maritime  Dis 
cover//,  ii.  32;  Holmes'  Annals  of  America,  i.  20;  Lerdode  Tejada,  Apuntes  Hist., 
89;  Harris'  Voy.,  i.  270;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  369,  and  like  allusions  are 
worthless.  In  Kerr's  Col.  Voy.,  ii.  58-63^  is  given  a  translation  of  Galvano. 
In  Aa's  collection  the  narrative  is  substantially  the  same  as  in  Gottfried's. 

The  most  fertile  source  of  information  relative  to  the  early  affairs  of 
America  is  the  Archives  of  the  Indies,  a  general  term  comprising  various  col 
lections  in  various  places.  From  this  source  many  writers  have  drawn,  and 
are  still  drawing;  many  documents  have  been  printed,  and  many  yet  remain  to 
be  printed.  Altogether  the  collections  are  very  numerous,  as  the  government 
required  full  records,  and  in  some  cases  copies,  to  be  kept  of  official  documents 
concerning  discovery,  conquest,  and  settlement.  The  several  council-cham 
bers  and  public  offices  where  the  business  was  transacted  were  the  first  deposi 
tories  of  these  papers,  the  chief  places  then  being  Seville,  Cadiz,  and  Madrid. 
In  1566  Philip  II.  ordered  all  collections,  ecclesiastic  and  secular,  to  be 
united,  and  deposited  in  the  fortress  of  Simancas.  Again  in  1717,  when  all 
the  councils  were  consolidated  in  one,  Felipe  V.,  who  founded  the  Academia 
de  la  Ilistoria,  among  other  things  for  the  gathering  and  preserving  of  mate- 


196'  DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEK 

rials  for  history,  directed  all  papers  to  be  conveyed  annually  to  the  Archivo 
de  Simancas.  These  provisions  could  not  have  been  fully  carried  out,  or 
else  a  very  extensive  system  of  copying  must  have  been  practised;  for  later, 
when  the  Archives  were  thrown  open  to  the  search  of  historians,  the  accumu 
lation  at  Simancas,  though  large,  did  not  appear  to  be  much  greater  than  at 
some  other  places.  Further  than  this,  there  were  family  archives  in  the 
houses  of  those  who  had  played  prominent  parts  in  public  affairs,  and  ecclesi 
astical  relaciones  in  the  convents  of  the  several  orders,  of  little  less  importance 
than  public  records.  And  while  the  government  insisted  on  the  making  of 
complete  records,  and  observed  great  care  in  preventing  their  contents  from 
being  known,  especially  to  foreigners,  little  pains  was  taken  to  preserve  them 
from  damage  or  destruction,  or  to  arrange  them  for  convenient  reference. 
Therefore  when  they  came  to  light  it  was  in  the  form  of  bulky  masses  of 
unassorted,  worm-eaten,  and  partially  illegible  papers.  Many  documents, 
mentioned  by  contemporary  writers,  are  known  to  have  been  lost,  and  their 
contents  blotted  from  existence.  Fernando  VI.,  1746-1759,  commissioned 
Burriel  and  Santiago  Palomares  to  examine  the  archives  of  the  kingdom  and 
to  copy  and  form  into  a  collection  such  of  the  manuscripts  as  they  should 
deem  best.  This  collection  was  placed  in  the  Biblioteca  National  at  Madrid. 
Other  collections  were  made  during  the  two  following  reigns  by  Abella, 
Traggia,  Velazquez,  Munoz,  Navarrete,  Sans,  Vargas  Ponce,  and  Villanueva, 
which  found  lodgment  in  various  localities. 

The  early  chroniclers  of  the  Indies  picked  up  their  knowledge  as  best  they 
might,  by  observation,  by  conversation,  and  by  the  examination  of  written 
evidence.  Las  Casas  and  Oviedo  spent  much  time  in  the  New  World;  Peter 
Martyr  had  access  to  whatever  existed,  beside  talking  with  everybody  who 
had  been  to  America;  Gomara  copied  much  from  Oviedo.  Everything  was 
at  the  disposal  of  Herrera  as  crown  historiographer,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
though  he  did  not  always  make  the  best  use  of  his  opportunities.  Gashard 
affirms  that  both  Cabrera  and  Herrera  were  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  many 
of  the  most  valuable  documents  of  their  day.  Ramusio,  Hakluyt,  Purchas, 
and  others,  succeeded  in  getting  now  and  then  an  original  paper  on  the 
Indies  to  print  in  their  several  collections.  Among  the  first  English  histo 
rians  who  attempted  for  purposes  of  history  to  utilize  the  Archives  of  the 
Indies  was  William  Robertson,  who  published  the  History  of  the  JReiyn  of 
the  Emperor  Charles,  London,  1769;  and  in  1777,  his  History  of  America,  2 
vols.  4to,  several  editions  appearing  subsequently  also  in  Svo.  Robertson  was 
a  Scotch  clergyman  of  great  learning  and  ability.  His  style  was  elegant  and 
vigorous,  and  he  was  by  far  the  most  philosophic  writer  on  America  up  to  his 
time.  Although  his  statements  are  full  of  errors,  intensified  by  dogmatism, 
but  for  which  he  cannot  always  be  blamed,  all  who  have  come  after  him 
have  profited  by  his  writings;  and  some  of  these,  indeed,  have  reaped  richer 
rewards  than  he  to  whom  they  owed  their  success,  and  with  far  less  labor. 

Early  in  his  work  Mr  Robertson  applied  to  the  proper  authorities  at 
Madrid,  Vienna,  and  St  Petersburg  for  access  to  material.  Germany  and 
Russia  responded  in  a  spirit  of  liberality,  but  Spain  would  none  of  it.  In 
1775  Robertson  ascertained  that  the  largest  room  occupied  by  the  Archivosde 
Simancas  was  filled  with  American  papers,  in  873  bundles;  that  they  were 


ROBERTSON  AND  MU^OZ.  197 

concealed  from  strangers  with  solicitous  care,  Spanish  subjects  even  being 
denied  access  without  an  order  from  the  crown;  and  that  no  copies  could  be 
obtained  except  upon  the  payment  of  exorbitant  fees.  However,  through 
the  assistance  of  Lord  Grantham,  English  ambassador  at  Madrid,  and  by 
preparing  a  set  of  questions  to  be  submitted  to  persons  who  had  lived  in 
America,  much  new  and  important  information  was  elicited,  and  copies  of 
certain  manuscripts  were  obtained.  The  letters  of  Cortes,  and  the  writings 
of  Motolinia,  Mendieta,  and  others,  which  Robertson  used  in  manuscript, 
have  since  been  printed. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  learned  Juan  Bautista  Mufioz  did 
not  live  to  complete  his  Historia  del  Nuevo  Mundo,  only  the  first  volume  of 
which  appeared.  This  was  published  in  Madrid,  in  1793,  bringing  his  work 
down  to  1500.  Munoz  was  born  near  Valencia  in  1745,  graduated  at  the  Uni 
versity,  and  in  1779  was  commissioned  by  the  king  to  write  a  history  of 
America,  all  public  and  private  material  being  placed  at  his  disposal  by  royal 
order.  Many  papers  were  wanting  in  the  archives  of  the  department  of  the 
Indies  in  Madrid;  whereupon  he  went  to  Simancas,  Seville,  Cadiz,  and  other 
towns,  armed  with  a  royal  cedilla,  which  opened  to  him  family  and  monastic 
accumulations  as  well  as  all  public  depositories.  So  great  was  the  confusion 
in  which  he  found  the  royal  archives,  that  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  they  had 
been  disarranged  purposely  to  hide  what  they  contained.  Even  in  the  indices 
of  the  Archivo  Secreto  del  Gonsejo  de  India*  there  was  scarcely  any  indication 
of  papers  belonging  to  the  earlier  American  periods.  Nevertheless,  by  per 
sistent  search,  mass  after  mass  of  rich  material  was  unearthed  in  the  secret 
archives  as  well  as  in  the  Real  Gasa  Audiencia  de  la  Contratacion,  the  archives 
at  Simancas,  the  royal  libraries  of  Madrid  and  the  Escorial,  the  Contaduria 
Principal  of  the  Audiencia  de  Indias  in  Cadiz,  the  Archivo  General  de  Por 
tugal,  the  monastery  of  Monserrate,  the  colleges  of  San  Bartolome'  and 
Cuenca  at  Salamanca,  and  San  Gregorio  at  Valladolid,  the  cathedral  of 
Palencia,  the  Sacromonte  of  Granada,  and  in  the  convents  of  San  Francisco 
of  Tolosa  in  Guipuzeoa,  Santo  Domingo  of  Malaga,  and  San  Acacio,  San 
Jose",  and  San  Isidro  del  Campo  of  Seville,  until  it  may  be  said  of  him  that 
his  efforts  were  buried  beneath  the  magnitude  of  their  invocation.  Then  it 
was  that  he  found  he  had  undertaken  greater  things  than  he  could  accom 
plish.  Even  with  the  aid  of  "government  he  could  not  master  the  confused 
masses;  for  money  and  men  unlimited  cannot  accomplish  everything  without 
time.  The  indefatigable  Mufioz  worked  faithfully;  the  king  complained  of 
the  meagre  results;  the  author  died  doing  his  best,  and  his  work  to  this  day 
remains  undone.  During  his  labors  he  made  an  extensive  collection  of  papers, 
memorials,  and  other  manuscripts  relating  to  America,  known  as  the  Coleccion 
de  Mufioz,  which  he  once  intended  to  publish,  but  this  with  a  portion  of  his 
history  was  left  in  manuscript.  Irving  states  that  the  papers  of  Mufloz  were 
left  with  Sefior  Uguina,  and  Ternaux-Compans  claims  to  have  obtained  all  of 
Uguina's  manuscripts;  but  Prescott  asserts  that  the  collection  of  Munoz  was 
deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History  at  Madrid,  and 
was  there  augmented  by  the  manuscripts  of  Vargas  Ponce,  obtained  chiefly 
from  the  archives  of  the  Indies  at  Seville.  Prior  to  1793  the  Archivo  General 
de  Indias  was  established  at  Seville,  and  a  large  quantity  of  old  papers  con- 


193  DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEN. 

veyed  thither  from  Madrid  and  Simancas.  About  1810  the  archives  at 
Simancas  were  sacked  by  Napoleon;  in  1814  the  remnant  was  re-arranged  and 
classified. 

Before  the  death  of  Muiioz,  Navarrete  was  commissioned  by  the  king  to 
search  the  archives  for  documents  relating  to  the  doings  of  the  Spanish  navy. 
By  him  personally,  or  under  his  direction  when  occupied  in  other  duties,  the 
search  was  continued  from  1789  to  1825.  The  results  of  these  labors  were 
as  follows:  before  1793,  twenty-four  folio  volumes  of  copies  from  the  Royal 
Library  at  Madrid,  the  collections  of  the  marquises  of  Santa  Cruz  and  of 
Villafranca,  of  the  dukes  de  Medina  Sidonia  and  del  Infantado,  and  from 
the  B'M'toteca  de  los  estudios  reales  de  San  Isidro,  and  the  Biblioteca  alta  del 
Escorial;  after  1793,  seventeen  volumes  of  copies  from  the  Arckivo  General 
de  Indias,  including  the  papers  in  the  Casa  de  Contratacion  in  Seville,  the 
Coleyio  de  San  Telmo,  the  BlbUotcca-  de  San  Acacio,  and  from  the  collection 
of  the  Conde  del  Aguila.  With  this  material,  increased  by  subsequent 
researches  in  the  libraries  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History  in  Madrid,  and 
other  public  institutions,  and  in  many  private  collections,  particularly  that 
of  the  Duke  of  Veraguas,  and  with  access  to  the  Mufioz  collection,  Navarrete 
began  in  1825  the  publication  of  his  Colecdon  de  los  Viayes  y  Descubrimientos, 
que  lucleron  por  mar  los  Espanoles  desde  fines  del  Siylo  xv.,  in  5  vols., 
Madrid,  1825-37,  in  which  he  printed  over  500  documents,  many  of  them  of 
the  highest  importance.  As  this  collection  constitutes  one  of  the  chief 
authorities  upon  the  early  affairs  of  Darien,  a  brief  notice  of  the  author  may 
not  be  out  of  place. 

Martin  Fernandez  de  Navarrete  was  born  in  17G5  in  Abalos  in  old  Castile. 
He  entered  the  seminary  of  Vergara  in  1777,  where  he  studied  Latin  and 
mathematics  and  displayed  some  literary  taste.  In  1780  he  joined  the  navy, 
was  stationed  first  as  a  midshipman  at  Ferrol,  joined  Cordoba's  squadron  in 
1781,  and  cruised  in  the  summer  of  that  year  on  the  English  coast.  He  did 
good  service  before  Gibraltar  in  September,  1782,  and  in  the  battle  off  Cape 
Espartel  the  20th  of  October  following.  In  1783,  having  been  promoted  to  a 
naval  ensigncy,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Cartagena  department,  and  cruised 
in  consequence  against  the  Moors  during  the  years  1784-5.  On  the  close  of 
the  Algerine  wars  he  studied  the  higher  mathematics,  navigation,  and 
manoeuvring  with  Gabriel  de  Ciscar,  distinguishing  himself  in  these  branches. 
In  1789,  his  health  forcing  him  to  quit  active  service,  he  was  commissioned 
by  Carlos  IV.  to  examine  the  archives  of  the  kingdom  and  collect  manu 
scripts  relating  to  marine  history;  a  work  for  which  his  zeal  and  knowledge 
particularly  fitted  him.  This  was  the  beginning  of  his  famous  Collection  of 
Voyages,  although  its  first  volumes  did  not  appear  till  thirty-six  years  after. 
When  the  war  broke  out  between  France  and  Spain  in  1793,  he  joined  the 
squadron  commanded  by  Juan  de  LAngara,  who  appointed  him  his  chief  aid, 
primer  ayudante,  and  secretary.  He  was  still  at  sea,  in  1796,  when  war  was 
declared  against  England;  but  in  1797,  Ldngara  being  named  minister  of 
marine,  and  unwilling  to  lose  his  young  secretary,  he  brought  him  to  Madrid, 
giving  him  a  place  in  the  department.  Here,  in  1802,  Navarrete  published, 
as  a  preface  to  the  Rdacion  del  Viaye  hecho  par  las*goletas  Sutil  y  Mexicana, 
a  resume  of  Spanish  discoveries  on  the  California:!  and  Northwest  coasts, 


MARTIN  FERNANDEZ  DE  NAVARRETE.  199 

that  has  been  much  cited  in  the  English- American  disputes  about  the  Oregon 
boundary.  Meanwhile  his  merits  were  recognized  in  Madrid.  In  1807  he 
was  named  minintro  fiscal  of  the  supreme  council  of  the  admiralty  court,  he 
holding  already  the  rank  of  captain.  But  in  this  year  came  the  French  in 
vasion,  overturning  all  things.  Madrid  fell  in  1808.  In  1812  Navarrete  was 
found  in  Cadiz;  in  1814  in  Murcia.  Fernando  regained  his  throne,  however, 
May  14,  1814;  four  months  after  which  event  Navarrete  returned  to  Madrid. 
In  1815  he  proposed  from  his  place  in  the  Spanish  Academy  that  new  system 
of  orthography  which  has  been  adopted  for  its  dictionary.  He  interested 
himself  also  in  the  fine  arts,  and  as  secretary  of  the  Academy  of  San  Fernando 
contributed  many  valuable  papers  to  its  Transactions.  Soon  after  his  return 
to  Madrid,  being  little  pleased  with  the  stormy  and  veering  statesmanship  of 
the  day,  he  retired  as  much  as  possible  from  politics,  and  began  to  collect 
materials  for  his  life  of  Cervantes — an  excellent  and  very  complete  work 
published  by  the  academy,  with  its  edition  of  Don  Quijote,  in  1820.  Honors 
continued  to  cluster  around  the  historian.  Toward  the  close  of  1823  he  was 
appointed  director  of  the  hydrographic  department,  and  he  became  for  many 
years  in  fact,  if  not  in  name,  the  great  and  chief  naval  authority  of  Spain; 
and  this  without  prejudice  to  his  literary  activity.  In  1825  appeared  the 
first  two  volumes  of  his  Collection  of  Voyages;  the  third  appeared  in  1829; 
the  fourth  and  fifth  in  1837;  while  the  sixth  and  seventh  were  still  unfinished 
at  the  author's  death.  On  the  publication  of  the  Estatuto  Real,  in  1834,  he 
received  a  place  in  the  new  peerage,  and  sat  afterward  as  senator  for  his  own 
province,  in  almost  every  legislature.  But  his  studious  life  and  pacific  char 
acter  were  hardly  destined  to  shine  in  a  political  career,  nor  was  it  for  the  interest 
of  science  that  they  should.  In  the  winter  of  1844,  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of 
his  age,  Navarrete  died.  The  Academy  issued  a  posthumous  work  of  his  in 
1846,  a  dissertation  on  the  history  of  the  nautical  and  mathematical  sciences  in 
Spain.  A  collection  of  his  smaller  works,  Coleccion  de  Opusculos,  was  begun  in 
1848  by  his  son.  The  two  volumes  which  have  already  appeared  consist  mainly 
of  short  biographies  of  Spanish  navigators  and  literary  men,  previously  scattered 
in  periodicals  and  in  the  transactions  of  the  various  academies  and  societies. 
Navarrete  was  a  man  of  learning  and  research,  as  clearly  appears;  inclined  some 
what  to  verbosity;  tiresome  to  most  readers,  though  pronounced  elegante  ycastizo 
by  his  contemporaries.  Of  the  historical  value  of  his  works,  however,  there  is 
but  one  opinion.  Humboldt  speaks  of  his  Collection  of  Voyages  as  '  one  of 
the  most  important  monuments  of  modern  times,'  and  calls  him  'the  most  ac 
curate  historian  of  the  geographical  discoveries  on  the  New  Continent. '  The 
Baron  de  Zach,  M.  de  Berthelot,  Prescott,  Helps,  Irving,  and  Stirling,  have 
all  given  him  much  consideration.  Indeed,  the  friends  of  Navarrete  cannot 
complain  that  he  has  not  been  honored.  Decorated  with  grand  orders,  mem 
ber  in  high  place  of  many  academies  and  societies,  his  lot  was  more  fortunate 
than  is  usual  among  literary  men.  The  parts  of  Navarrete's  collection  which 
bear  most  directly  upon  this  history  are:  Relation  de  Diego  de,  Porras,  i.  282- 
96;  Carta  que  escribid  D.  Cristtibal  Colon,  i.  296-313;  Relation  hecha  por  Diego 
Mendez,  i.  314-29;  Cartas  de  Colon,  i.  330-52;  Viayes  Menores,  iii.  1-74;  Real 
cedul'i  por  la  cual,  con  referenda  d  lo  capitulado  con  Diego  de  Nicuesa  y  Alonso 
dellojeda,  iii.  116-17;  Notictas  bioyrdficas  dd  capitan  Alonso  Ilojeda,  iii.  163- 


200  DISCOVERY  OF  DARIEN. 

76;  and  the  Establecimicntos  6  Primeras  Poblacionvs  de  los  Etpanoles  en  el 
Darien,  including  instructions  to  Pedrarias,  letters  of  Vasco  Nunez,  memorial 
of  Rodrigo  de  Colmenares,  and  the  relation  of  Pascual  de  Andagoya,  iii. 
337-459. 

Scarcely  was  Navarrete's  Coleccion  de  Viages  put  to  press,  when  Washing 
ton  Irving  heard  of  it,  and  went  to  Madrid  with  the  intention  of  translating 
it  into  English.  But  he  soon  saw  that  with  less  labor  he  could  accomplish  a 
work  which  would  yield  him  greater  returns.  Navarrete,  who  had  already 
collected  the  material  and  prepared  the  way,  was  still  disposed  to  lend  the 
genial  American  every  assistance;  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  make  few  orig 
inal  investigations;  so  that  under  the  circumstances  the  Life  of  Columbus 
was  by  no  means  a  difficult  task  for  so  ready  a  writer.  Humboldt  visited 
Madrid  before  coming  to  America,  but  seems  to  have  consulted  no  important 
historical  documents  not  in  the  possession  of  others.  Prescott  obtained  from 
the  collections  of  Munoz  and  Navarrete  8000  foolscap  pages  of  copies,  most 
of  which  having  any  importance  have  since  been  printed  by  Icazbalceta,  Ala- 
man,  and  others. 

Between  the  years  1837  and  1841  Henri  Ternaux-Compans  published  at 
Paris  twenty  volumes  of  Voyages,  relations,  et  memoires  originaux  pour  servir 
d  Vhistoire  de  la  decouverte  de  VAmerique,  containing,  beside  translations  of 
several  rare  and  then  unobtainable  works,  some  seventy-five  original  docu 
ments,  several  of  them  from  the  Mufioz  collection,  and  others  obtained  from 
the  Spanish  archives  in  some  unexplained  way,  possibly  not  wholly  discon 
nected  with  the  French  campaign  on  the  Peninsula.  Among  his  translations 
are  documents  relating  to  the  conquest  and  settlement  of  Central  America 
and  Mexico,  the  relations  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  Ixtlilxochitl,  Oviedo's  His 
tory  of  Nicaragua,  Zurita's  Report  on  New  Spain,  and  Ixtlilxochitl's  History 
of  the  Chichimecs.  Ternaux-Compans  also  published  Recueil  de  documents  et 
memoires  originaux  sur  Vhistoire  des  possessions  espagnoles  dans  VAmeriquey 
Paris,  1840;  and  Bibliotheque  am&ricaine,  a  catalogue  of  books  on  America 
appearing  prior  to  1700. 

The  project  of  printing  original  papers  selected  from  national  and  family 
archives  was  agitated  in  Spain  by  Campomanes,  Jovellanos,  Villamil,  and 
others,  who  collected  and  wrote  much  upon  the  subject.  The  scheme  was 
delayed  by  the  political  disruptions  incident  to  the  early  part  of  the  century, 
by  which  the  archives  became  badly  scattered.  In  1842,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Academia  de  la  Hixtoria,  was  begun  the  publication,  at  Madrid,  of  a 
Coleccion  de  Documentos  Ineditos  para  la  Historia  de  Espana,  with  the  .names 
of  Martin  Fernandez  Navarrete,  Miguel  Salva,  and  Pedro  Sainz  de  Baranda 
on  the  title-page.  Navarrete  lived  to  see  only  the  fifth  volume;  Salva  and 
Baranda  continued  the  publication  to  vol.  xxiii. ,  after  which,  Salva  edited 
alone  to  vol.  xxxii.,  when  he  was  joined  by  the  marquises  of  Pidal  and  of 
Miraflores.  After  vol.  xlvii.,  Pidal's  name  was  dropped,  and  with  vol.  Ivii. 
Salvd  and  the  Marques  de  Fuente  del  Valle  appeared  as  editors.  In  con 
nection  with  documents  relating  to  the  general  history  of  Spain  is  here 
printed  a  vast  amount  of  matter  about  America,  and  the  doings  of  Spaniards 
in  that  quarter. 

During  the  next  score  of  years  floods  of  light  are  let  in  upon  the  dark 


TERNAUX-COMPAXS,  ALAMAN,  AND  OTHERS.  201 

recesses  of  hidden  treasures,  the  spirit  of  unearthing  which  extends  to 
Mexico.  I  may  mention  incidentally  Ramirez,  who,  in  his  Proceso  de  Resi- 
dencia  contra  Alvarado  and  Nufio  de  Guzman,  gives  some  original  Mexican 
documents  not  elsewhere  published.  Alaman,  at  the  close  of  his  Disertaciones, 
prints  about  forty  original  documents  on  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  some  of 
them  from  the  collection  of  Navarrete,  and  others  from  original  sources,  such 
as  the  Hospital  de  Jesus  in  Mexico.  The  Documentor  para  la  Historia  de 
Mexico,  Mexico,  1853-7,  in  21  volumes,  was  made  chiefly  from  Mexi 
can  sources,  and  is  specially  valuable  for  north-west  Mexico.  Icazbalceta's 
collection  includes  fifty-three  documents,  with  few  exceptions  incditos,  the 
existence  of  several  of  which,  such  as  a  letter  of  Cort6s,  and  the  relation  of 
Tapia  on  the  Conquest,  was  then  unknown.  Most  of  them  were  obtained 
through  Gonzalez  de  Vera,  of  Madrid;  only  two  or  three  were  found  in  Mex 
ico.  Thus  far  Icazbalceta's  collection  refers  exclusively  to  the  sixteenth 
century.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  for  his  Histotre  des  Rations  Civilisces  du 
Mexique,  Paris,  1857-9,  one  volume  of  which  is  devoted  to  a  history  of  the 
Conquest  from  an  Indian  stand-point,  seems  to  have  relied  on  his  Nahua  man 
uscripts,  the  standard  histories,  and  a  few  Spanish  manuscripts.  Although 
much  thus  far  had  been  done,  it  seemed  little  to  the  savans  of  Spain  in  com 
parison  with  what  yet  might  be  accomplished.  And  it  was  with  this  feeling 
that  the  government  authorized  the  printing  of  any  documents  in  the  Real 
Arckivo  de  Indlas  affecting  the  history  of  America  down  to  the  end  of  the  sev 
enteenth  century.  The  publication  of  this  new  series  of  papers  was  begun 
at  Madrid  in  1864  under  title  of  Coleccion  de  Documented  Ineditos  relatives  al 
Descubrimiento,  Conquista  y  Colonization  de  las  posesiones  Espaiiolas  en  America 
y  Occeania,  sacados,  en  su  ma/jor  parte,  del  Real  ArcJuvo  de  Indias.  Joaquin 
F.  Pacheco,  Francisco  de  Cardenas,  and  Luis  Torres  de  Mendozawere  editors 
at  the  first.  After  vol.  iii.  the  first  two  names  were  dropped,  and  after  vol. 
xii.  the  third,  the  work  being  thenceforth  continued,  competentemente  autori- 
zada.  By  this  publication  alone  were  placed  within  easy  reach  of  all  the 
world  hundreds  of  the  richest  treasures  of  the  Archives  of  the  Indies,  twenty 
for  every  one  that  the  writer  of  thirty  years  ago  could  reach. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

COLUMBUS  ON  THE  COASTS  OF  HONDURAS,  NICARAGUA,  AND 

COSTA  RICA. 

1502-1506. 

THE  SOVEREIGNS  DECLINE  EITHER  TO  RESTORE  TO  THE  ADMIRAL  HIS  GOV 
ERNMENT,  OR  TO  CAPTURE  FOR  HIM  THE  HOLY  SEPULCHRE  —  So  HE 
SAILS  ON  A  FOURTH  VOYAGE  OF  DISCOVERY  —  FERNANDO  COLON  AND 
HIS  HISTORY — OVANDO  DENIES  THE  EXPEDITION  ENTRANCE  TO  SANTO 
DOMINGO  HARBOR — COLUMBUS  SAILS  WESTWARD — STRIKES  THE  SHORE 
OF  HONDURAS  NEAR  GUANAJA  ISLAND  —  EARLY  AMERICAN  CARTOG 
RAPHY —  COLUMBUS  COASTS  SOUTHWARD  TO  THE  DARIEN  ISTHMUS — 
THEN  RETURNS  AND  ATTEMPTS  SETTLEMENT  AT  VERAGUA  —  DRIVEN 
THENCE,  HIS  VESSELS  ARE  WRECKED  AT  JAMAICA — THERE  MIDST 
STARVATION  AND  MUTINY  HE  REMAINS  A  YEAR  —  THEN  HE  REACHES 
ESPANOLA  AND  FINALLY  SPAIN,  WHERE  HE  SHORTLY  AFTERWARD  DlES — 
CHARACTER  OF  COLUMBUS — His  BIOGRAPHERS. 

SINCE  his  last  return  to  Spain,  Columbus  had  rested 
at  Granada  under  the  smiles  of  the  sovereigns,  who 
readily  promised  him  all  that  he  might  wish,  while 
resolved  to  grant  nothing  which  could  interfere  with 
their  absolute  domination  of  the  new  lands  that  he 
had  found  for  them.  When  tired  of  begging  the 
restoration  of  his  rights  he  urged  their  Majesties' 
assistance  in  seizing  the  holy  sepulchre,  that  his  vow 
might  be  fulfilled,  and  his  mind  at  rest.  After  pro 
found  study  and  elaborate  preparation  he  presented 
the  case  to  them  in  a  manuscript  volume  of  prophecies 
and  portents  interlarded  with  poetry.  Failing  in 
winning  them  to  this  scheme,  he  promised,  if  ships 
were  provided  him,  to  undertake  new  discoveries. 
Partly  because  they  would  know  more  of  their  New 
World  possessions,  and  partly  to  rid  themselves  of 

(202) 


FOURTH  VOYAGE  OF  THE  ADMIRAL.         203 

uncomfortable  importunities,  the  sovereigns  assented 
to  this  proposal,  meanwhile  intimating  that  after  two 
years  had  been  allowed  in  which  .to  quiet  Espaiiola, 
the  admiral  should  have  his  own  again,  but  as  clearly 
indicating  to  others  that  he  should  not. 

Four  vessels,  ranging  in  burden  from  fifty  to  sev 
enty  tons,  were  then  made  ready,  the  Capitana,  the 
Santiago  de  Palos,  the  Gallego,  and  the  Vizcaino, 
commanded  respectively  by  Diego  Tristan,  Francisco 
de  Porras,  Pedro  de  Terreros,  and  Bartolome  de 
Fresco,  and  embarked  at  Cadiz  the  9th  of  May, 
1502.  With  the  expedition  sailed  Diego  de  Porras 
as  chief  clerk  and  notary,  and  Juan  Sanchez  as  chief 
pilot;  one  hundred  and  forty  men  and  boys  consti 
tuted  the  company.  The  admiral  was  accompanied 
by  his  brother  Bartolome,  the  adelantado,1  and  by 
his  son  Fernando,2  then  thirteen  years  of  age.  The 

1  His  nephew,  Fernando,  in  his  Hist.  Almirante,  inBarcia,  passim,  and  those 
who  follow  this  author  closely,  as  Napione  and  De  Conti,  call  him  El  Pre- 
fecto:  Herrera,  Diego  Mendez,  Diego  de  Porras,  Robertson,  Navarrete,  and 
others,  employ  the  title  adelantado.     Herrera  says  he  was  captain  of  one  of 
the  ships. 

2  Ferdinand  Columbus,  or  as  he  is  more  commonly  called  Fernando  Colon, 
was  ar.  illegitimate  son  of  Christopher  Columbus,  by  a  lady  of  respectable 
family.     He  was  born  at  C6rdova,  and  in  1494,  after  his  father  became 
famous,  was  brought  with  his  elder  brother  to  court,  where  he  was  placed  as 
page  to  Prince  Juan.     Upon  the  death  of  the  heir  apparent  young  Fernando 
served  Queen  Isabella  in  the  same  capacity,  thereby  securing  an  excellent 
education.     During  this  perilous  voyage  he  was  an  object  no  less  of  comfort 
than  of  anxiety  to  his  father,  now  iniirm  and  troubled  in  spirit,  and  his  con 
duct  throughout  merited  and  received  paternal  commendation.     'El  ha  salido 
y  sale  de  muy  buen  saber,'  writes  the  fond  father,  'bien  que  el  sea  niiio  en 
dias,  no  es  assi  en  el  entendimiento. '  Cartas  de  Colon,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Vriac]est 
i.  341  and  344.     See  also  Ziinlga,  Anales  de  Sevilla.     His  manhood  fulfilled 
the  promise  of  his  youth.     He  cultivated  literature  with  considerable  success, 
and  became,  as  Muiioz,  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,  i.  viii. ,  expresses  it,  '  doctisimo 
para  su  siglo,  y  de  grandes  pensamientos  en  materias  literarias,  segun  clemo- 
strai-6  a  su  tiempo.'    He  travelled  extensively  in  Europe,  in  the  train  of 
Charles  V.,  probably  visited  Africa  and  Asia,  and  is  said  to  have  made  two 
voyages  to  America  after  his  father's  death.     He  formed  a  collection  of  over 
20,000  printed  books  and  manuscripts,  which  went  to  the  cathedral  of  Seville. 
He  neither  married,  nor  left  any  recognized  progeny.     He  was  the  author  of 
several  works  which  have  not  been  preserved,  the  inscription  on  his  tomb 
mentioning  one  in  four  divisions  relating  partly  to  the  New  World  and  his 
father's  voyages.     Antonio  de  Leon  Pinelo,  Epitome,  565, 033  and  711,  speaks 
of  a  work,  Apuntamientos  sobre   la  Demarcation  del  Maluco,   preserved  in 
manuscript  at  Simancas.     The  only  printed  book  of  Fernando  Colon  is  a 
history  of  the  admiral,  his  father.     The  original  title  is  not  known,  the  man 
uscript  disappearing  before  its  publication  in  Spanish.     Luis  Colon,  duke  of 
Veraguas,  and  grandson  of  the  admiral,  brought  the  manuscript  to  Genoa 


204  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

sail  across  the  ocean  was  prosperous,  with  favorable 
winds  and  nothing  to  augur  the  approaching  mis 
fortunes  until  the  ships  arrived  off  Santo  Domingo 
on  the  29th  of  June. 

During  the  past  two  years  matters  had  not  im 
proved  at  Espanola.  It  seems  that  others  could 
govern  badly,  as  well  as  the  admiral.  Indeed,  the 
kings  of  Spain,  most  of  them  meaning  well  by  their 

about  1568,  and  delivered  it  to  one  Fornari,  an  old  man'  who,  according  to 
Barcia,  began  to  print  it  in  Spanish,  Italian,  and  Latin.  Others  assert  that  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Marini,  who  caused  it  to  be  translated  into  Italian  by 
Alfonso  de  Ulloa.  Spotorno,  Codice  Diplomatico,  1823,  Ixiii.  Ulloa's  transla 
tion,  badly  made  from  a  bad  copy — 'sansdoute  d'  apres  un  texte  assez  fautif,' 
Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  i.  13, — was  printed  in  Venice,  in  1571,  under  the 
title,  Historic,  del  Fernando  Colombo;  Nolle, quail  s'ha  particolare,  &  vera  relatione 
della  vita,  &  de'fatti  dell'  Ammiraylio  D.  Christoforo  Colombo,  suo  padre,  etc.  It 
was  reprinted  in  Italian  some  six  or  eight  times.  A  French  translation 
was  published  in  1680-1,  and  an  English  translation  has  gone  the  rounds, 
appearing  in  Churchill's  Col.  Voy.,  ii.  480-604;  Kerr's  Col  Voy.,  iii.  1-242; 
and  Pinkerton's  Cot.  Voy.,  xii.  1-155.  It  was  carelessly  retranslated  from 
the  Italian  into  Spanish  by  Andres  Gonzalez  de  Barcia,  and  printed  in  his 
Historiadores  Primitivos  de  las  Indias  Occidentales,  3  vols.,  Madrid,  1749,  com 
prising  pp.  1-128,  torn,  i.,  of  that  seiies,  and  entitled,  Lallistoria  de  D.  Fer 
nando  Colon,  en  la  qual  se  da  Particular,  y  verdadera  relacion  de  la  vida,  y 
hechos  de  el  Almirante  D.  Christoval  Colon,  su  Padre,  etc.  This  is  the  edi 
tion  most  commonly  used,  and  to  this  I  refer,  although  I  have  before  me 
an  Italian  copy  of  the  edition  of  1709.  Fernando  Colon  had  peculiar  ad 
vantages  for  writing  his  father's  history.  Himself  an  actor  in  the  events 
described,  he  was  moreover  personally  acquainted  with  his  father's  friends, 
and  held  possession  of  his  father's  papers.  All  agree  that  he  made  good  use 
of  his  opportunity,  and  that  lie  has  given  a  clear  statement  of  events  which 
even  in  his  own  time  began  to  be  distorted.  If  he  was  silent  touching  his 
father's  family,  country,  and  birth,  we  must  remember  that  poverty  and 
obscurity  were  a  disgrace  in  those  days,  and  that  the  son  Fernando  was  a 
Spaniard.  Those  who  should  best  know  the  merits  of  this  author  pay  him 
the  highest  tribute.  Of  his  work  says  Muuoz,  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,  i.  viii. , 
'Confieso  deberle  mucho;'  and  the  author  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  i.  Ixx., 
remarks,  *  hab!6  siempre  con  verdad  y  exactitud,  salvo  alguna  equivocacion 
f  acil  de  discernir  en  buena  critica . . . .  y  por  tan  to  pueden  aun  estas  leves 
f altas  ser  ef ecto  de  la  incuria  6  poca  inteligencia  de  ambos  traductores. '  At 
tempts  have  been  made  to  deny  to  Fernando  the  authorship,  but  this,  if 
correct,  does  not  materially  affect  its  value,  since  it  is  allowed  to  have  been 
written  from  his  documents  and  under  his  supervision.  The  vicissitudes  to 
which  the  work  has  been  subjected  and  the  mutilation  it  has  suffered  afford 
grounds  for  caution  not  to  be  disregarded  by  the  historian.  Still,  the  general 
tenor  ancl  details  of  the  narrative,  and  the  literary  bent  of  the  reputed  author, 
present  in  themselves  sufficient  evidence  of  its  authenticity. 

With  regard  to  the  use  of  certain  proper  names  encountered  thus  far  in 
this  history  I  would  say  a  word.  The  question  presents  difficulties  in  what 
soever  aspect  viewed.  There  are  Spanish  names  of  places  and  persons  which 
custom  has  so  anglicized  as  to  give  to  their  use  in  the  original  the  appear 
ance  of  affectation — instance  Castilla,  for  Castile;  Sevilla,  Seville;  Fernando 
and  Isabel,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella;  Carlos  V.,  Charles  V.;  Felipe  II.,  Philip 
II.  On  the  other  hand,  in  writing  in  English  of  Spanish  affairs,  the  attempt 
to  continue  indefinitely  the  anglicizing  of  Spanish  names  would  be  as  im- 


FATE  OF  BOBADILLA.  205 

Now  "World  subjects,  were  too  often  unfortunate  in 
their  choice  of  agents.  Until  recently  Bobadilla  had 
held  sway,  the  sovereigns  being  apparently  in  no 
haste  to  displace  him;  from  which  course  it  was  evi 
dent  either  that  they  had  not  been  properly  informed 
of  his  conduct,  or  they  approved  of  it.  Perhaps 
it  was  true  that  a  knave  was  better  for  the  place 
than  an  honest  man.  A  successor,  however,  had  at 
length  arrived  in  the  person  of  Nicola's  de  Ovando, 
and  the  superb  fleet  which  had  brought  him,  and  was 
to  carry  back  the  displaced  governor  to  Spain,  now 
rode  at  anchor  in  the  harbor. 

In  following  that  contriving  policy  which  others 
beside  princes  sometimes  regard  as  necessary  when 
straightforwardness  were  better,  it  had  been  deemed 
expedient  that  Columbus  should  not  on  this  expe 
dition  touch  at  Espanola,  lest  his  presence  en 
gender  fresh  broils  on  the  island.  And  the  admiral 
appeared  to  entertain  no  intention  of  breaking  the 
royal  commands,  until  he  found,  on  reaching  the  In 
dies,  that  one  of  his  vessels  was  unfit  for  service;  or 
else  he  pretended  that  it  was  so  in  order  to  look  in 
on  his  late  government.  But  whether  in  actual  or 
feigned  distress,  when  the  admiral  sent  the  29th  of 
June  to  ask  of  Ovando  permission  to  exchange  a  leaky 
caravel,  or  at  least  to  shelter  the  vessels  from  an 
impending  storm,  his  messenger  Terreros  returned 
with  a  refusal. 

It  was  certainly  an  anomalous  position  in  which  the 
great  discoverer  found  himself,  vainly  knocking  at  the 
door  of  a  possession  which  he  had  so  lately  given  to 

possible  as  absurd.  The  two  chief  objects  with  me  have  been  to  adopt  the 
best  forms,  and  to  preserve  consistency;  I  do  not  claim  eminent  success  in 
either  attempt.  The  result,  however,  has  been  the  adoption  of  the  following 
method,  if  it  may  be  called  a  method:  The  prominent  places  and  persona 
of  Spain,  whose  names  are  invariably  given  in  their  anglicized  form  in  current 
English  literature,  I  write  in  the  same  way;  but  those  same  names,  as  well 
as  all  others,  appearing  in  the  New  World,  where  no  prominent  English 
writers  have  made  them  familiar  in  an  English  form,  I  present  in  the  original 
as  written  by  the  best  Spanish  scholars.  Thus  the  name  of  the  great  Genoese 
I  give  in  its  common  latinized  form,  Christopher  Columbus,  while  in  the  use 
of  those  of  his  less  eminent  brothers  and  sons,  who  soon  became  almost  or 
altogether  Spaniards,  I  adopt  the  forms  employed  by  Spaniards. 


206  COLUMBUS  AT  VEBAGUA. 

Spain,  and  he  not  convicted,  nay,  scarcely  accused 
of  any  crime.  Columbus  sent  again  and  warned 
the  governor  of  approaching  bad  weather.  Ovando 
would  not  heed  him.  The  gubernatorial  fleet  sailed; 
but  only  to  face  a  hurricane  which  soon  strewed 
the  shores  of  Espanola  with  its  fragments.  Current 
biographies  here  read  like  a  moral  story.  On  the 
wrecked  vessels  were  Bobadilla,  Roldan,  and  other 
inveterate  enemies  of  the  admiral,  who  with  a  huge 
mass  of  ill-gotten  treasure  were  buried  beneath  the 
waves.  On  a  little  caravel  which  survived  the  tem 
pest  was  the  good  Bastidas  with  his  property;  and  on 
another,  which  likewise  reached  Spain  in  safety,  were 
four  thousand  pesos  de  oro  belonging  to  Columbus. 
Furthermore  the  admiral  sheltered  his  vessels,  and 
so  received  no  injury  from  the  storm.  From  all 
which,  grave  deductions  were  severally  made  — by 
Columbus,  that  the  Almighty  had  preserved  him; 
by  his  enemies,  that  he  had  employed  witchcraft  to 
save  himself  and  property;  by  others,  of  a  luckless 
order  which  providence  refuses  to  recognize,  that 
the  admiral  and  adelantado  were  good  seamen.  After 
certain  ship  repairs,  made  without  difficulty  in  a  little 
port  near  Santo  Domingo,  on  the  14th  of  July 
Columbus  sailed  westward  on  his  explorations. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  at  this  time,  and 
for  several  years  afterward,  the  Spaniards  did  not 
know  where  they  were.  They  supposed  the  earth 
smaller  than  it  is,  and  that  they  were  on  the  barba 
rous  outposts  of  India,3  whose  interior  was  civilized 
and  wealthy;  and  it  was  the  present  object  of  the 
admiral  to  find  some  strait  or  passage  between  this 

3  Instance  the  title-page  of  the  first  work  published_on  the  New  World,  in 
1493: — Epistola  ChriMofori  Colom:  cui  etas  nostra  multu,  debet:  de  fnsulis  Indie 
supra  Gangem  nuper  inuentis.  Ad  quas  perquirendas  octauo  antea  mense  auspiciis 
et  ere  inuictissimi  Fernandi  Hispaniarum  Regis  missus  fiierat :  ad  Magnijicum 
dum  Rapkaekm  Sanxls:  eiusdemserenissimi  Regis  Tesaurariu  mism:  quam  nolri- 
Us  ac  litteratus  vir  Aliander  de  Cosco  ab  Hispano  ideomate  in  lalinum  conuertit: 
terlio  kaVs  Maij.  M.cccc.xdij.  Pontific.atus  Alexandra  Sextl  Anno  Primo* 
Letter  of  Christopher  Colom,  to  whom  our  age  is  greatly  indebted,  respecting 
the  Islands  of  India  beyond  the  Ganges,  lately  discovered.  In  search  of 
which  he  was  sent  eight  months  since,  under  the  auspices  and  at  the  expense 


EARLY  CARTOGRAPHY.  207 

border-land  and  the  detached  southern  regions  about 
Paria,  on  which  he  might  sail  to  these  rich  inner 
realms,  still  coasting  Asia  south-westward. 

A  storm  greeted  him,  followed  by  a  calm,  during 
which  he  was  carried  first  southward  by  Jamaica, 
then  northward  past  the  western  end  of  Cuba;  after 
which,  the  wind  freshening,  he  continued  his  course, 
and  on  the  30th  of  July  came  to  a  small  elevated 
island,  called  by  the  natives  Guanaja,4  to  which,  from 

of  the  most  invincible  Ferdinand,  king  of  the  Spains.  Sent  to  the  magnifi 
cent  lord  Raphael  Sanxis,  treasurer  of  the  same  most  serene  king,  and  which 
the  noble  and  learned  man,  Aliander  de  Cosco,  translated  from  the  Spanish 
idiom  into  Latin.  The  third  day  of  the  Calends  of  May,  1493.  Pontificate 
of  Alexander  VI. ,  Year  One. 

*  Guanaja  is  the  most  easterly  of  a  group  called  the  Bay  Islands.  To  the 
west  of  Guanaja,  in  the  order  here  named,  lie  Barbaretta,  Helena,  Morat, 
Ruatan,  the  largest,  and  Utila.  On  Peter  Martyr's  map,  India  beyond  the 
Ganges,  1510,  Guanaja  is  written  yuamisa.  On  mapiv.,  Munich  Atlas,  sup 
posed  to  have  been  drawn  by  Salvat  Pilestrina  in  1515,  Guanaja  is  called  satn 
fir.c°,  San  Francisco;  Ruatan,  todo  samto ;  and  Utila,  I:Uiana.  Fernando 
Colon  locates  on  his  map,  1527,  y:llana,  s:franclsco,  and  todos  sanctos,  and  be 
tween  the  last  two,  sancta  ffe.  On  the  map  of  Diego  de  Ribera,  1529,  are 
s: franco,  to  stos,  y&  liana,  and  s:.fe.  Vaz  Dourado,  1571,  map  x.,  Munich 
Atlas,  calls  Guanaja,  Uaganaxa;  Ruatan,  anuba;  and  Utila,  dotila.  Mer ea 
ter's  Atlas,  1574,  gives  Guanaxos;  Ogilbi/s  Map,  1671,  Guanaja,  Guajama, 
Roatan,  and  Vtila;  Laet,  Novvs  Orbis,  1633,  the  same;  Jeffery*'  Voyages,  1776, 
Guanaja  or  Bonaka,  Guajama  or  Rattan,  and  Utila.  Of  Guanaja,  Diego  de 
Porras  in  Navarretc,  Col.  de  Viayes,  i.  283,  remarks: — 'es  pequena,  bojani 
veinte  leguas,  no  tiene  cosa  de  provecho.'  Utila  is  low  and  level;  hence  the 
name,  Y»  Liana.  In  his  remarks  on  the  two  oldest  maps  of  America,  Kohl 
says  of  Guanaja: — 'Das  Columbus  sie  schon  gesehen  hat,  ist  zu  bezweifeln, 
da  er  wohl  nicht  so  weit  westwarts  segelte  oder  blickte.  Vielleicht  sahen  sie 
jedoch  Pinzon  und  Solis  1508.  Gewiss  ist  es,  dass  sie  schon  1516  von  einer 
spanischen  Expedition,  die  zum  Menschenraub  von  Cuba  nach  Siiden  ausge- 
laufen  war,  besucht  wurde. '  Fernando  Colon  complains  that  Solis  and  Pinzon, 
visiting  these  regions  in  1508,  re-named  many  localities,  claiming  to  be  the  first 
discoverers,  and  thus  causing  much  confusion  in  the  charts  of  the  timeti. 

And  here  as  well  as  elsewhere  I  may  speak  of  a  work  from  which  I 
have  derived  no  inconsiderable  advantage  in  tracing  the  metamorphoses  of 
names  from  those  originally  given  to  those  finally  established.  Believing 
that  much  curious  and  valuable  historical  information  might  be  obtained  by 
instituting  a  close  comparison  of  the  nomenclature  employed  by  the  earlier 
makers  of  charts  at  their  respective  dates,  in  1873  I  directed  Mr  Gold- 
schmidt  to  bring  out  and  arrange  for  convenient  reference  all  such  relevant 
maps  as  my  library  contained.  Beginning  then  with  the  earliest,  we  entered 
on  paper  prepared  for  the  purpose  the  names  of  all  the  principal  places  con 
tained  within  our  territory.  And  so  with  the  next,  and  the  next,  through 
the  successive  periods  of  discovery,  following  the  coast  on  one  side  from  Da- 
rien  to  Texas,  and  on  the  other  from  Panama  to  Alaska,  and  along  the  Arctic 
seaboard  to  the  Mackenzie  River.  Inland  names  were  included,  but  their 
number  was  small  as  compared  with  those  along  the  ocean.  Some  200  maps, 
each  original  authority  for  its  time  and  place,  were  thus  examined,  and  the 
names  which  had  been  applied  at  various  times  and  by  various  persons  to  the 
several  important  geographical  points  along  this  vast  shore  line,  and  through 
out  the  inland  area,  were  brought  together  so  that  comparisons  might  be 


208  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

the  trees  that  covered  it,  he  gave  the  name  Isla  de 
Pinos.  On  going  ashore,  the  adelantado  found  the 

made,  and  the  nomenclatural  history  of  the  several  places  be  quickly  and 
correctly  traced.  All  of  the  authorities  I  cannot  mention  here,  but  they  will 
severally  be  referred  to  in  their  proper  places  during  the  course  of  this  his 
tory.  The  result  of  this  labor  at  the  end  of  six  months,  Mr  Goldschmidt 
working  alone  after  the  first  fortnight,  was  three  folio  manuscript  volumes, 
entitled  Cartography  of  the  Pacific  Coast  of  North  America,  and  of  the  Eastern 
Coasts  of  Mexico  and  Central  America.  The  maps  more  particularly  ex 
amined  in  writing  this  volume  are  as  follows.  Passing  the  sea  charts  of 
Nicolo  and  Antonio  Zeno,  made  about  1390,  and  used  by  Frobisher;  the 
ocean  and  islands  between  western  Europe  and  eastern  Asia  from  the  globe 
of  Martin  Behaim,  1492;  the  chart  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  1500,  showing  the 
West  India  Islands,  but  omitting  the  coast  of  Central  America ;  and  the  map 
of  Johann  Ruysch,  1508, — we  have,  in  part  most  important,  the  following: 
Map  of  India  beyond  the  Ganges,  drawn  by  Peter  Martyr  in  1511,  and  show 
ing  a  coast  line  from  Brazil  to  the  middle  of  Yucatan.  Along  this  line,  in 
the  order  here  given,  from  east  to  west,  are  vraba,  tariene,  el  mamol,  bera- 
gua,  c  gra  de  dios,  gjianasa,  b  de  lagartos.  North  of  Cuba  is  a  section  of 
the  continental  shore  line  lettered  isla  de  beimini,  parte.  In  Ptolemy's  Cos 
mography,  1513,  the  coast  between  Brazil  and  Florida  is  given,  but  without 
names.  The  Atlantic  is  called  Occanus  Occidentals;  and  South  America, 
Terra  Incognita.  By  Reisch,  in  Margaritlia  Philosophica,  1515,  the  map  is 
called  Typvs  Vniversalis  Terre  Ivxta.  Two  only  of  the  islands  are  given  and 
both  called  Isabella.  South  of  Oceanus  Occidentalis  is  a  large  continent  called 
Paria  sev  Prisilia,  Paria  or  Brazil.  There  are  no  names  on  the  line  of  Cen 
tral  America,  and  the  only  lettering  on  the  small  portion  of  the  northern 
continent  are  the  mysterious  words  Zoana  Mela,  which  have  given  rise  to 
much  discussion.  In  1859  was  published  at  Munich,  by  the  Royal  Bavarian 
Academy  of  Sciences,  from  manuscripts  in  the  university  library  and  army 
archives,  under  the  auspices  of  Friedrich  Kunstmann,  Karl  von  Spruner,  and 
Georg  M.  Thomas,  and  as  supplementary  to  the  text  of  Kunstmann's  Die 
Entdeckung  Amerikas,  a  collection  of  fac-similes  of  thirteen  early  maps  of 
America,  entitled  Atlas  zur  EntdecTcungsgeschichte  Amerikas.  This  work  I 
shall  cite  briefly  as  the  Munich  Atlas.  Parts  of  the  Pacific  States  are 
shown  on  maps  numbers  iv.  v.  vi.  vii.  viii.  ix.  x.  xii.  and  xiii.,  which  will 
be  further  mentioned  in  their  several  places.  Map  iv.  was  drawn  by  Salvat 
de  Pilestrina  probably  in  1515.  It  shows  none  of  the  main-land  above 
Yucatan,  which  is  a  peninsula.  The  northern  coast  of  Central  America  is 
given,  and  the  southern  seaboard  only  of  the  Isthmus.  No  names  are 
written  on  the  southern  coast.  The  South  Sea  is  called  Mar  Visto  pelos 
castelhanos,  Sea  seen  by  the  Spaniards.  Map  v.  is  supposed  to  be  by  Vis- 
conte  de  Maiollo,  1519.  It  shows  the  northern  coast  of  the  continent  only 
from  Cape  Camaron  to  about  30°  south  latitude.  In  a  book  entitled  Apiano, 
Cosmonraplda,  1575,  is  a  copy  of  a  map  supposed  to  have  been  drawn  by 
Peter  Apianus  in  1520,  and  the  first  upon  which  I  have  seen  the  name  'America.' 
The  northern  part  is  long  and  narrow,  of  a  horseshoe  shape,  and  lettered 
Baccakarum.  A  large  continent  is  placed  north  of  a  strait  running  round 
the  northern  end  of  North  America.  Evidently  Master  Apianus  was  deter 
mined  no  one  during  his  time  should  out-north  him  in  map-delineation  of  a 
region  of  which  absolutely  nothing  was  known,  either  then  or  for  a  long  time 
after.  On  a  map  of  North  America  from  the  globe  of  Johann  Schoner,  1520, 
the  name  'America'  likewise  appears,  the  lettering  on  the  globe  being  placed 
in  Brazil,  and  being  in  these  words: — America  Vel  Brasilia  Sive  Papa/jalli 
Terra.  The  northern  and  southern  continents  are  separated  by  a  strait 
at  the  Isthmus.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Master  Schoner  had  not  the 
making  of  the  world,  so  that  it  should  agree  with  his  map,  and  save  canal- 
cutting.  The  western  line  of  the  northern  continent  runs  north  and  south; 


GUANAJA  ISLAND.  209 

island  inhabited  by  people  like  those  of  Espanola  and 
Cuba,  except  that  they  seemed  more  intelligent  and 

the  western  line  of  the  southern  continent  north-west  and  south-east.  The 
extreme  northern  end  of  the  northern  continent  is  called  Terra  de  Cuba. 
Along  the  western  shore  are  the  words  Ultra  mondv  lustratum.  West  of  the 
northern  continent  lie  the  large  island  of  Zipangri  and  a  multitude  of  islets. 
The  north  Pacific  is  called  Orientalis  Oceanus.  Cortes'  chart  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  1520,  is  a  rough  draft  of  oval  shape  with  several  names  along  the 
coast,  many  of  which  are  obsolete.  Yucatan  is  represented  as  an  island. 
In  1860  J.  G.  Kohl  published  at  Weimar  a  dissertation  on  two  of  the  oldest 
general  maps  of  America,  with  the  origin  of  the  names  on  each.  The  maps 
were  those  of  Fernando  Colon,  1527,  and  Diego  Ribero,  1529,  then  in  the 
grand-ducal  library  at  Weimar.  The  text  accompanying  these  fac-similes  is 
entitled  Die  Beiden  Altesten  General- Karten  von  Amerika.  Ausgefilhrt  in  den 
Jahren  Io27  und  1529,  auf  Befekl  Kaiser  Karl's  V.  The  maps  being  full  of 
names,  concerning  many  of  which  there  has  been  much  discussion,  185  royal 
folio  pages  are  devoted  to  their  explanation.  Beside  a  critical  review  of 
nomenclature  is  given  much  information,  both  geographical  and  historical. 
Colon's  map  shows  the  eastern  coasts  of  North  and  South  America,  and  the 
southern  shores  of  the  Isthmus  and  Central  America  to  about  Nicaragua. 
Ribero's  map  contains  more  names  than  Colon's,  and  a  section  of  the  Peruvian 
coast;  otherwise  they  are  not  unlike.  Continuing  the  present  list  we  have  all 
of  South  America,  and  part  of  North  America,  given  in  1527  by  Robert  Thorne; 
and  the  western  side  of  the  New  World  in  1528  by  Bordone.  Ptolemy,  in 
Minister,  Cosmography,  1530,  gives  the  two  Americas  entirely  surrounded  by 
water,  with  Yucatan  an  island;  in  the  interior  of  Mexico  Chamaho,  and  Temis- 
tltan  ;  and  near  Zipangu  Archipelagus  7448  insularum,  counted  in  all  probability 
specially  for  this  map.  Oroiitius  Fine's  globe,  1531,  unites  the  southern 
continent,  which  it  calls  America,  by  the  isthmus  darlena  to  the  northern, 
which  extends  toward  the  north-west  across  the  ocean  and  forms  part  of  Asia, 
with  a  continuous  coast  line  to  Japan.  The  Atlantic  is  Alanticum,  and  the 
Pacific  Mar  del  JSur.  Yucatan  is  an  island.  It  is  difficult  to  tell  where 
Mexico  ends  and  Asia  begins.  Temistitan  is  just  south  of  Catay,  and 
Mexican  and  Asiatic  names  promiscuously  occur.  Grynasus,  in  1532,  gives 
America  in  two  parts,  divided  by  a  strait  at  the  Isthmus;  the  western  end 
of  the  northern  continent  is  called  Terra  de  Cuba.  Map  vi.,  Munich  Atlas, 
1532-40,  shows  the  Pacific  coast  from  Peru  to  California,  which  is  represented 
as  a  peninsula.  The  gulf  of  California  is  called  the  Red  Sea.  Yucatan 
is  an  island.  Baptista  Agnese,  1536,  gives  North  America  in  the  shape  of  a 
horseshoe,  with  Yucatan  an  island.  Map  vii.,  Munich  Atlas,  is  supposed  to 
be  by  Baptista  Agnese,  1540-50.  It  shows  the  whole  of  the  Atlantic  coast, 
and  the  Pacific  coast  from  Peru  to  Mexico.  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  iii.  fol.  455-56, 
1565,  lays  down  about  half  the  Pacific  coast.  Maps  ix.  x.  and  xii.,  Munich 
Atlas,  are  supposed  to  have  been  drawn  by  Vaz  Dourado  in  1571.  The  first 
delineates  South  America,  and  a  small  part  of  the  Isthmus ;  the  second  both 
shores  of  Central  America,  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  the  third  the  Pacific 
coast  only  from  Mexico  to  Anian  Strait.  On  map  x.  is  a  large  lake  north  of 
Mexico,  in  latitude  40°  to  43°,  and  under  it  in  large  letters,  Bimenii  Regio. 
Gerard  Mercator,  Atlas  sive  cosmograpkicce,  1569,  and  another  edition  1574, 
represents  the  world  on  two  globes,  and  surrounds  the  two  Americas  with 
water,  beside  capping  either  pole  with  a  huge  continent.  In  the  north 
eastern  corner  of  Asia,  map  iv.,.is  Americte  pars.  There  are  also  Anian 
reg,  Quiuira  reg,  Tuchano,  a  city,  and  El  freto  de  Anian.  On  map  v.  the 
strait  of  Magellan  separates  the  southern  continent  from  another  large  con 
tinent  to  the  south  of  it,  on  which  is  placed  Terra  del  fuego.  Luckily  this 
antarctic  polar  continent  is  labeled  Terra  Avstralis  nondvm  cognita,  lest 
the  author  be  embarrassed  by  questions  about  it.  After  well  passing  the 
strait  of  Magellan,  El  Mar  Pacifico  is  entered,  though  as  the  tropics  are 
VOL.  I.  U 


210  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

knew  more  of  the  useful  arts.  Presently  a  large 
canoe  appeared  coming  from  the  direction  of  Yuca 
tan.  It  measured  eight  feet  in  its  greatest  width, 
and  was  rowed  by  twenty-five  men.  In  the  middle, 
under  a  palm-leaf  awning,  sat  a  cacique?  or  chief,  who 
manifested  neither  surprise  nor  fear  on  being  brought 
into  the  presence  of  the  admiral.  He  signified  to  the 
Spaniards  as  best  he  was  able  the  extent  and  power 
of  Mexico,  and  displayed  utensils  of  copper,  stone, 
and  wood,  earthen- ware,  and  cotton  cloth  brought 
thence.  Gold  was  plentiful  there,  he  also  said;  but 
the  imagination  of  the  admiral  had  mapped  his  strait 
somewhere  southward;  so  Mexico  was  kept  for  Cortes. 
There  was  on  the  island  an  ancient  aboriginal  of 
scientific  attainments  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  draw 
for  the  Spaniards  a  chart  of  the  mainland  coast,  and 
tell  them  much  of  the  country.  Him  they  took  on 
board,  and  after  dismissing  the  cacique  with  presents, 
crossed  to  the  continent,  and  anchored  near  a  point 

reached  it  becomes  Mar  del  Zur.  The  northern  part  of  this  map  v., 
the  two  Americas,  is  quite  interesting,  and  will  be  explained  elsewhere. 
This  cartographical  monstrosity  Michael  Lock,  Hdkluyfs  Divers  Voy.,  1582, 
endeavored,  and  with  very  fair  success,  to  exceed.  Map  xiii.,  Munich 
Atla,<,  by  Thomas  Hood,  1592,  gives  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  Islands, 
and  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America.  In  Drake's  World  Encompassed, 
1595,  another  source  of  information  not  remarkable  for  reliability,  Hondius 
traces  the  western  coast  to  Bering  Strait.  Hondius'  map,  1625,  in  Purclias, 
His  Pilrjrimes,  iv.  857,  gives  North  America  to  the  mythical  strait  of 
Anian.  loanne  de  Laet,  Noovs  Orbis,  1633,  has  at  p.  220  a  map  of  Nveva 
Espafia,  Nveva  Galicia,  and  Gvatimala,  and  at  p.  346  a  map  of  Tierra  Firma. 
A  map  of  the  world  in  the  atlas  of  Jacob  Colom,  1663,  will  require  mention 
hereafter.  Ogilby's  America,  1671,  gives  the  northern  continent  to  Aniaii 
Strait  with  Nova  Albion  in  the  northern  part,  and  California  as  an  island; 
and  a  map  at  p.  222  shows  parts  of  Mexico  and  Central  America.  There  is  a 
map  of  the  middle  part  of  America  in  D ampler'' s  Voyages,  i.  44,  1699.  Be 
side  these,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  mention  others,  such  as  the  maps  in  the 
Buccaniers  of  America,  1704;  Funnel?  s  Voyage,  1707;  the  Dutch  collection  of 
voyages  by  Pieter  Van  der  Aa;  the  German  collection  of  Gottfried;  Voi/ages 
de  Francois  Coreal,  1722;  A nson's  Voyage,  1756;  Mordents  Geography  Rectified, 
1693;  Harris,  Harleian,  Oxford,  Rogers,  Shelvocke,  Jefferys,  and  other  coll  • 
tions  of  voyages.  I  may  also  mention  incidentally  in  this  volume  maps  and 
charts  relating  more  especially  to  another  part  of  the  Pacific  States  and 
described  more  fully  in  a  succeeding  volume. 

3  Cacique,  lord  of  vassals,  was  the  name  by  which  the  natives  of  Cuba 
designated  their  chiefs.  Learning  this,  the  conquerors  applied  the  name  gen 
erally  to  the  rulers  of  wild  tribes,  although  in  none  of  the  dialects  of  the 
continent  is  the  word  found.  Peter  Martyr  says  that  '  in  some  places  they 
call  a  king  Cacicus,  in  other  places  they  call  hiia  Quebi,  and  somewhere 
Tiba.' 


DISCOVERY  OF  HONDURAS.  211 

which  Columbus  called  Punta  de  Caxinas,6  from  the 
native  name  of  a  certain  fruit  abounding  thereabout. 
Here  the  Spaniards  landed  on  the  14th  of  August, 
and  celebrated  mass;  then  proceeding  eastward  some 
fifteen  leagues  to  the  mouth  of  a  river,7  they  again 
landed  on  the  17th,  and  took  formal  possession  for 
Spain.  About  a  hundred  painted  savages  displayed 
themselves,  finer  specimens  than  any  on  the  islands, 
some  naked,  and  others  partially  covered  with  white 
or  colored  cotton.  They  were  friendly,  and  presented 
fruit  and  vegetables,  fish,  fowl,  and  maize.  So  con 
spicuously  distended  were  the  ears  of  the  natives  at 
one  place  that  the  name  Costa  de  la  Oreja  was  given 
to  that  vicinity.8 

Proceeding,  the  discoverers  encountered  a  succes- 

O  ' 

sion  of  gales  which  continued  more  than  forty  days, 
and  having  weathered  them  safely  they  were  so 
delighted  that  in  sailing  round  the  point  of  their 
deliverance  they  thanked  God,  and  called  it  Cape 
Gracias  a  Dios.9  All  this  time  Columbus  suffered 
severely.  Indeed,  he  was  now  but  little  better  than 
a  wreck  in  body  and  mind.  On  the  after  part  of  the 
deck  his  bed  was  placed,  and  there  he  lay  over 
whelmed  with  pain  and  melancholy,  lost  in  endless' 

6 '  Porque,'  says  Herrera,  'auia  muchos  arboles,  cuya  fruto  es  vnas  man9a- 
nillas  buenas  de  comer.'  Navarrete  calls  the  place  Punta  Castilla  y  Puerto  de 
Trujillo,  and  the  coast  La  Costa  de  Trujillo.  The  name  Honduras  was  applied 
first  to  the  cape  and  afterward  to  a  long  stretch  of  shore.  Fernando  Colon, 
Hist.  Almirante,  103,  Barda,  i.,  gives  '  Cabo  de  Onduras.'  InOviedo,  lib.  iii. 
cap.  ix.,  is  written  'el  cabo  de  Higueras;'  this  chronicler  also  employs  the 
word  Honduras;  Galvano's  Discov.,  100,  'the  Cape  of  Higueras,  and  vnto  the 
Islands  Gamares,  and  to  the  Cape  of  Honduras,  that  is  to  say,  the  Cape  of  the 
Depthes;'  Benzoni,  Hist.  Mondo  Nvovo,  28,  'Prouinciagrande,  che  da'paesani  6 
iiominata  Iguera,  e  da'  Spagnuoli  Capo  di  Fonduri;'  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  31, 
'  cabo  de  Higueras.' 

7  Named  by  Columbus  Rio  de  la  Posesion,  now  known  as  Rio  Tinto. 

8  For  full  descriptions  of  the  several  peoples  inhabiting  this  region  at  the 
coming  of  the  Europeans,  their  physique,  character,  customs,  myths,  and 
languages,  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  my  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States,  5 
vols.,  passim. 

9  This  name  has  never  changed.      On   Peter  Martyr's  India   beyond  the 
Ganges,  1510,  it  is  put  down  as  c.  gra  de  dios;  Maiollo,  1519,  writes  C  de  gra 
tia  dios ;  Fernando  Colon,  1527,  C.  de  aracias,  ddios;  Ribero,  1529,  C:.  degrac 
a  dios;   Maps  vi.  and  vii.,  Munich  Atlas,  1532-50,  C.  de  gratia  dios;  Vaz 
Dourado,  C:.  de  grasias  adios;   Mercator,  C.  de  Gracias  a  Dios ;  Dampior,  C, 
Gratia  Dios.  etc. 


212  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

mazes  of  speculation.  Now  and  then  he  would  rouse 
himself  to  translate  his  visions,  or  to  direct  the  man 
agement  of  the  ship,  for  though  half  his  senses  should 
leave  him,  he  was  still  a  sailor  from  instinct;  but  had 
it  not  been  for  the  faithful  energy  of  the  adelantado, 
the  voyage  might  as  well  never  have  been  under 
taken. 

The  mariners  had  now  entered  a  smooth  sea;  with 
a  favorable  wind  they  passed  rapidly  down  the  Mos 
quito  Coast,  giving  the  name  Limonares  to  a  cluster 
of  islands  on  which  grew  something  like  lemons  or 
limes,  and  on  the  16th  of  September  anchored  at 
the  mouth  of  a  large  river.  Boats  were  sent  ashore 
for  water,  and  in  returning  one  was  upset  and  the 
whole  crew  were  drowned;  from  which  melancholy 
occurrence  the  stream  was  named  Rio  del  Desastre.10 
Continuing,  the  25th  found  the  Spaniards  off  the 
Rio  San  Juan  de  Nicaragua,  where,  to  escape  a 
storm,  they  ran  in  behind  an  island,  the  native  name 
of  which  was  Quiriviri,11  but  which  from  its  verdant 
beauty  Columbus  called  La  Huerta,  The  Garden. 
There  they  rested  several  days,  and  found  sweet  spec 
ulation,  easily  inducing  the  savages  to  tell  them  such 
things  as  they  should  most  delight  to  hear.  Indeed, 
all  along  the  coast  had  vague  information  been  given, 
by  signs  ill  interpreted,  of  a  remarkable  country  called 
Ciguare,  nine  days'  journey  westward  beyond  the 
mountains.  The  people  there  were  like  the  Span 
iards,  clothed,  and  armed  with  steel  weapons,  with 
horses  and  great  ships.  The  women  wore  bands  of 
coral  and  strings  of  pearls,  and  the  commonest  uten 
sils  were  of  gold.  Ten  days'  journey  from  Ciguare 
must  lie  the  river  Ganges;  and  best  of  all,  there  was 

10  Rio  Escondido,  or  Bluefields,  sometimes  spelt  Blewfields,  but  errone 
ously.     The  name  originated  from  the  Dutch  pirate  Bleeveldt.     On  map  iv., 
Munich  Atlas,  in  this  vicinity  are  found  the  words  R:.  del  su. 

11  Mercator  places  half-way  between  Cape  Gracias  a  Dios  and  Laguna  de 
Chiriqui,  Quicuri,  designating  a  town.     Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iii.  cap.  iv.,  says: 
'  He  came  to  a  region  which  the  inhabitants  call  Quicuris,  in  which  is  the 
hauen  called  Cariari,  named  Mirobalanus  by  the  Admirall,  because  the  Miro- 
balane  trees  are  natiue  in  the  regions  thereabout.' 


SOUCEPJES,  SAVAGE  AND  CIVILIZED.  213 

a  passage  thither  by  sea;  all  the  Spaniards  had  to  do 
was  to  keep  right  on;  they  could  not  miss  the  way. 
The  Europeans  gave  full  credit  to  these  assertions. 
Thus  from  the  beginning  mankind  have  been  directed 
to  their  terrestrial  and  celestial  havens  by  mingled 
accident  arid  brutish  ignorance,  and  wise  men  like 
Columbus  have  believed  these  supremely  silly  stories 
because  it  pleased  them  to  do  so.  These  savages 
may  have  had  rumors  of  Mexico  or  Peru  on  which 
to  build  their  brilliant  fictions;  their  statements  were 
fictions  none  the  less. 

And  indeed  as  they  came  together  there  for  the 
first  time,  the  white  men  and  the  red,  it  is  often  dif 
ficult  to  tell  on  which  side  was  the  greater  credulity 
and  superstition.  The  folly  of  the  Spaniard  was 
moulded  into  firmer  consistence,  was  less  inept  and 
vapory  than  the  folly  of  the  Americans,  and  that  was 
about  all.  For  instance,  at  the  village  of  Cariay,12 
just  opposite  on  the  main-land,  Columbus  thought 
to  raise  the  Spaniards  in  the  estimation  of  the  savages 
by  declining  to  take  the  guanin^  an  inferior  kind  of 
gold  which  they  presented;  whereupon  for  the  same 
reason,  and  in  retaliation,  the  natives  refused  Eu 
ropean  trinkets.  When  the  adelantado,  seated  on  a 
knoll  with  the  notary  by  his  side,  sought  to  transfix 
some  of  the  wild  knowledge  of  those  parts,  the  na 
tives  fled  terrorstruck,  supposing  some  magic  spell 
was  being  cast  upon  them  by  the  pens,  ink,  and 
paper  so  solemnly  drawn  forth  by  the  scribe.  Pres 
ently  with  great  caution  they  returned,  and  with 
exorcising  gesticulations  burned  and  scattered  in  the 
air  an  odorous  powder.  On  the  other  hand,  with 
equally  enlightened  common  sense,  the  Christians, 
unable  to  fathom  the  incantations  of  savagism,  fancied 

12  The  name  of  the  province  also.  Diego  do  Porras  calls  it  Cariay ;  Herrera 
and  those  who  follow  him  write  CariarL  On  the  maps  of  Colon  and  Ribero, 
and  also  in  Mercator's  atlas,  the  word  is  Cariay.  On  the  map  of  Vaz  Dourado 
in  this  locality  is  written  masnoro.  '  Einige  Geographen  haben  geglanbt,  dass 
unsere  heutige  "Blewfields-Lagune"  clieser  Ankerplatz  des  Columbus  sei. 
Andere  haben  dafiir  die  Miindung  des  grossen  Musses  von  Nicaragua  den 
Bio  San  Juan  genommcn.'  Kohl,  Leiden  altesten  Karten,  114-15. 


214  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

these  heathen  sorcerers  bringing  from  the  shades  of 
their  wilderness  wrathful  demons  to  hurl  upon  their 
adversaries;  and  ever  after  on  the  voyage  all  the 
ills  that  befell  the  Spaniards  were  attributed  to  the 
enchantments  of  the  people  of  Cariay.13  At  another 
port  called  Huiva,  Columbus  found  the  huts  of  the 
natives  built  in  trees,  which  he  attributed  to  fear  of 
griffins.  After  a  short  excursion  into  the  interior 
the  adelantado  returned  to  the  ships.  Near  Cape 
Gracias  a  Dios  the  old  man  of  Guanaja  had  been 
liberated  with  presents,  as  no  longer  of  use;  now, 
seven  natives  were  seized  and  made  to  divulge  what 
they  knew  of  the  country,  two  of  them  being  retained 
as  guides. 

Sailing  from  Cariay  the  5th  of  October,  the  sec 
ond  day  they  came  to  the  Laguna  de  Chiriqui,  the 
country  thereabout  being  called  by  the  natives  Cere- 
baro.14  If  some  distance  back  Columbus  had  found 
The  Garden,  here  was  a  pluralized  paradise.  The 
wonder  was  how  nature  contrived  such  glories. 
Hound  the  entrance  clustered  islands  whose  out 
spread  foliage  brushed  the  venturesome  sails  that 
threaded  the  deep  narrow  channels.  Celestial  beauty 
irradiated  the  land,  and  a  celestial  brightness  over 
spread  the  sea.  But  a  small  additional  rent  was 
necessary  in  the  ragged  imagination  of  the  admiral 
to  fancy  himself  already  translated.  The  part  of  the 

13  'En  Cariay,  j  en  esas  tierras  de  su  comarca,  son  grandes  fechiceros  y 
muy  medrosos. '  Carta  de  Colon,  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Via  yes,  i.  307.  ' Nos  parecian 
a  nosotros  grandes  hechiceros,  i  no  sin  alguna  racoii,  pues  quando  se  acercaban 
ft  los  Christianos,  esparcian,  por  el  aire  cierto  polvo  a  eubuelta,  i  conperfumes, 
quo  hechaban  del  polvo,  hacian,  que  el  Immo  fuese  acid  los  Christianos.'  Colon, 
Hut.  Almirante,  107,  in  Barcia,  i. 

14 Says  Fernando  Colon,  Uist.  Almirante,  108,  in  Barcia,  i.,t>f  this  place: — 
'  arribo  al  Canal  de  Zerabora,  quo  son  G  leguas  de  largo,  i  mas  de  tres  de  ancho, 
en  el  qual,  ai  mnchas  Isletas,  i  tres,  6  qtiatri>  Bocas  mui  a  proposito  para  en- 
trar.'  And  Mr  Kohl  remarks,  Btiden  ciUesten  Karten,  115,  'Diese  Schilderung 


ig  '  Baia  del  Almirante ' . . . .  genannt  wird. '  Eibero  places 
ysa  de  cerebttro  in  the  laguna.  Vaz  Dourado  writes  Carabare ;  Maiollo  puts 
here  somewhere  la  cnsera  bruxada,  and  near  by  oro  boro.  Mercator  makes 
Cerebaro  a  town.  Hondius,  in  Purclias,  His  P'drjrimes,  places  in  this  vicinity 
the  town,  QuicarL  West-Indische  Spieyhel,  1G24,  gives  Carabaro,  and  a  little 
to  the  north  a  town,  Quicura. 


GATHERING  GOLD.  215 

laguna  explored  by  this  expedition  was  the  north 
western,  known  to-day  as  the  Bahia  del  Almirante; 
the  southern  part  was  called  by  the  natives  Aburema. 

Hanging  from  the  necks  of  the  natives  was  pure 
gold  in  plates,  now  first  found  since  touching  these 
shores,  but  the  owners  were  content  to  keep  it. 
Further  on,  anywhere  but  here,  they  said,  was  plenty 
of  gold,  notably  at  a  place  called  Veragua,  twenty-five 
leagues  distant,  where  these  much-admired  plates  of 
gold  were  fabricated.  Hastening  forward,  the  Span 
iards  arrived,  on  the  18th,  at  a  river  twelve  leagues 
to  the  eastward  of  Cerebaro,  called  by  Fernando 
Colon,  Guaiga,  and  by  Porras,  Guyga,  where  the 
savages  attempted  at  first  to  drive  them  away  by 
splashing  water,  brandishing  wooden  swords,  beating 
drums,  and  sounding  conchs;  which  demonstration 
being  over  they  quietly  traded  sixteen  of  their  gold- 
plates,  valued  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  ducats,  for 
three  hawk-bells.  The  following  day  the  Spaniards 
were  met  in  like  manner  by  other  savages  whom  a 
shot  sent  scampering;  after  which  they  returned  and 
traded  dutifully. 

After  this  the  discoverers  touched  at  the  prov 
inces  of  Catiba  and  Cobrabd,  where  they  saw  the 
ruins  of  a  wall  built  of  stone  and  lime,  which  excited 
in  them  anticipations  of  a  near  approach  to  civil 
ization;  but  as  they  neared  the  rich  river  the  wind 
freshened  and  carried  them  past,  without  however 
preventing  a  glimpse  of  five  towns,  one  of  which  the 
guides  assured  them  was  Veragua.15  In  the  next 
province,  Cubiga,  terminated  the  gold  region,  so  they 
were  told.  Some  were  eager  to  go  back  to  Vera 
gua  and  gather  gold,  but  anxious  to  find  his  strait 
Columbus  put  them  off,  saying  he  would  return  anon. 

Fancy  the  old  admiral  groping  in  the  darkness,  the 

15  Aboriginally  the  name  of  a  town,  province,  and  river  famous  for 
gold.  Later  the  name  became  historically  celebrated,  being  applied  by  the 
Spaniards  to  that  whole  region,  and  given  as  a  title  to  the  descendants  of 
Columbus,  who  were  called  dukes  of  Veraguas.  Peter  Martyr,  Colon,  and 
Ribero,  all  write  berar/ua;  Vaz  Dourado,  baraga;  Ptolemy,  Beraf/ua,  as  s± 
province ;  Laet  and  Jefferys,  Veragua.  Porras  calls  the  province  Cobraba. 


216  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

world,  the  universe  clear  enough  to  him  as  mapped 
in  his  own  mind,  but  unhappily  not  fitting  the  sub 
stantial  facts.  Instinctively  he  seems  to  hover  about 
this  the  narrowest  part  of  the  continent,  his  ship's 
prow  now  pointed  directly  toward  Spain,  with  India 
so  far  away,  and  the  vast  water  intervening,  and 
the  small  but  mighty  strip  of  land  that  makes  his 
mental  map  of  no  avail.  Thus  since  the  world  began 
millions  have  mapped  eternity,  and  still  do  map  it, 
the  gods  meanwhile  laughing  loudly  at  the  miserable 
work  men  make  of  it. 

Thus  vainly  searching,  on  the  2d  of  November 
Columbus  finds  his  ships  at  anchor  in  a  beautiful 
and  commodious  harbor  entered  between  two  islands. 
On  every  side  are  fields  of  maize,  and  orchards  of  fruit, 
and  groves  of  palm;  for  the  people  dwell  in  houses 
and  cultivate  the  ground.  There  he  remains  seven 
days,  waiting  the  cessation  of  a  storm;  and  he  calls 
the  place  Puerto  Bello,  also  written  Portobello,  which 
name  it  has  ever  since  retained.  Venturing  forth  on 

<^ 

the   9th,  he  makes   eastward   ei^ht   leagues,  but  is 

O  <^  * 

driven  back,  and  takes  refuge  behind  some  islands 
in  a  small  harbor,  which  he  calls  Puerto  de  Basti- 
mentos,16  from  the  abundance  of  provisions  brought 
them  there.  After  repairing  the  ships,  now  badly 
worm-eaten,  he  again  on  the  23d  attempts  an  advance 
eastward,  but  is  speedily  driven  into  a  cove,  which  he 
names  El  Ketrete,  some  calling  it  Puerto  de  Escri- 
banos,  and  which  is  so  small  as  barely  to  admit  the 
ships,  and  so  deep  that  bottom  cannot  be  touched.17 

16  Off  Nombre  de  Dios  on  Vaz  Dourado's  map,  is  a  group  called  /:.  de  bas- 
timetos ;  in  the  Novvs  Orbis  of  Laet  they  are  Yas  de  Bastimentos  ;  Jefierys  calls 
them  losBasfimentos;  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viagcs,  i.  285,  gives  Puerto  del  Retrete 
in  the  text,  and  Puerto  Escribanos  in  a  note. 

17  The  locality  of  this  little  harbor  was  soon  lost.     Herrera  affirms  that  in 
his  time  its  situation  was  uncertain,  some  believing  Nombre  de  Dios  to  be  the 
place  mentioned.     Peschel  locates  it  near  the  town  of  Colon;  Humboldt  at 
Puerto  de  Escribanos.     Klbero  places  fifteen  leagues  west  of  Nombre  de  Dios, 
p°  retre.     Kohl  says,  Beiden  ciltesten  Karten,  116:   'Er  findet  sich  nicht  auf 
N.  Vallard  (1547),  nicht  auf  Dourado  (1580)  und  nicht  auf  den  Karten  vom 
Isthmus  von  Darien  in  Herrera. '     But  it  would  seem  from  the  description  of 
Fernando  Colon,  Hist.  Almirante,  110,  in  Bartia,  i.,  that  the  place  should  be 


END  OF  THE  ADMIRAL'S  DISCOVERIES.  217 

And  now  the  mariners  show  signs  of  discontent; 
with  gold  so  near  they  are  not  Spaniards  else.  And 
the  great  discoverer,  the  admiral  of  the  ocean  sea, 
must  he  bury  in  this  little  crevice  of  a  barbarous 
shore  his  mighty  hopes  ?  Bastidas  was  here,18  al 
though  it  is  not  certain  how  well  informed  the  admiral 
is  of  the  fact,  whether  he  had  notice  from  Bastidas 
at  Santo  Domingo  as  to  the  termination  of  his  voy- 

O  *J 

age,  or  whether  the  natives  here  had  told  him;  in 
any  event,  there  cannot  be  now  in  the  admiral's 
mind  much  doubt  that  the  coast  is  practically  discov 
ered  from  Trinidad  to  Guanaja,  and  that  between 
these  two  islands  is  a  shore-line  of  continent  unbroken 
by  any  strait.  Yes,  as  well  unbrace  here  as  else 
where;  and  gold-hunting  is  quite  a  fit  occupation  for 
an  old  man  after  his  life's  work  is  done. 

Turning  then  toward  Veragua  for  solace,  the  Span 
iards  sailed  from  El  Retrete  the  5th  of  December. 

easily  enough  found.  He  says : — '  entramos  en  vn  Puertecillo,  que  se  Ilam6  el 
Retrete,  porque  no  cabian  en  el  mas  de  5  6  G  Navios;  su  entrada  era  por  vna 
boca  de  quince,  6  veinte  pasos  de  ancho,  i  ambos  lados  eran.  Rocas,  que  salian 
Agua,  como  punta  de  Diamante,  i  era  tan  profundo  de  Canal,  por  enmedio,  que 
acercandose  a  la  orilla,  vn  poco,  se  podia  sal  tar  desde  el  Navio  en  Tierra.' 

18  Although  the  authorities  are  somewhat  vague  and  conflicting  as  to  the 
terminal  point  of  the  main-land  coastings  of  Bastidas,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  two  discoveries  here  united.  Oviedo,  ii.  334-36,  and  those  copying  his 
errors,  take  Bastidas  direct  from  Uraba  to  Jamaica;  but  Las  Casas,  lli*t.  Ind., 
iii.  11,  states:  —  '  Salieron  del  golfo  de  Uraba,  y  fueron  la  costa  del  Poniente 
abajo,  y  llegaron  al  puerto  que  llamaron  del  Retrete,  donde  agora  esta  la  ciu- 
dad  y  puerto  que  nombramos  del  Kombre  de  Dios.'  Later,  in  chapter  xxiii. 
123,  he  corrects  himself  in  regard  to  El  Retrete  and  Nombre  de  Dios  being  the 
same  place: — '  Por  esto  parece  que  el  puerto  del  Retrete  no  es  el  que  agora 
llamamos  del  Nombre  de  Dios,  como  arriba  dijimos  por  relacion  de  otros,  sino 
mas  adelante,  hacia  el  Oriente.'  Speaking  of  El  Retrete,  Diego  de  Porras, 
Navarre!  e,  Col.  de  Viayes,  i.  285,  remarks: — 'En  algunas  cartas  de  navegar  de 
algunos  de  los  marineros  juntaba  esta  tierra  con  la  que  habia  descubierto  Ho- 
jeda  y  Bastidas.'  Navarrete  himself,  Col.  de  Via  yes,  iii.  26,  says  of  Bastidas, 
'  termino  su  descubrimiento  por  los  diez  grades  de  altura  en  el  puerto  del  Re 
trete  6  de  Escribanos  y  del  nombre  de  Dios;'  and  again  in  a  note  concerning 
Nombre  de  Dios: — '  En  este  puerto  entr6  posteriormente  el  Almirante  Colon 
el  dia  26  de  Noviembre  de  1502  con  noticia  que  ya  tenia  de  los  descubrimien- 
tos  de  Bastidas.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  67,  accredits  Bastidas  with  the  new 
discovery  of  170  leagues  of  coast,  '  que  ay  del  cabo  de  la  Vela  al  golfo  de  Vraua, 
y  Farallones  del  Darien,'  resting  with  Oviedo  at  that  point.  From  the  evi 
dence  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  i.  360,  infers  that  Bastidas  continued  '  vers 
1'ouest  jusqu'au  Puerto  de  Retrete.'  Loose  statements  are  quite  the  habit 
now  as  of  old;  instance  that  of  Lerdo  de  Tejada,  who  says,  Apuntes  Ilwt.,  89, 
referring  to  Bastidas,  '  Y  sigui6  hasta  el  puerto  llamado  despues  el  Retiro, 
donde  sc  fundo  posteriormente  el  del  Nombre  de  Dios.'' 


218  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

But  with  this  change  the  fickle  wind  had  likewise 
changed  its  course;  wherever  they  went  we're  storms 
and  buffetings,  until  Columbus  pronounced  upon  that 
shore  the  name  La  Costa  de  los  Contrastes.  Where 
now  was  the  balmy  breath  of  perfumed  isles,  the 
sparkling  sun  dancing  beneath  the  wanton  waters  ? 
Demonized.  Gale  followed  gale  in  quick  succession; 
winds  contending,  veering;  now  the  mariners  were 
hurried  on  toward  their  destination,  only  to  be 
driven  back  to  their  starting-point.  The  stubborn 
waves  struck  the  crazy  barks  with  such  menacing  force 
as  to  send  the  terror-stricken  sailors  to  their  knees, 
and  they  confessed  to  each  other.  For  nine  days 
the  sea  was  white  with  angry  foam;  the  sky  blazed 
with  electric  fires;  the  men  fell  sick;  provisions 
spoiled.  Long,  lank,  muscular  sharks,  weatherwise 
monsters,  followed  the  ships  expectantly,  until  the 
hunger-smitten  crews  eyed  them  ominously  in  return, 
until  these  creatures  that  had  come  to  eat  were 
caught  and  eaten  by  these  other  creatures.  All  this 
time  down  poured  the  rain  in  torrents  and  nearly 
submerged  the  ships.  In  the  midst  of  these  cata- 
clysmal  horrors  a  water-spout  was  seen  approaching, 
"which,"  Fernando  Colon  is  sure,  "if  they  had  not 
dissolved  by  reciting  the  gospel  of  St  John,  would 
certainly  have  sunk  whatever  it  had  fallen  upon." 
Twenty-nine  days  were  occupied  in  making  as  many 
leagues  to  the  westward.  Once  the  ships  parted  com 
pany  for  three  days;  twice  they  ran  into  Portobello, 
and  twice  they  took  refuge  at  other  places  on  the 
coast. 

At  length,  with  thanksgiving,  January  6,  1503, 
they  came  to  anchor  at  the  mouth  of  a  river,  the 
native  name  of  which  was  Yebra;  but  Columbus,  in 
honor  of  the  day,  Epiphany,  called  it  Santa  Maria 
de  Belen.19  One  league  to  the  westward  was  the 
river  Veragua.  The  admiral  ordered  both  streams 

19  That  is  to  say,  Bethlehem.  Porras  enters  it  Y.  n.  ebra ;  Herrera,  Yebra; 
and  Fernando  Colon,  Kiehra.  On'  Ribero's  map  the  name  bele  is  given  to  a 
lagoon;  Vaz  Dourado  writes  belen;  and  Jacob  Colom,  Belem. 


THE  QUIBIAN.  219 

to  be  sounded.  The  Veragua  was  fcuud  too  shallow 
for  the  ships.  At  the  inouth  of  the  Belen  was  a  bar, 
which  however  could  be  crossed  at  high  water; 
above  the  bar  the  depth  was  four  fathoms.  On  the 
bank  of  the  Belen  stood  a  village,  whose  inhabitants 
at  first  opposed  the  landing  of  the  Spaniards;  but 
being  persuaded  by  the  interpreter,  they  at  length 
yielded.  They  were  a  well-developed,  muscular  peo 
ple,  rather  above  medium  stature,  intelligent,  and 
exceptionally  shrewd;  in  fact,  in  point  of  native 
ability  they  were  in  no  wise  inferior  to  the  Spaniards. 
When  questioned  concerning  their  country,  they  an 
swered  guardedly ;  when  asked  about  their  gold  mines, 
they  replied  evasively.  First,  it  was  from  some  far-off 
mysterious  mountain  the  metal  came;  then  the  river 
Veragua  was  made  to  yield  it  all;  there  was  none  at 
all  about  Belen,  nor  within  their  territory,  in  fact. 
Finally  they  took  a  few  trinkets,  and  gave  the  intrud 
ers  twenty  plates  of  gold,  thinking  to  be  rid  of  them. 
Within  a  day  or  two  the  vessels  were  taken  over  the 
bar,  and  on  the  9th  two  of  them  ascended  the  river  a 
short  distance.  The  natives  made  the  best  of  it,  and 
brought  fish  and  gold. 

With  an  armed  force  the  adelantado  sets  out  in 
boats  to  explore  the  Veragua.  He  has  not  proceeded 
far  when  he  is  met  by  a  fleet  of  canoes,  in  one  of 
which  sits  the  quibian™  the  king  of  all  that  country, 
having  under  him  many  subordinate  chiefs.  He  is 
tall,  well-modelled,  and  compactly  built,  with  restless, 
searching  eyes,  but  otherwise  expressionless  features, 
taciturn  and  dignified,  and,  for  a  savage,  of  exception 
ally  bland  demeanor.  We  shall  find  him  as  politic  as 

20  Although  used  by  most  Spanish  and  English  writers  as  a  proper  name, 
the  word  qitiblan  is  an  appellative,  and  signifies  the  chief  of  a  nation,  or  the 
ruler  of  a  dynasty,  as  the  cacique  of  the  Cubans,  the  incn  of  the  Peruvians, 
the  ahau  of  the  Quiches,  etc.  Columbus,  writing  from  Jamaica,  employs  the 
term  el  Quibian  de  Verayua;  and  again,  Carta  de  Colon,  in  Nuvarrete,  CoL  de 
Vitnjes,  i.  302,  'Asente  pueblo,  y  di  muchas  dadivas  al  Quibian,  que  asi  Hainan 
al  Seilor  de  la  tierra.'  Napione  and  De  Conti  write  il  Qttibio  o  cacico  di  Hera- 
gua.  See  their  Bioy.  di  Colombo,  388: — '  II  Prefetto  ando  colle  barche  al  marc 
per  entrare  nel  fiume  e  portarsi  alia  popolazione  del  Quibio,  cosi  chiamato  da 
quei  popoii  il  loro  Re.' 


220  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

he  is  powerful;  and  as  for  his  wealth,  unfortunately 
for  him,  his  domain  includes  the  richest  gold  mines 
of  that  rich  coast.  On  the  whole,  the  quibian  is  as 
fine  a  specimen  of  his  race  as  the  adelantado  is  of  his. 
And  thus  they  are  fairly  met,  the  men  of  Europe 
and  the  men  of  North  America;  and  as  in  the  gladi 
atorial  combat,  which  opens  with  a  smiling  salutation, 
this  four-century  life-struggle  begins  with  friendly 
greetings.  Pity  it  is,  they  are  outwardly  not  more 
evenly  matched;  pity  it  is,  that  the  European  with 
his  civilization/  saltpetre,  Christianity,  and  blood 
hounds,  his  steel  weapons,  and  strange  diseases,  should 
be  allowed  to  do  his  robbery  so  easily !  But  ravenous 
beasts  and  bloody  bipeds  are  so  made  that  they  do  not 
hesitate  to  take  advantage  of  the  helpless;  it  is  only 
civilized  man,  however,  that  calls  his  butcherings  by 
pleasant  names,  such  as  progress,  piety,  and  makes 
his  religion  and  his  law  conform  to  his  heart's  unjust 
desires. 

As  the  champions  approach  each  other,  we  see 
about  them  both  an  air  of  determination  and  com 
mand;  and  while  extremely  cordial,  we  see  on  either 
side  that  courtesy  common  to  those  who  fear  while 
they  suspect.  With  princely  grace  the  red  man  takes 
from  his  naked  body  some  massive  golden  ornaments 
and  presents  them  to  the  white  man;  the  adelantado, 
not  to  be  outdone  in  generosity  by  a  savage,  with 
equal  dignity  and  solemnity  presents  the  red  man  a 
handful  of  valueless  baubles.  The  ceremony  over, 
with  mutual  assurances  of  friendship  the  chieftains 
retire.  Next  day  the  quibian  visits  the  admiral  in 
his  ship.  Neither  has  much  to  say;  presents  are 
exchanged,  and  the  savage  returns  to  his  people. 

While  the  ships  of  the  Spaniards  lay  by  the  bank 
in  fancied  security,  on  the  24th  of  January  the  storm- 
demon,  as  if  enraged  at  the  escape  of  its  victims  from 
the  fury  of  the  sea,  rushed  to  the  mountains,  and 
opening  the  windows  of  heaven,  let  down  a  deluge  on 
the  land.  The  rushing  torrents  swept  everything  be- 


BARTOLOMfi  PENETRATES  THE  INTERIOR.  221 

fore  them.  The  vessels  were  torn  from  their  moorings 
and  carried  down  the  river,  only  to  be  met  at  the 
mouth  by  the  incoming  breakers  from  the  sea.  And 
thus  to  their  imminent  peril  they  were  tossed  for 
several  days  by  the  contending  waters. 

The  storm  abating,  and  the  ships  made  secure,  the 
adelantado  again  started  in  search  of  the  gold-fields. 
With  sixty-eight  men  he  ascended  the  Yeragua  to 
the  village  of  the  quibian,  whose  house  was  situated 
on  a  hill  round  which  were  scattered  the  dwellings 
of  his  people.  The  chieftain  with  a  large  retinue, 
unarmed  in  token  of  peace,  welcomed  the  visitors  at 
the  landing.  Guides  were  readily  furnished  at  the 
adelantado's  request;  so  leaving  part  of  his  company 
to  guard  the  boats,  with  the  remainder  he  set  out  on 
foot  for  the  base  of  the  mountain,  distant  six  leagues, 
which  he  reached  the  following  day.  For  many 
miles  he  found  the  soil  richly  impregnated  with  gold, 
and  returned  elated,  as  visions  of  populous  cities  and 
unbounded  wealth  floated  through  his  brain.  Which 
seeing,  the  quibian  grimly  smiled  that  they  should 
deem  their  work  already  done,  himself  subdued,  the 
land  their  own;  and  he  smiled  to  think  how  he  had 
sent  them  round  and  away  from  his  own  rich  mines 
to  the  poorer  and  more  distant  fields  of  Urird,  his 
ancient  enemy.  Then  the  adelantado  explored  west 
ward,  and  came  to  the  town  and  river21  of  this  Urird, 
and  to  the  towns  of  Dururi,  Cobrabd,  and  Catibd, 
where  he  obtained  gold  and  provisions. 

There  were  here  fifty  leagues  of  coast,  from  Cere- 
baro  to  Veragua,  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  tierra 
de  rescate,  or  land  of  trade,  meaning  trade  in  gold, 
that  being  the  only  thing  worth  trading  for  in  an 
expedition  of  this  kind.  This  seaboard  was  heavily 
wooded,  and  uninhabited  except  along  the  rivers, 
for  three  leagues  inland.  And  all  things  seeming  so 
favorable,  Columbus  thought  he  would  plant  a  colony 

21  Rio  de  la  Concepcion. 


222  COLUMBUS  AT  VEKAGUA. 

here,  leave  eighty  men  and  one  of  the  vessels  in  charge 
of  the  adelantado,  and  with  the  remainder  return  to 
Spain,  report  the  results  of  his  discovery,  and  obtain 
reenfor cements.  In  a  word,  if  not  restrained  by 
some  Ferdinand,  or  Fonseca,  or  other  infernal  friend, 
he  would  repeat  with  fresh  enthusiasm  his  former 
errors  which  had  so  nearly  wrought  his  ruin.  But 
his  usual  ill-luck  came  to  the  rescue.  The  quibian  did 
not  view  with  favor  the  preparations  which  he  saw 
the  Spaniards  making  for  a  permanent  residence  on 
his  lands,  and  he  determined  it  should  not  be.  But 
how  could  he  prevent  it  ?  For  he  was  well  aware 
of  the  advantages  these  strangers  possessed  in  open 
warfare.  Yet  there  were  several  ways  open  to  him; 
if  he  did  not  wish  to  attack  them  with  an  over 
whelming  force  he  could  devastate  the  country  around, 
withdraw  his  people,  and  leave  the  Spaniards  to  die, 
meanwhile  cutting  off  such  stragglers  and  foraging 
parties  as  he  could  easily  handle.  And  this  he  did, 
beginning  operations  by  summoning  the  neighboring 
tribes,  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  an 
expedition  against  Urira"  and  Cobraba. 

The  suspicions  of  the  Spaniards  were  aroused. 
Diego  Mendez,  escudero,  esquire,  or  shield -bearer 
of  the  ship  Santiago,™  a  sharp,  bold,  and  somewhat 
boastful  man,  but  courageous  beyond  the  compre 
hension  of  fear,  asked  and  obtained  permission  to 
investigate  the  ma{ter.  Entering  the  Veragua  in  an 
armed  boat  he  found  encamped  below  the  quibian's 
village  about  a  thousand  painted  warriors.  Assum 
ing  an  air  of  unconcern  Mendez  landed  and  strolled 
leisurely  among  the  savages.  Remarking  on  their 
proposed  expedition  he  offered  to  join  them;  but  his 
services  were  rejected,  and  his  presence  was  mani 
festly  distasteful  to  them.  He  returned  and  reported 
that  the  savages  were  preparing  to  attack  the  Span- 

22 Irving,  Columbu*,  ii.  402,  carelessly  calls  him  'the  chief  notary,'  con 
founding  him  with  Diego  de  Porras,  who  was  notary  of  the  expedition.  The 
notary  was  not  a  fighting  man,  but  rather  must  withhold  himself  from  action 
that  he  might  write  down  what  was  done  by  others. 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  QUIBIAK  223 

iards.  Yet  to  satisfy  some  who  doubted,  Menclez 
went  again,  this  time  taking  with  him  one  companion, 
Rodrigo  de  Escobar,  intending '  plainly  to  demand  of 
the  quibian  his  purpose.  A  host  of  frowning  savages 
greeted  the  visitors,  who  asked  to  see  the  quibian. 
They  were  informed  that  he  was  lying  ill  from  the 
effects  of  a  wound  received  in  battle.  "For  that 
very  purpose,"  replied  the  ready  Mendez,  "  I  a  sur 
geon  am  come  to  heal  him."  But  the  Spaniards 
could  not  gain  audience  of  the  chief,  and  they  re 
turned  more  than  ever  convinced  of  his  bloody  inten 
tion  toward  them. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  admiral  could  not 
depart  while  hostilities  were  pending,  nor  could  the 
Spaniards  delay  their  operations  until  it  should  please 
the  savages  to  attack  them.  The  adelantado  deter 
mined  to  force  an  issue.  With  seventy-five  men,  on 
the  morning  of  the  30th  of  March,  he  ascended  the 
Veragua,  and  landed  unobserved  near  the  quibian's 
village.  Hiding  his  men,  he  advanced,  first  with 
four  attendants,  then  alone,  until  after  some  diffi 
culty  he  gained  admission  to  the  quibian's  presence. 
What  Bartolome  was  now  attempting  was  the  regular 
game,  afterward  played  for  higher  stakes,  but  now 
being  pretty  generally  practised  in  the  New  World; 
namely,  to  capture  the  chief  and  hold  him  hostage 
for  the  good  behavior  of  his  people.  It  was  at  the 
door  in  front  of  the  quibian's  dwelling  that  this 
interview  took  place.  The  savage  suspected  noth 
ing.  The  very  boldness  of  the  scheme,  so  foreign 
to  aboriginal  warfare,  tended  to  allay  apprehension. 
Within  were  fifty  of  his  household,  and  at  easy 
call  five  hundred  warriors;  what  had  the  quibian 
to  fear  ?  The  two  chiefs  sat  and  talked,  first  on 
general  subjects;  then  the  adelantado  enquired  con 
cernedly  about  his  host's  illness,  examined  the  wound 
tenderly,  passed  his  hands  over  the  disabled  limb 
while  proposing  remedies.  Suddenly  the  savage  felt 
the  grasp  of  the  Spaniard  tighten  upon  him,  and 


224  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

before  his  suspicions  were  fairly  aroused  his  arms 
were  pinioned  behind  him.  Mendez,  who  had  been 
watching,  fired  his  arquebuse,  and  the  concealed 
Spaniards  rushed  forward  and  surrounded  the  house. 
The  quibian  struggled,  but  weakened  by  sickness  he 
was  easily  held  in  the  iron  grasp  of  the  adelantado, 
until  by  the  aid  of  the  other  Spaniards  he  was  made 
powerless.  So  adroitly  was  the  feat  performed,  that 
before  the  presence  of  the  Spaniards  was  generally 
known  among  the  natives,  their  chief  and  all  his 
family  were  captive,  and  on  the  way  to  the  boats. 
The  savages  lifted  up  the  usual  lamentations,  and 
offered  enormous  ransom;  but  it  had  been  deter 
mined  beforehand  that  the  chief  personages  of  the 
nation  should  be  sent  to  Spain ;  for  in  such  procedure, 
the  admiral  thought,  lay  the  greater  security  of  his 
plans. 

At  this  juncture  in  the  narrative  historians,  even 
modern  writers  of  fair  intelligence,  gravely  discuss 
the  probabilities  of  guilt  in  the  quibian' s  supposed 
treachery,  some  holding  with  Diego  de  Porras  that 
the  natives  did  not  meditate  attack;  as  if  they  had 
not  the  right  to  defend  their  country,  their  wives  and 
little  ones,  from  the  ravages  of  the  invader  by  any 
means  within  their  power. 

Passing  conventional  twaddle — for  if  the  quibian 
was  not  guilty  he  ought  in  honor  to  have  been — 
it  is  very  certain  that  this  action  on  the  part  of  the 
Spaniards  was  the  cause  of  many  woes,  and  of  their 
final  overthrow  in  these  parts.23  In  any  event  it  was 
now  of  the  highest  importance  to  secure  the  quibian. 
The  whole  adventure  on  this  coast  depended  upon  it; 
therefore  the  adelantado  hastened  to  send  his  captives 
on  board  the  ships.  Desirous  of  instituting  other 
proceedings  for  the  pacification  of  that  section  before 

23 '  Y  como  luego  mand6  prender  al  Cacique  do  se  le  fiz'o  mucho  dafio  que 
le  quemaron  su  poblacion,  que  era  la  mejor  que  habia  en  la  costa  e  de  mejores 
casas,  de  muy  bueiia  madera,  todas  cubiertas  de  fojas  de  palmas,  6  prendieron 
a  sus  fijos,  c  aqui  traen  algunos  dellos  de  que  quedo  todaaquella  tierra  escan- 
dalizada,  tlesto  no  s6  dar  cuenta  sino  que  lo  mand6  facer  6  aun  apregonar 
escala  franca.'  Diego  de,  Porras,  in  Navarretet  Col.  deViayw,  i.  286-7. 


JUAN  SANCHEZ  OUTWITTED.  22o 

returning,  the  aclelantado  looked  about  him  for  a 
reliable  person  to  whom  he  might  entrust  his  weighty 
charge.  Present  was  Juan  Sanchez,  chief  pilot,  an 
honest  sailor,  not  wholly  indifferent  to  military  honors, 
who  earnestly  offered  service  and  was  accepted.  The 
quibian,  tied  hand  and  foot,  was  firmly  bound  to  his 
seat  in  the  boat ;  and  superfluous  as  might  appear  any 
admonition,  the  adelantado  charged  Juan  Sanchez  to 
look  well  to  his  prisoner.  "  Pluck  out  my  beard  hair 
by  hair  if  he  escape  me,"  was  the  vaunting  reply  of 
the  pilot  as  he  shoved  his  boat  from  the  bank  and 
started  down  the  river. 

But  alas  for  the  overweening  confidence  of  a  Peter 
or  a  Juan  Sanchez  !  Fighting  the  elements  at  sea  is 
a  different  thing  from  fighting  Indians  on  land.  Quite 
a  different  order  of  tactics  is  required ;  and  the  sailor's 
life  is  not  the  school  in  which  to  study  the  wiles  of 
Indian  strategy.  In  the  one  place  the  sailor  is  not 
more  superior  than  is  the  savage  in  the  other.  The 
quibian,  outwardly  calm,  inwardly  is  fiercely  excited; 
and  like  the  wild  beast  when  hotly  pursued,  his  in 
stincts  quicken  with  the  occasion.  He  and  his  loved 
ones  are  prisoners,  treacherously  entrapped  by  a 
strange  species  of  the  human  kind  in  return  for  fair 
words  and  generous  hospitality.  Their  probable  fate 
possesses  all  the  horrors  of  uncertainty.  Swiftly  with 
the  swift  boat  runs  the  time  away;  something  must 
be  done  or  all  is  lost.  Narrowly,  but  cautiously, 
the  chief  surveys  his  keeper.  It  is  pleasant  to  look 
upon  the  homely  face  of  honest  Juan  Sanchez;  not  a 
lineament  there  but  shines  with  God's  best  message 
to  man,  and  in  language  which  even  dumb  intelligence 
may  read.  Stern  duty  is  largely  diluted  with  human 
ity,  integrity  with  charming  simplicity;  from  which 
the  wily  quibian  takes  his  cue,  and  thenceforth  is 
master  of  the  situation.  With  quiet  dignity  and 
cheerful  resignation  he  sits  among  his  people,  hushing 
their  lamentations  and  chiding  their  complaints.  By 
words  and  little  acts  of  consideration  he  lightens  the 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    15 


226  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

labors  of  the  boatmen,  and  studies  for  himself  and 
people  to  give  no  unnecessary  trouble.  These  con 
ciliatory  measures  are  not  lost  on  the  warm-hearted 
sailor,  whose  regard  for  his  royal  captive  rises  every 
moment.  He  is  pronounced  by  all  a  well-mannered 
savage,  a  most  courteous  savage.  And  now  the  qui- 
bian  modestly  complains  of  the  cords  so  tightly  drawn 
by  the  too  zealous  Mendez.  They  do  indeed  cut  into 
the  flesh,  and  constrain  him  to  a  most  uncomfortable 
position.  And  he  such  a  gentleman-savage  !  Juan 
Sanchez  is  not  the  man  to  sit  there  and  see  a  fellow- 
creature  unnecessarily  suffer;  he  cannot  do  it.  The 
thongs  which  lacerate  the  prisoner's  wrists  are  loos 
ened,  the  cord  which  binds  him  to  the  seat  is  untied; 
but  for  security — for  above  all  this  great  chief  must 
be  kept  secure — one  end  of  it  the  ever-watchful  pilot 
twists  round  his  hand.  Night  comes  on.  It  is  very 
dark,  but  the  captives  are  quiet,  and  the  boat  glides 
noiselessly  down  the  stream.  Suddenly  the  light  craft 
sways;  a  plunge  is  heard;  the  pilot  feels  his  hand 
violently  wrenched;  he  must  loosen  his  hold  or  be 
drawn  into  the  water.  It  is  all  as  the  flash  of  a  pistol 
in  point  of  time;  the  quibian's  seat  is  empty;  and 
honest  Juan  Sanchez  is  obliged  to  present  his  hanging 
front  before  his  comrades,  a  Spaniard  outwitted  by  a 
savage  ! 

After  scouring  the  country  in  several  directions, 
the  adelantado  returned  to  the  ships,  bringing  gold- 
plates,  wristlets,  and  anklets  to  the  value  of  three 
hundred  ducats,  which  were  divided,  after  deduct 
ing  the  king's  fifth.  Among  the  spoils  taken  from 
the  quibian  were  two  golden  coronets,  one  of  which 
was  presented  to  Bartolome  by  the  admiral.  Not 
withstanding  the  escape  of  the  chief,  who,  after  all, 
was  probably  drowned,  Columbus  proceeded  to  exe 
cute  his  plans.  There  were  the  king's  household  and 
his  chief  men  safely  on  board,  and  these  should  be 
sufficient  to  guarantee  the  tranquillity  of  the  nations. 


THE  COUNTRY  ROUSED.  227 

So  the  arrangements  for  the  comfort  and  security  of 
the  colony  during  the  contemplated  absence  of  the 
admiral  were  hastened  to  completion.  The  three 
vessels,  after  discharging  part  of  their  cargoes,  were 
carried  by  the  newly  swollen  stream  over  the  bar,  and 
reloaded.  There  they  lay  at  anchor  waiting  a  favor 
able  wind. 

All  this  time,  however,  the  Spaniards  were  reckon 
ing  without  their  host.  The  quibian  was  not  dead. 
In  spite  of  his  bonds,  he  had  made  good  his  escape. 
After  his  bold  plunge,  finding  himself  free  from  the 
boat,  he  had  extricated  his  wrists  from  the  loosened 
cords,  swam  beneath  the  water  to  the  bank,  and  had 
set  out  for  his  village,  revolving  vengeance.  And 
now,  hastily  arming  a  thousand  warriors,  he  attacked 
the  Spaniards  under  cover  of  the  dense  vegetation, 
killing  one  and  wounding  eight,  but  was  soon  repulsed 
with  heavy  loss.  Shortly  afterward  Diego  Tristan, 
coming  ashore  from  one  of  the  vessels  with  eleven 
men,  recklessly  ascended  the  river  a  league  for  wood 
and  water.  All  but  one  were  killed.24 

The  aspect  of  affairs  was  serious.  It  was  now  evi 
dent  that  no  fear  of  what  might  befall  his  imprisoned 
household  would  deter  the  quibian  from  his  bloody 
purpose.  Alive  or  dead  might  be  his  brothers,  wives, 
and  children,  he  would  rid  his  country  of  these  per- 

2t  There  ate  two  accounts  of  this  affair;  one  by  Fernando  Colon,  and  one 
by  Diego  Mendez.  Both  are  biased;  the  former  in  favor  of  Bartolome,  the 
latter  in  favor  of  the  writer.  Fernando  tells  how,  when  the  settlement  was 
taken  by  surprise,  his  uncle  seized  a  lance,  and  supported  by  seven  men  fought 
with  desperate  valor  until  the  main  body  of  the  Spaniards  came  to  his  relief, 
when  the  enemy  was  routed.  The  other  states,  Relation  hccha  por  Dieijo 
Mendez,  in  Navurretr,  Col.  de  Viages,  i.  317,  that  the  admiral  had  just  left  the 
harbor,  accompanied  by  the  larger  part  of  the  Spaniards,  who  had  gone  to 
say  farewell.  Mendez,  newly  appointed  contador,  held  the  town  of  Belen 
with  twenty  men.  Suddenly  four  hundred  Indians  appeared  on  the  hill 
above,  and  sent  upon  the  Spaniards  a  shower  of  darts  and  arrows.  Fortu 
nately  the  yells  were  in  advance  of  the  weapons,  and  thus  time  was  given 
Mendez  to  arm.  The  fight  was  desperate,  and  lasted  three  hours.  Ten 
natives  who  ventured  to  close  with  their  war  clubs  were  slain  by  the  sword. 
Seven  of  the  twenty  Christians  were  killed;  but  a  miracle  at  last  gave  victory 
to  the  remainder.  During  the  next  four  days,  by  the  ingenuity  of  Mendez, 
and  under  his  direction,  the  effects  of  the  colony  were  placed  on  shipboard, 
and  in  return  for  his  invaluable  services  he  was  made  captain  of  Tristan's  ship. 


228  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

fidious  strangers.  To  this  end  he  secured  the  cooper 
ation  of  the  neighboring  chieftains,  and  filled  the 
forest  with  his  warriors.  Stealthily  they  lurked  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  settlement,  and  watched  every  path 
way,  ready  to  cut  off  any  who  should  venture  abroad. 
Nowhere  on  the  Islands  had  the  Spaniards  met  such 
stubborn  opposition,  and  serious  misgivings  filled  their 
minds.  Their  own  probable  doom  they  saw  fore 
shadowed  in  the  mutilated  bodies  of  Tristan  and  his 
men,  which  came  floating  past  them  down  the  stream, 
attended  by  ravenous  fishes;  and  the  requiems  sung 
by  quarrelling  vultures  over  the  remains  when  after 
ward  they  were  thrown  back  by  the  waves  upon  the 
beach,  tended  in  no  wise  to  lessen  their  dismal  fore 
bodings.  To  heighten  their  misfortunes,  a  furious 
storm  arose,  which  cut  off  all  communication  between 
the  settlement  and  the  ships.  The  adelantado  en 
deavored  in  vain  to  quiet  the  fears  of  his  people, 
who  emboldened  by  despair  would  have  seized  the 
remaining  caravel  and  put  to  sea  had  the  weather 
permitted.  Yet  closer  pressed  upon  them  the  enraged 
quibian,  until  dislodged  they  retreated  to  the  river 
bank,  before  their  caravel,  and  threw  up  earthworks, 
which  they  capped  with  the  ship's  boat,  and  behind 
which  they  planted  their  guns,  and  so  kept  the  sav 
ages  at  bay. 

On  shipboard  matters  were  no  better.  The  con 
tinued  absence  of  Tristan  and  his  crew  caused  the 
admiral  great  anxiety.  In  such  a  heavy  sea  it  was 
unsafe  to  remain  near  the  shore;  the  parting  of  a 
cable  would  doom  the  clumsy  craft  to  swift  destruc 
tion.  And  as  if  this  were  not  enough,  the  spirit 
of  the  quibian  broke  out  among  his  encaged  family. 
Preferring  death  to  captivity  they  plotted  escape. 
During  the  night  the  prisoners  were  confined  in  the 
forecastle,  and  on  the  covering  slept  a  guard  of  sol 
diers.  Collecting  one  night  such  articles  as  were 
within  reach,  stones  used  as  ballast,  boxes,  and  pro 
vision  casks,  they  piled  them  up  under  the  hatchway 


THE  SETTLEMENT  ABANDONED.  229 

cover.  Toward  morning,  when  the  guards  were  sleep 
ing  soundly,  as  many  of  the  captives  as  were  able 
mounted  the  heap,  and  placing  their  shoulders  to  the 
covering,  by  quick  concerted  action  burst  it  open, 
throwing  the  sleeping  sentinels  in  every  direction, 
and  springing  out  leaped  into  the  sea.  Those  whose 
escape  was  prevented  were  found  next  morning  dead, 
some  hanging  to  the  roof  and  sides  of  their  prison, 
some  strangled  by  means  of  strings  round  the  neck 
drawn  tight  with  the  foot. 

It  was  now  of  the  utmost  importance  to  communi 
cate  with  the  shore,  as  the  admiral  was  convinced 
that  the  situation  of  the  colonists  was  becoming  per 
ilous  in  the  extreme.  At  least,  all  hope  of  settlement 
in  that  quarter  must  for  the  present  be  abandoned. 
The  fate  of  the  captives,  when  once  it  was  known, 
would  move  the  very  rocks  to  revenge.  But  no  boat 
could  live  in  the  surf  intervening.  Then  stepped  for 
ward  Pedro  Ledesrna,  a  Sevillian  pilot,  and  offered  if 
rowed  to  the  breakers  to  attempt  to  gain  the  shore 
by  swimming.  The  thing  was  done.  Scarcely  had 
Ledesma  picked  himself  up  from  the  spot  where  the 
waves  threw  him  when  he  was  surrounded  by  his  for 
lorn  countrymen,  who  informed  him  of  the  fate  of 
Tristan,  and  of  their  determination  to  quit  that  ac 
cursed  coast  at  any  hazard.  Ledesma  returned  and 
told  the  admiral,  upon  whose  mind  thereupon  gloom 
settled  in  yet  denser  shades.  Unrighteously  deprived 
of  his  command  at  Santo  Domingo,  he  had  nourished 
the  hope  that  this  last  and  most  important  of  his  dis 
coveries  might  prove  the  base  of  better  fortune  than 
was  possible  on  .the  Spanish  Isle.  For  had  it  not 
been  revealed  to  him  that  this  Veragua  was  the  source 
w^hence  Solomon  drew  the  gold  to  build  the  temple? 
These  lamentations  continued  during  the  remainder 
of  the  storm,  which  lasted  nine  days  longer;  after 
which  preparations  were  made  for  the  embarkation  of 
the  colonists,  the  admiral  consoling  himself  with  the 
promise  of  return  under  more  favorable  auspices. 


230  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

Finally  the  caravel  stationed  in  the  river  was  dis 
mantled,  and  out  of  the  spars  and  some  Indian 
canoes  was  made  a  raft,  by  means  of  which  the 
colonists  and  their  effects  were  in  two  days  taken  on 
board.  The  admiral  then  bore  away  eastward  for 
Espanola.  And  it  may  have  been  the  lingering  hope 
of  blind  infatuation — so  his  followers  thought  it — • 
that  made  him  cling  to  the  shore  until  the  Darien 
country  was  passed,  before  striking  out  across  the 
Caribbean  Sea;  others  say  it  was  to  avoid  contrary 
winds,  while  he  affirms  it  was  to  deceive  his  pilots 
that  they  might  not  be  able  to  find  Yeragua  again 
without  his  charts.  One  worm-eaten  caravel  he  was 
obliged  to  drop  at  Portobello.  The  other  two  held 
together  until  they  reached  Jamaica,  where  they  were 
beached. 

A  new  series  of  misfortunes  here  awaited  the 
Great  Unlucky  One.  From  June  1503  to  June  1504 
he  was  doomed  to  remain  on  his  wrecks,  which  now 
lay  side  by  side,  partially  filled  with  water.  Food  be 
came  scarce,  and  the  foraging  expeditions  met  with 
constantly  increasing  difficulties  in  seeking  the  neces 
sary  supply.  By  desperate  efforts  Diego  Mendez 
succeeded  in  reaching  Espanola  in  a  canoe;  but  when 
he  had  notified  Ovando  of  the  perilous  situation  of 
Columbus,  the  governor  was  in  no  haste  to  relieve 
his  rival.  Sickness  next  followed,  and  then  mutiny. 
Francisco  cle  Porras  with  forty-eight  men  threw  off 
allegiance  to  the  admiral,  and  taking  ten  canoes  set 
out  for  Espanola.  Twice  thrown  back  upon  Jamaica 
by  adverse  winds  they  abandoned  the  attempt,  and 
gave  themselves  up  to  licentious  roving  about  the 
island.  A  second  mutiny  was  near  its  culmination 
when  a  small  vessel  appeared  in  the  distance.  Pres 
ently  Diego  de  Escobar  approached  in  a  boat,  and 
without  leaving  it,  thrust  in  upon  the  admiral  a  letter, 
a  side  of  bacon,  and  a  barrel  of  wine,  all  from  Ovando ; 
then  he  disappeared  as  mysteriously  as  he  had  come. 
Following  an  attempted  reconciliation  with  Porras 


DEATH  OF  THE  ADMIRAL.  231 

was  a  fight  between  his  gang  and  the  Spaniards  under 
Bartolome,  in  which  six  were  killed,  among  them 
our  honest  friend  Juan  Sanchez,  who  had  cast  his 
lot  with  Porras.  The  doughty  Ledesma,  also  a 
rebel,  though  badly  wounded,  lived  to  be  assassinated 
in  Spain.  Porras  and  several  others  were  taken 
prisoners  and  confined  on  board  the  wreck.  The 
remainder  of  the  deserters  then  returned,  penitent. 
Finally  the  admiral's  agent  at  Santo  Domingo,  Diego 
de  Salcedo,  came  to  his  relief  with  two  ships. 

It  was  infamous  in  Ovando  to  leave  Columbus  so 
long  in  such  a  strait.  The  excuses  he  pleaded  were 
absence  at  Jaragua,  and  lack  of  suitable  ships;  but 
had  he  been  in  earnest  to  deliver  the  admiral,  means 
could  have  been  found  before  the  lapse  of  a  year. 
Although  on  arriving  at  Santo  Domingo  Columbus 
received  lodgings  in  Ovando's  house,  and  the  gover 
nor  was  outwardly  exceedingly  attentive  to  his  guest, 
in  reality  there  was  little  in  common  between  the  two 
men  but  jealousy  and  distrust.  Porras  was  allowed 
to  roam  at  large,  though  finally  sent  to  Spain  for  trial. 
Columbus  sailed  for  Spain  September  12,  1504.  For 
a  time  he  kept  his  bed  at  Seville,  writing  heart-rend 
ing  letters  to  the  sovereigns,  who  paid  little  attention 
to  them.  By  the  help  of  the  adelantaclo,  ever  his 
most  faithful  friend  and  brother,  Columbus  managed 
the  following  year  to  creep  up  to  court  and  beg 
redress  from  the  king,  for  the  queen  was  now  dead. 
But  Ferdinand  was  deeply  disgusted;  not  so  much 
however  as  to  prevent  his  granting  the  illustrious  dis 
coverer  a  magnificent  burial  shortly  after.  It  was 
the  20th  of  May,  150G,  that  Columbus  died  at  Yalla- 
dolid,  at  the  age  of  about  seventy  years.25 

Thus  terminated  the  first  attempt  of  Spaniards  to 
plant  a  colony  on  the  main-land  of  North  America. 

25  The  final  burial-place,  not  only  of  Columbus,  but  of  his  son  Diego,  and 
of  his  grandson  Luis,  was  the  cathedral  of  Santo  Domingo.  For  seven  years 
after  his  death  the  remains  of  Columbus  lay  in  the  convent  of  San  Francisco 
at  Valladolid.  Then  they  were  removed  to  Seville  and  placed  in  the  mon- 


232  COLUMBUS  AT  VEBAGUA. 

Columbus  himself,  the  leader,  advanced  with  proffers 
of  friendship  in  one  hand  and  a  sword  in  the  other, 
retaliated  upon  a  fancied  savage  treachery  by  a  more 
insidious  civilized  treachery,  and  was  driven  from  the 
country  by  a  brave  ruler,  whose  deeds  deserve  to  be 
enrolled  beside  those  of  patriots  everywhere.  One 
kind  act  of  a  tender-hearted  Spanish  sailor — would  I 
had  more  of  them  to  record  in  this  history — brings 
the  direst  misfortune  on  his  countrymen,  delays  for  a 
dozen  years  the  occupation  of  Veragua,  and  turns  the 
tide  of  conquest  in  other  directions. 

Most  remarkable  in  the  character  of  Columbus  was 
the  combination  of  the  theoretical  and  the  practical; 
and  most  remarkable  in  his  theories  was  the  anomaly 
that  though  nearly  all  of  them  were  false,  they  led  to 
as  grand  results  as  if  they  had  been  true.  The  aper 
ture  through  which  failure  creeps  into  carefully  laid 
schemes  is  usually  some  glaring  defect  of  character; 
and  such  defect  often  appears  where  little  suspected, 
in  natures  warped  by  genius,  or  where  one  quality  is 
unduly  developed  at  the  expense  of  another  quality. 
We  often  see  men  of  rare  ability  wrecked  by  what 
would  be  regarded  an  act  of  folly  unaccountable  in 
the  stupidest  person;  but  we  do  not  often  see  suc 
cess  resulting  from  these  same  defects.  The  greatest 
defect  in  the  faculties  of  Columbus,  extravagance  of 
belief,  was  the  primary  cause  of  his  success.  Simple 
to  us  as  is  the  reality  of  the  earth's  rotundity,  and  of 
the  practicability  of  a  western  route  to  Asia,  no  one 
could  then  have  entertained  those  doctrines  without 
extraordinary  credulity;  even  though  Pythagoras 
and  others  had  so  long  ago  expressed  such  ideas, 

astery  of  Las  Cuevas;  and  in  1536  were  transferred  to  Santo  Domingo. 
When  Espaiiola  was  ceded  to  France  in  1795,  the  Spanish  naval  commander 
asked  permission  to  remove  the  remains  to  Cuba,  which  was  granted;  and 
what  \vere  supposed  to  be  the  remains  were  so  removed  midst  pomp  and  cere 
mony  in  December-January  following.  But  later  investigations,  the  result  of 
long-standing  suspicions,  satisfied  many  that  a  blunder  had  been  committed  ; 
and  that  the  bones  of  Columbus  still  rest  at  Santo  Domingo.  This  has  been 
proved  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  recent  researches  of  the  distinguished  French 
savant  and  Americaniste  A.  Pinart. 


CHARACTER  OF  COLUMBUS.  233 

no  one  could  then  have  acted  on  them  short  of  infat 
uation  bordering  on  insanity.  To  say  the  world  is 
round  was  not  enough;  Thales  of  Miletus  proved  it 
not  a  plane  two  thousand  years  before.  If  it  were 
round,  the  water  would  run  off;  if  it  were  flat,  why 
then  one  safely  might  sail  on  it;  if  it  be  flat,  and  the 
water  runs  not  off,  then  at  the  other  end  there  must 
be  land  that  keeps  the  water  on,  and  one  might  sail 
over  the  flat  sea  to  that  land — all  such  logic  was  less 
puerile  than  the  feelings  by  which  the  Genoese  ordi 
narily  reached  conclusions.  His  efforts  were  the 
embodiment  of  the  ideas  of  many  thoughtful  men, 
timorous  persons,  perhaps,  or  merely  meditative  and 
passive,  but  in  none  of  whom  united  his  ability,  cour 
age,  and  enthusiasm ;  above  all,  none  so  scientific  were 
at  the  same  time  so  blindly  fanatic.  Often  the  knowl 
edge  of  a  prophecy  is  the  cause  of  its  fulfilment. 
Some  say  Alonso  Sanchez  told  him  of  Espanola,  and 
he  himself  affirms  that  once  he  visited  Iceland.  It 
may  have  been  that  on  this  voyage  he  learned  from 
the  Norsemen  of  their  Vinland  and  Helluland.  What 
then  ?  Were  this  true,  such  stories  would  have  had 
with  him  scarcely  greater  weight  than  the  sayings  of  the 
ancients,  or  than  current  interpretations  of  holy  writ. 
Nothing  more  plainly  proves  the  power  that  sent 
him  forth  than  the  fact  that  in  scarcely  one  of  his 
original  conceptions  was  he  correct.  He  thought  to 
reach  Asia  over  an  unobstructed  ocean  sea  by  sailing 
west;  he  did  not.  To  the  day  of  his  death  he 
thought  America  was  Asia,  and  that  Cuba  was  main 
land  ;  that  the  earth  was  much  smaller  than  it  is,  and 
that  six  sevenths  of  it  was  land.  He  dwelt  much 
on  a  society  of  Amazons  who  never  had  existence, 
and  at  every  step  among  the  Islands  he  ingenuously 
allowed  his  inflamed  imagination  to  deceive  him. 
He  claimed  to  have  been  divinely  appointed  for  this 
mission;  he  affirmed  his  voyage  a  miracle,  and  himself 
inspired  with  the  conception  of  it  by  the  most  holy 
Trinity;  he  vowed  to  rescue  the  holy  sepulchre, 


234  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

which  he  never  did;  he  proclaimed  visions  which  he 
never  saw,  such  as  St  Elmo  at  the  top-mast  with 
seven  lighted  tapers,  and  told  of  voices  which  he 
never  heard;  he  pictured  himself  a  Christ-bearer  to 
benighted  heathen,  when  in  truth  he  was  scattering 
among  them  legions  of  fiery  devils.  But  what  he 
knew  and  did,  assuredly,  was  enough,  opening  the 
ocean  to  highways,  and  finding  new  continents; 
enough  to  fully  entitle  him  to  all  the  glory  man  can 
give  to  man;  and  as  for  his  errors  of  judgment,  had 
he  been  able  to  map  America  as  accurately  as  can 
we  to-day,  had  he  been  divine  instead  of,  as  he 
claimed,  only  divinely  appointed,  with  myriads  of 
attendant  ministers,  his  achievement  would  have 
been  none  the  greater.  From  the  infirmities  of  his 
nature  sprang  the  nobility  of  Brutus ;  from  the  weak 
nesses  of  Columbus  was  compounded  his  strength. 

Assuredly  it  was  no  part  of  the  experience  and 
ingenuity  which  springs  from  life-long  application 
that  made  Columbus  so  essentially  a  visionary;  nor 
was  it  his  scientific  attainments,  nor  the  splendid 
successes  which  despite  the  so  frequent  frowns  of 
fortune  we  must  accredit  him.  In  his  avocation 
of  mariner  he  was  a  plain,  thoughtful  man  of  sound 
judgment  and  wise  discretion;  but  fired  by  fanaticism 
he  became  more  than  an  ordinary  navigator;  he  be 
came  more  as  he  fancied  himself,  superhuman,  the 
very  arm  of  omnipotence.  Once  born  in  him  the 
infatuation  that  he  was  the  divinely  appointed  in 
strument  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  work,  and 
frowning  monarchs  or  perilous  seas  were  as  straws  in 
his  way.  We  see  clearly  enough  what  moved  him, 
these  four  hundred  years  after  the  event,  though 
he  who  was  moved  in  reality  knew  little  about  it. 
By  the  pressure  of  rapidly  accumulating  ideas  we 
see  brought  to  the  front  in  discovery  Christopher 
Columbus,  just  as  in  the  reformation  of  the  church 
Martin  Luther  is  crowded  to  the  front.  The  Ger 
man  monk  was  not  the  Reformation ;  like  the  Genoese 


FURTHER  ANALYSIS  OF  CHARACTER.  235 

sailor,  he  was  but  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  a 
power  palpable  to  all,  but  called  by  different  persons 
different  names. 

While  yet  mingling  in  the  excitements  of  progress 
ive  manhood,  he  became  lost  in  a  maze  of  mysticism, 
and  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  never  recovered  posses 
sion  of  himself.  Not  that  self-mastery,  the  first 
necessity  of  correct  conduct,  was  wholly  gone;  there 
was  method  in  his  madness;  and  he  could  deny  the 
demons  within  him,  but  it  was  only  to  leave  open  the 
door  and  give  himself  up  to  yet  other  demons. 

In  the  centuries  of  battle  now  lately  renewed  be 
tween  science  and  superstition,  Columbus  fought  on 
both  sides.  Never  was  a  man  more  filled  at  once 
with  the  material  and  the  spiritual,  with  the  emo 
tional  and  the  intellectual.  Mingling  with  beatified 
spirits  in  the  garden  of  his  moral  paradise  were  naked 
wild  men  equally  as  glorious  in  their  immoralities. 
His  creed,  though  illogical  enough,  was  obviously  not 
in  his  eyes  a  bundle  of  supernatural  abstractions,  but 
concrete  reality  as  much  as  were  any  of  his  temporal 
affairs.  Himself  an  honest  devotee  of  science,  and 
believing  science  the  offspring  of  superstition,  science 
and  himself  must  finally  be  forever  laid  upon  the  altar 
of  superstition.  He  had  no  thought  of  work  apart 
from  religion,  or  of  religion  apart  from  work.  He 
had  ready  a  doctrine  for  every  heavenly  display,  a 
theory  for  every  earthly  phenomenon.  When  pic 
tures  of  other  lands  rose  in  his  imagination,  he  knew 
them  to  be  real,  just  as  Juan  Diego  of  Mexico  knew 
to  be  real  the  apparition  of  our  Lady  of  Guadalupo 
at  Tepeyacac.  By  the  gnawing  hunger  of  temporal 
and  spiritual  ambition  he  was  enabled  to  see  the  new 
lands  suggested  by  science,  just  as  the  miserable  monk, 
starved  and  scourged  into  the  beholdings  of  insanity, 
sees  angels  of  every  incarnation. 

While  thus  obliged  to  view  all  his  achievements 
through  the  atmosphere  of  creative  mysticism,  in 
weighing  his  manifold  qualities,  it  is  well  always  to 


236  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

remember  that  there  were  achievements,  and  those 
of  the  very  highest  order.  His  mysticism  was  the 
mysticism  of  practical  life  rather  than  of  inactive 
ideality.  His  bigotry  was  of  value  to  him  in  giving 
definiteness  to  energy  otherwise  vague  and  fitful.  His 
all-potential  fanaticism  subordinated  to  one  idea  every 
erratic  and  incoherent  aspiration.  It  gave  his  life  a 
fixedness  of  purpose  which  lust,  avarice,  and  every 
appetite  combined  could  not  have  given  without  it; 
so  that  while  he  brooded  with  misanthropic  wistful- 
ness  he  did  not  shirk  any  fancied  duty,  even  when 
attended  by  pain  and  misfortune.  His  was  not  a 
cloistered  inspiration,  but  an  overwhelmingly  active 
enthusiasm.  There  was  in  him  no  longing  after  a 
perfect  life;  in  his  own  eyes  his  life  was  perfect. 
No  restless  questionings  over  the  unknowable;  there 
was  no  unknowable.  His  oblique  imagination  en 
compassed  all  worlds  and  penetrated  all  space.  His 
positivism  bound  the  metaphysical  no  less  firmly 
than  the  material.  Abstract  conceptions  were  more 
tangible  than  concrete  facts.  Realities  were  but 
accidents;  ideas  were  the  only  true  realities.  The 
highway  of  the  heavens  which  to  profoundest  in 
vestigation  is  dusty  with  the  debris  of  an  evolving 
universe,  to  this  self-sufficient  sailor  was  as  plain  as 
the  king's  road  from  Seville  to  Cddiz. 

And  as  genius  grows  with  experience,  so  grew  his 
fanaticism  with  the  errors  he  constantly  fell  into.  He 
was  not  a  happy  man,  nor  was  he  a  pleasant  or  profit  • 
able  companion.  In  his  delusions  he  was  self-satisfied; 
in  the  loss  of  himself  self-possessed.  He  endeavored 
to  be  prudent  and  thought  himself  worldly  wise;  but 
like  many  self-flatterers 'wrapped  in  their  own  fancies 
he  was  easily  imposed  upon,  even  by  the  sovereigns, 
with  whom  he  aimed  to  be  exceedingly  shrewd.  His 
contact  with  man  did  not  deepen  his  humanity,  but 
seemed  rather  to  harden  his  heart,  and  drive  his  affec 
tions  all  the  more  from  earth  to  heaven.  His  mind 
was  of  that  gloomy  cast  which  made  even  his  sue- 


ANOMALIES  AND  ABERRATIONS.  237 

cesses  sorrowful.  We  have  seen  among  his  practical 
virtues  integrity  of  a  high  conventional  order,  single- 
mindedness,  courage,  and  indomitable  perseverance; 
and  in  other  characteristics  which  were  not  so  pleas 
ing — pride,  displaying  itself  not  least  in  a  chronic 
religious  humility;  a  melancholy  temper;  a  selfish 
ambition,  which  with  one  grasp  would  secure  to  him 
self  and  his  family  the  uttermost  that  man  and  God 
could  give;  with  all  his  devout  piety  and  heavenly 
zeal  a  painful  and  often  ludicrous  tenacity  in  clutch 
ing  at  high-sounding  titles  and  hollow  honors — there 
were  even  in  the  most  unlovable  parts  of  him  some 
thing  to  respect,  and  in  his  selfishness  a  self-sacrificing 
nobleness,  a  lofty  abandonment  of  self  to  the  idea, 
which  we  can  but  admire.  It  was  not  for  himself, 
although  it  was  always  most  zealously  and  jealously 
for  himself;  the  ships,  the  new  lands,  the  new  peoples, 
his  fortunes  and  his  life,  all  were  consecrate;  should 
the  adventure  prove  successful,  the  gain  would  be 
heaven's;  if  a  failure,  the  loss  would  fall  on  him. 
Surely  the  Almighty  must  smile  on  terms  so  favor 
able  to  himself.  And  that  he  did  not  finally  make 
good  his  promises  with  regard  to  rescuing  the  holy 
sepulchre,  and  building  temples,  and  converting  na 
tions,  was  for  the  same  reason  that  he  did  not  finally 
satisfy  his  -worldly  pretensions,  and  secure  himself 
in  his  rulership.  He  had  not  the  time.  With  all 
his  worldly  and  heavenly  ambitions,  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  glory  of  himself  were 'secondary  to  the  happy 
consummation  of  his  grand  idea. 

And  never  did  morbid  broodings  over  the  unsub 
stantial  and  shadowless  produce  grander  results  than 
these  incubations  of  alternate  exaltation  and  despond 
ency  that  hatched  a  continent.  Yet  there  is  cutting 
irony  under  it,  when  we  see  how  fate  ordained  that 
the  ships,  the  charts,  and  all  the  other  mechanisms 
of  his  high  purposes  were  in  his  hands  to  be  imple 
ments  for  the  breaking-down  of  those  very  spiritual 
bulwarks  which  he  sought  to  establish  forever. 


233  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

While,  therefore,  in  the  study  of  this  remarkable 
character,  whose  description  is  but  a  succession  of 
paradoxes,  we  see  everywhere  falsehood  leading  up 
to  truth  and  truth  to  falsehood;  while  we  see  spring 
out  of  the  ideal  the  real,  results  the  most  substantial 
and  success  the  most  signal  come  from  conceptions 
the  most  fantastical,  we  can  but  observe,  not  only 
that  penetrative  vision  which  in  the  mind  of  genius 
sees  through  the  symbol  the  divine  significance,  but 
that  they  have  not  been  always  or  altogether  fruitless 
of  good,  those  spectral  fancies  which  riot  in  absurd 
ities,  building  celestial  cities,  and  peopling  pande 
moniums,  even  in  the  absence  of  genius,  symbol,  or 
significance.26 

26 1  have  remarked  at  some  length  on  Fernando  Colon's  life  of  his  father, 
and  on  the  letters  of  the  admiral,  and  other  documents  in  Navarrete,  Salvd 
and  Baranda,  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  and  Mendoza,  and  elsewhere.  The 
standard  historians,  Las  Casas,  Oviedo,  Peter  Martyr,  Gomara,  and  Herrera, 
I  will  pass  for  the  present,  only  remarking  that  each  in  his  own  way  tells  the 
story  of  the  admiral,  and  all  must  be  carefully  considered  in  a  study  of  his 
life  and  achievements.  Other  early  or  important  authorities  are  Zorzi,  Paesi 
Nouamente  retrouati,  Vicentia,  1507;  Rucliamcr,  Ncwe  unbckanthe  landte,  Nu 
remberg,  1508;  Stamler,  Dyalogvs,  Augsburg,  1508;  Marineo,  Obra  Compuesta 
de  las  Cosas  Mvmorables  e  Claros  Varones  de  Espaiia,  Alcala,  1530;  Ger- 
aldini,  Itincrarivm  ad  Regiones  svb  JEqvinoctiali,  Rome,  1631;  Grynams,  Now* 
Orbis  Regionvm  ac  Itisvlarvm  veteribvs  incog  nitarvm,  Basle,  1532;  Maffei,  His- 
toriarum  indlcarum,  Florence,  1588;  Gambarce,  De  navigatlone  ChtristopJiori 
Columbi,  Rome,  1585;  Charlevoix,  Histoire  de  I'fsle-Espagnole,  Paris,  1730; 
Cladera,  Investigaciones  historicas,  Madrid,  1794;  Bossi,  Vita,  di  Colombo,  Milan, 
1818.  Die  v'terdte  Reise  so  vollenbracht  Iiat  Christ  q/el  Columb,  at  page  6  of 
Low,  Meer  oder  Seehanen  Duch,  Cologne,  1598,  should  be  read  in  reference 
with  the  maps,  to  be  appreciated.  See  also  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  iii.  16-18  and 
98-9;  Be.nzoni,  Hist.  Mondo  Nvovo,  27-30 ;  Galvano's  Discov.,  100-1 ;  Hum- 
boldt,  Exam.  Crit. ,  passim ;  Major's  Select  Letters  of  Columbus,  Hakluyt  Soc. , 
London,  1847;  Castellano*,  Elegias  de  Varones  ilmtres  de  Indias,  42-3;  Acosta, 
Compend.  IIi«t.  Niteva  Granada,  1-17;  Repertorio  Americano,  iii.  186-225; 
Vetancvrt,  Teo.tro  Mex.,  3-6  and  101-6;  Lerdo  de  Tejada,  Apuntes  Hist., 
77-80;  Remesal,  Hint.  Chyapa,  162-3;  Gordon's  Hist.  Am.,i.  247-64;  Lard- 
ner's  Hist.  Discov.,  ii.  16;  Pat/no,  Cronologia  Mex.,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geofj. ; 
Robertson's  Hist.  Am.,  i.  59-175;  Corradi,  Descub.  de  la  Am.,  i.  6-3i2; 
Simon,  Conq.  tierra  Jirme,  44-50;  Mesa  y  Leompart,  Hi*t.  Am.,  i.  1—64; 
Torquemada,  i.  20-1,  and  iii.  283-94;  Vega,  Commentarios  Reales,  ii.  7; 
Acosta,  Hist.  Ind.,  passim;  Villaijvtierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Ilza,  5-19;  Mendieta, 
Hist.  Ecle*.,  13-39;  Cavanil/e*,  Hist.  Espaiia,  v.  27-55  and  104-9;  Nueva 
Eipana,  Breve  Resumen,  MS.,  i.  1—14;  JMayUctnos,  St  Francis  and  Francis 
cans,  521-32;  A  a,  Naaukcur'vje  Vcrsameling,  ii.  and  iii.  passim;  Holmes' 
Annals  Am.,  i.  1-16;  Puga,  Cedulario,  4-5;  Gonzalez  Davila,  Teatro  Ecles., 
i.  255-6;  Burke 's  Europ.  Set.,  i.  1-45;  Major's  Prince  Henry,  347-67;  Help's 
Span.  Conq.,  passim;  Heylyn's  Cosmog.,  1083;  Oy'dby's  Am.,  55—6;  Ens,  West* 
onnd  Ost  Indischcr  Lustgart,  178-84  and  408-9;  Campe,  Hist.  Descub.  Am., 
1-133;  Poussin,  De  la  Puissance  Amcricaine,  passim;  Hist.  Mag.,  Aug.  and 
Sept.  1864,  and  Feb.  1868;  Mariana,  Hist.  Espaiia,  vi.  307  etc.  and  vii.  80; 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  239 

Munoz,  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,  i.  27-342;  Morelli,  Fasti  Novl  Orbis,  11-12; 
Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  v.  801-4;  Pizarro  y  Orellana,  Varones  Ilvstres  del 
Xvevo  Mvndo,  1-53;  Montnnus,  De  Nieuwc.  en  Onbekende  Wcerdd,  1-43;  and 
Laet,  Nov.  Orb. ,  345-6.  The  first  work  to  throw  a  clear  light  on  the  ques 
tion  of  birthplace  was  the  Delia  patria  di  Oristoforo  Colombo,  by  Conte  Napi- 
one  di  Coconato,  Florence,  1808,  a  dissertation  published  by  the  Academy 
of  Sciences,  of  Turin.  In  this  and  supplementary  works  the  ability  and  zeal 
of  the  author  are  manifest.  In  1853,  at  Rome,  was  issued  a  new  edition  of 
Napione  and  de  Conti,  entitled  Patria  e  Biografia  Del  Grande  Ammiraglio 
D.  Cristoforo  Colombo  ....  riscMarita  e  comprovata  dai  cdebri  scrittori  Gio. 
Francesco  Conte  Napione  di  Coconato  e  Vincenzo  de-Conti,  the  latter  author  of 
S'toria  del  Alonferrato,  in  which  appears  a  wealth  of  new  information  second 
only  to  the  original  narratives  and  documents  themselves.  The  Dissert* izioni 
epistolari  biblioyrojiche,  Rome,  1809,  of  Francesco  Cancellieri,  which  Leclerc 
calls  '  savante  et  fort  curieuse,'  should  not  be  overlooked.  John  S.  C.  Abbott 
throws  together  a  Life  of  Christopher  Columbus,  New  York,  1875,  in  popular 
form,  in  which  extracts  are  conspicuous,  the  author  having  made  quite  free 
with  the  writings  of  his  predecessors. 

Probably  not  one  of  the  many  accounts  of  Columbus  which  have  been 
published  is  presented  with  such  fulness  of  detail,  commanding  vivid  interest 
from  first  to  last,  as  that  of  Mr  Washington  Irving,  The  Life  and  Voyages 
of  Christopher  Columbus;  to  which  are  added  those  of  His  Companions,  3  vols., 
New  York,  1869.  The  first  editions,  one  in  London,  in  4  vols.,  and  one  in 
New  York,  appeared  in  1828;  since  which  time  there  have  been  many  issues, 
in  English  and  other  languages.  The  author  was  born  in  New  York,  in  1783, 
and  died  at  Sunnyside,  near  Tarrytown,  on  the  Hudson  River,  in  1859.  A 
strong  literary  taste  was  early  displayed,  specially  manifested  in  1802  in  a 
series  of  articles  contributed  to  the  Morning  Chronicle.  In  1804  he  visited 
Europe  for  his  health,  returning  in  1807.  Then  appeared  the  serial  Salma 
gundi,  and  in  1809  A  History  of  New  York.  Again  in  1815  he  went  to  Eu 
rope,  and  after  engaging  for  a  time  in  mercantile  pursuits,  abandoned  them 
and  gave  himself  up  to  letters.  The  publication  of  the  Sketch  Book  was  begun 
in  numbers  in  1818,  and  was  followed  by  Bracebridge  Hall  in  1822,  and  Tales 
of  a  Traveller  in  1824.  Then  came  Columbus,  the  material  for  which  he  ob 
tained  from  Navarrete  in  Spain.  See  chapter  iii.  note  9,  this  volume.  After 
serving  as  secretary  of  the  American  Legation  in  London  from  1829  to  1832, 
he  returned  to  New  York  and  published  The  Alhambra  ;  then  Crayon  Miscel 
lany  \&  1835;  Axtoriain  1836;  Captain  Bonneville  in  1837;  and  Wolferfs  Roost 
in  1855.  From  1842  to  1846  he  was  American  Minister  to  Spain.  His  later 
works  were  Goldsmith,  1849;  Mahomet,  1850;  and  Washington,  1855-9.  Mr 
Irving  has  been  most  praised  for  his  genial  manner,  his  gentleness  of  thought, 
and  his  charming  style,  which  carries  the  reader  almost  unconsciously  along 
over  details  in  other  hands  dry  and  profitless.  Among  these  is  found  his 
highest  merit;  and  yet  one  would  sometimes  wish  the  author  not  quite  so 
meritorious.  Elegance  and  grace  eternal  tire  by  their  very  faultlessness.  In 
handling  the  rough  realities  of  life  one  relishes  now  and  then  a  rough 
thought  roughly  expressed.  Neither  is  Irving  remarkable  for  historical 
accuracy,  or  exact  thinking.  An  early  criticism  on  Columbus  complains  of 
that  without  which  the  works  of  Irving  never  would  have  attained  great 
popularity.  He  was  pronounced  too  wordy,  his  details  too  long  drawn.  If 
this  was  the  case  fifty  years  ago,  it  is  much  more  so  now.  And  yet  how 


240  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

fascinating  is  every  page !  And  who  but  Irving  could  make  thrilling  such 
trivial  events  ?  Permit  him  the  use  of  words,  and  howsoever  isolated  the 
ideas,  or  commonplace  the  events,  the  result  was  brilliant;  but  force  him 
within  narrow  compass,  not  only  would  the  charm  be  lost,  but  the  work 
would  be  almost  worthless. 

The  highest  delight  of  a  healthy  mind,  of  a  mind  not  diseased  either  by 
education  or  affection,  is  in  receiving  the  truth.  The  greatest  charm  in  ex 
pression,  to  a  writer  who  may  properly  be  placed  in  the  category  of  healthful, 
is  in  telling  the  truth.  It  is  only  when  truth  is  dearer  to  us  than  tradition,  or 
pride  of  opinion,  that  we  are  ready  to  learn;  it  is  only  when  truth  is  dearer  to 
us  than  praise  or  profit  that  we  are  fit  to  teach.  If  the  mind  be  intelligent 
as  well  as  healthy,  it  knows  itself  to  be  composed  of  truth  and  prejudice,  the 
latter  engendered  of  ignorance  and  environment,  holding  it  in  iron  fetters, 
and  with  which  it  knows  it  must  forever  struggle  in  vain  wholly  to  be 
free.  Thus  keenly  alive  as  well  to  the  difficulties  as  to  the  importance  of 
right  thinking  and  exact  forms  of  expression,  it  nevertheless  has  its  keenest 
pleasure  in  striving  toward  concrete  truth.  It  is  truthfulness  to  nature  in 
all  her  beauties  and  deformities,  rather  than  the  construction  of  some  more 
beautiful  than  natural  ideal,  that  alone  satisfies  art,  whether  in  the  domain  of 
painting,  oratory,  or  literature.  We  of  to-day,  while  holding  in  high  esteem 
works  of  the  imagination,  are  becoming  somewhat  captious  in  regard  to  our 
facts.  The  age  is  essentially  informal  and  real;  even  our  ideal  literature  must 
be  rigidly  true  to  nature,  while  whatever  pretends  to  be  real  must  be  presented 
in  all  simplicity,  without  circumlocution  or  disguisement. 

Half  a  century  ago  it  was  deemed  necessary,  particularly  by  writers  of 
selected  epochs  of  history,  in  order  to  clothe  their  narrative  with  dramatic 
effect  equal  to  fiction,  to  intensify  characters  and  events.  The  good  qualities 
of  good  men  were  made  to  stand  out  in  bold  relief,  not  against  their  own  bad 
qualities,  but  against  the  bad  qualities  of  bad  men,  whose  wickedness  was 
portrayed  in  such  black  colors  as  to  overshadow  whatever  of  good  they  might 
possess.  Thus  historical  episodes  were  endowed,  so  far  as  possible  without 
too  great  discoloration  of  truth,  like  a  theatrical  performance,  each  with  a 
perfected  hero  and  a  finished  villain.  Of  this  class  of  writers  were  Macaulay 
and  Motley,  Froude,  Freeman,  Prescott,  and  Irving,  whose  works  are  wonder 
ful  in  their  way,  not  only  as  art-creations,  but  as  the  truest  as  well  as  most 
vivid  pictures  of  their  several  periods  yet  presented,  and  which  for  generations 
will  be  read  with  that  deep  and  wholesome  interest  with  which  they  deserve 
to  be  regarded.  For,  although  their  facts  are  sometimes  highly  varnished, 
their  most  brilliant  creations  are  always  built  upon  a  substantial  skeleton  of 
truth.  I  say  that  these,  the  foremost  writers  of  their  day,  are  none  of  them 
free  from  the  habit  of  exaggeration,  deception.  Indeed,  with  a  wasteful  ex 
travagance  in  the  use  of  superlatives  it  is  almost  impossible  to  draw  character 
strongly  without  in  some  parts  of  it  exaggerating.  But  in  these  days  of  ra 
tional  reflection  wherein  romance  and  reality  are  fairly  separated,  celestial 
fiction  and  mundane  fact  being  made  to  pass  under  the  same  experimentum 
crucix;  mind  becoming  so  mechanical  that  it  introverts  and  analyzes  not  only 
its  own  mechanism  but  the  mechanism  of  its  maker;  iconoclasm  becoming 
spiritualized,  and  the  doctrine  revived  of  the  old  Adamic  serpent,  that  the 


WASHINGTON  IRVING.  241 

knowledge  of  good  and  evil  is  not  death  but  life  and  immortality,  this  knowl 
edge  being  king  of  kings,  vying  with  nature's  forces  and  oftentimes  defying 
them — I  say,  in  days  like  these  mature  manhood  becomes  impatient  of  the 
Santa  Claus,  or  other  fictitious  imagery,  from  which  the  infant  mind  derives 
much  comfort,  and  prefers,  if  necessary,  the  torments  of  truth  to  the  elysium 
of  fable.  It  is  no  longer  valid  logic  that  if  the  hero  stoops  to  trickery,  his 
biographer  should  stoop  to  trickery  to  cover  it.  For  once  undertake  to  shape 
the  stiff  clay  of  material  facts  into  the  artistic  forms  of  fiction,  and  the  result 
is  neither  history  nor  romance.  * 

Proud  as  I  am  of  the  names  of  Prescott  and  Irving,  at  whose  shrines  none 
worship  with  profounder  admiration  than  myself;  thankless  as  may  be  the 
task  of  criticising  their  classic  pages,  whose  very  defects  shine  with  a  steadier 
lustre  than  I  dare  hope  for  my  brightest  consummations;  still,  forced  by  my 
subject,  in  some  instances,  into  fields  partially  traversed  by  them,  I  can  neither 
pass  them  by  nor  wholly  praise  them.  In  justice  to  my  theme,  in  justice  to 
myself,  in  justice  to  the  age  in  which  I  live,  I  must  speak,  and  that  according 
to  the  light  and  the  perceptions  given  me. 

Mr  Irving's  estimate  of  the  value  of  honesty  and  integrity  in  a  historian 
may  be  gathered  from  his  own  pages.  ' '  There  is  a  certain  meddlesome  spirit, " 
he  writes,  "which,  in  the  garb  of  learned  research,  goes  prying  about  the 
traces  of  history,  casting  down  its  monuments,  and  marring  and  mutilating 
its  fairest  trophies.  Care  should  be  taken  to  vindicate  great  names  from  such 
pernicious  erudition.  It  defeats  one  of  the  most  salutary  purposes  of  history, 
that  of  furnishing  examples  of  what  human  genius  and  laudable  enterprise 
may  accomplish. "  Now,  if  conscientious  inquiry  into  facts  signifies  a  meddle 
some  spirit ;  if  the  plain  presentment  of  facts  may  rightly  be  called  perni 
cious  erudition;  if  the  overthrow  of  fascinating  falsehood  is  mutilating  the 
trophies  of  history;  if  fashioning  golden  calves  for  the  worship  of  the  simple 
be  the  most  salutary  purpose  of  history;  then  I,  for  one,  prefer  the  meddle 
some  spirit  and  the  pernicious  erudition  which  mutilates  such  monuments  to 
the  fairest  trophies  of  historical  deception.  Again  — "Herrera  has  been  ac 
cused  also  of  flattering  his  nation;  exalting  the  deeds  of  his  countrymen,  and 
softening  and  concealing  their  excesses.  There  is  nothing  very  serious  in  this 
accusation.  To  illustrate  the  glory  of  his  nation  is  one  of  the  noblest  offices 
of  the  historian;  and  it  is  difficult  to  speak  too  highly  of  the  extraordinary 
enterprises  and  splendid  actions  of  the  Spaniards  in  those  days.  In  softening 
their  excesses  he  fell  into  an  amiable  and  pardonable  error,  if  it  were  indeed 
an  error  for  a  Spanish  writer  to  endeavor  to  sink  them  in  oblivion."  When 
a  writer  openly  avows  his  allegiance  to  falsehood,  to  amiable  falsehood,  to 
falsehood  perpetrated  to  deceive  in  regard  to  one's  own  country,  about  which 
one  professes  to  know  more  than  a  stranger,  nothing  remains  to  be  said. 
Nothing  remains  to  be  said  as  to  the  veracity  of  that  author,  but  much 
remains  to  be  said  concerning  the  erroneous  impressions  left  by  him  of  the 
persons  and  events  coming  in  the  way  of  this  work. 

With  what  exquisite  grace,  with  what  tender  solicitude  and  motherly  blind 
ness  to  faults  Mr  Irving  defends  the  reputation  of  Columbus  !  Is  the  Genoese 
a  pirate,  then  is  piracy  "almost  legalized;"  is  he  a  slave-maker,  "the  customs 

of  the  times"  are  pleaded;  without  censure  he  lives  at  Cordova  in  open  adul- 
VOL.  I.    16 


242  COLUMBUS  AT  VEEAGUA. 

tery  with  Beatriz  Enriquez,  and  there  becomes  the  father  of  the  illegitimate 
Fernando;  a  bungling  attempt  is  made  to  excuse  the  hero  for  depriving  the 
poor  sailor  of  the  prize  offered  him  who  should  first  see  land;  Oviedo  is  charged 
with  falsehood  because  he  sometimes  decides  against  the  discoverer  in  issues 
of  policy  and  character;  Father  Buil  was  "as  turbulent  as  he  was  crafty"  be 
cause  he  disagreed  with  the  admiral  in  some  of  his  measures;  the  most  extrav 
agant  vituperation  is  hurled  at  Aguado  because  he  is  chosen  to  examine  and 
report  on  the  affairs  of  the  Indies;  Fonseca  is  denounced  as  inexpressibly  vile 
because  he  thwarts  some  of  the  discoverer's  hare-brained  projects;  and  so  with 
regard  to  those  who  in  any  wise  opposed  him,  while  all  who  smiled  on  him 
were  angels  of  light.  All  through  his  later  life  when  extravagant  requests 
were  met  by  more  than  the  usual  liberality  of  royalty,  Irving  is  petulantly 
complaining  because  more  is  not  done  for  his  hero,  and  because  his  petulant 
hero  complains.  And  this  puerile  pride  from  which  springs  such  petulance 
the  eloquent  biographer  coins  into  the  noble  ambition  of  conscious  merit. 
Though  according  to  his  own  statement  the  madness  of  the  man  increased 
until  toward  the  latter  end  he  was  little  better  than  imbecile,  yet  we  are  at 
the  same  time  gravely  assured  that  "his  temper  was  naturally  irritable,  but 
he  subdued  it  by  the  magnanimity  of  his  spirit."  The  son  Fernando  denies 
that  his  father  once  carded  wool;  Irving  does  not  attempt  to  excuse  this  blem 
ish  because  his  readers  do  not  regard  work  ignoble. 

Now  it  is  not  the  toning-down  of  defects  in  a  good  man's  character  that  I 
object  to  so  much  as  the  predetermined  exaltation  of  one  historical  personage 
at  the  expense  of  others  utterly  debased  under  like  premeditation.  Did  Mr 
Irving,  and  the  several  scores  of  biographers  preceding  and  following  him, 
parade  the  good  qualities  of  Bobadilla,  Holdan,  and  Ovando  as  heartily  as 
those  of  their  hero,  the  world  would  be  puzzled  what  to  make  of  it.  We  are 
not  accustomed  to  such  statements.  Unseasoned  biography  is  tasteless,  and 
we  are  taught  not  to  expect  truth,  but  a  model.  We  should  not  know  what 
these  writers  were  trying  to  do  if  they  catalogued  the  misdemeanors  of 
Columbus  and  his  brothers  with  the  same  embellishments  applied  to  Aguado, 
Buil,  and  Fonseca;  telling  with  pathetic  exaggeration  how  the  benign  admiral 
of  the  ocean  sea  was  the  first  to  employ  bloodhounds  against  the  naked  na 
tives;  how  he  practised  varied  cruelties  in  Espafiola  beyond  expression  bar 
barous;  and  how  he  stooped  upon  occasion  not  only  to  vulgar  trickery,  but  to 
base  treachery. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  those  who  seek  notoriety  by  attempting  to  degrade 
the  fair  fame  of  noble  and  successful  genius  because  more  credit  may  have  been 
given  by  some  than  is  justly  due,  or  by  affecting  to  disbelieve  whole  narra 
tives  and  whole  histories  because  portions  of  them  are  untrue  or  too  highly 
colored,  I  have  no  sympathy.  Books  have  been  written  to  prove,  what  no 
one  denies,  that  centuries  before  Columbus  other  Europeans  had  found  this 
continent,  and  that  thereby  the  honor  of  his  achievement  is  lessened — of 
which  sentiment  I  fail  to  see  the  force.  So  far  as  the  Genoese,  his  works, 
and  merits  are  concerned,  it  makes  no  whit  difference  were  America  twenty 
times  before  discovered,  as  elsewhere  in  this  volume  has  been  fully  shown. 

Prescott  was  a  more  exact  writer  than  Irving,  though  Prescott  was  not 
wholly  above  the  amiable  weakness  of  his  time.  In  the  main  he  stated  the 


IRVING  AND  PRESCOTT  COMPARED.  243 

truth,  and  stated  it  fairly,  though  he  did  not  always  tell  the  whole  truth. 
The  faults  of  his  heroes  he  would  speak,  though  never  so  softly;  he  seldom 
attempted  entirely  to  conceal  them.  He  might  exaggerate,  but  he  neither 
habitually  practised  nor  openly  defended  mendacity.  Prescott  would  fain 
please  the  Catholics,  if  it  did  not  cost  too  much.  Irving  would  please  every 
body,  particularly  Americans;  but  most  of  all  he  would  make  a  pleasing  tale; 
if  truthful,  well;  if  not,  it  must  on  no  account  run  counter  to  popular  preju 
dice.  The  inimitable  charm  about  them  both  amply  atones  in  the  minds  of 
many  for  any  imperfections.  Since  their  day  much  new  light  has  been  thrown 
upon  the  subjects  treated  by  them,  but  not  enough  seriously  to  impair  the 
value  of  their  works.  In  their  estimates  of  the  characters  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  relatively  and  respectively,  these  brilliant  writers  are  not  alone. 
They  copied  those  who  wrote  before  them;  and  those  who  came  after  copied 
them.  It  has  been  the  fashion  these  many  years,  both  by  native  and  foreign 
historians,  to  curse  Ferdinand  and  to  bless  Isabella,  to  heap  all  the  odium  of 
the  nation  and  the  times  upon  the  man  and  exalt  the  woman  among  the  stars. 
This,  surely,  is  the  more  pleasant  and  chivalrous  method  of  disposing  of  the 
matter;  but  in  that  case  I  must  confess  myself  at  a  loss  what  to  do  with  the 
facts. 

None  but  the  simple  are  deceived  by  the  gentle  Irving  when  he  insinuates 
"she  is  even  somewhat  bigoted;"  by  which  expression  he  would  have  us  under 
stand  that  the  fascinating  queen  of  Castile  was  but  little  of  a  bigot.  Again: 
"  Ferdinand  was  a  religious  bigot;  and  the  devotion  of  Isabella  went  as  near 
to  bigotry  as  her  liberal  mind  and  magnanimous  spirit  would  permit"— that  is 
to  say,  as  the  plan  of  Mr  Irving's  story  would  permit.  Quite  as  well  as  any 
of  us  Irving  knew  that  Isabella  was  one  of  the  most  bigoted  women  of  her 
bigoted  age,  far  more  bigoted  than  Ferdinand,  who  dared  even  dispute  the 
pope  when  his  Holiness  interfered  too  far  in  attempting  to  thwart  his  ambi 
tious  plans.  She  was,  indeed,  so  deeply  dyed  a  bigot  as  to  allow  her  ghostly 
confessor  to  overawe  her  finest  womanly  instincts,  her  commonly  strict  sense 
of  honor,  justice,  and  humanity,  and  cause  her  to  permit  in  Spain  the  horrible 
Inquisition,  the  most  monstrous  mechanism  of  torture  ever  invented  in  aid  of 
the  most  monstrous  crime  ever  perpetrated  by  man  upon  his  fellows,  the  coercion 
and  suppression  of  opinion.  Fair  as  she  was  in  all  her  ways,  and  charming — 
fair  of  heart  and  mind  and  complexion,  with  regular  features,  light  chestnut 
hair,  mild  blue  eyes,  a  modest  and  gracious  demeanor — she  did  not  scruple,  for 
the  extermination  of  heresy,  to  apply  to  such  of  her  loving  subjects  as  dared 
think  for  themselves  the  thumb-screw,  the  ring-bolt  and  pulley,  the  rack,  the 
rolling-bench,  the  punch,  the  skewer,  the  pincers,  the  knotted  whip,  the  sharp- 
toothed  iron  collar,  chains,  balls,  and  manacles,  confiscation  of  property  and 
burning  at  the  stake;  and  all  under  false  accusations  and  distorted  evidence. 
She  did  not  hesitate  to  seize  and  put  to  death  hundreds  of  wealthy  men  like 
Pecho,  and  appropriate  to  her  own  use  their  money,  though  her  exquisite 
womanly  sensibilities  might  sometimes  prompt  her  to  fling  to  the  widows  and 
children  whom  she  had  turned  beggars  into  the  street  a  few  crumbs  of  their 
former  riches.  This  mother,  who  nursed  children  of  her  own  and  who  should 
not  have  been  wholly  ignorant  of  a  mother's  love,  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  cries 
of  Moorish  mothers  as  they  and  their  children  were  torn  asunder  and  sold  at 


244  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

the  slave  mart  in  Seville.  Thousands  of  innocent  men,  women,  and  children 
she  cruelly  imprisoned,  thousands  she  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace,  tens  of 
thousands  she  robbed  and  then  drove  into  exile;  but  it  was  chastely  done,  and 
by  a  most  sweet  and  beautiful  lady.  We  can  hardly  believe  it  true,  we  do 
not  like  to  believe  it  true,  that  when  old  Rabbi  Abarbanel  pleaded  before 
the  king  for  his  people,  ' '  I  will  pay  for  their  ransom  six  hundred  thousand 
crowns  of  gold,"  Isabella's  soft,  musical  voice  was  heard  to  say,  "Do  not 
take  it,"  her  confessor  meanwhile  exclaiming  "  What !  Judas-like,  sellJesus!" 
Besides,  thrice  six  hundred  thousand  crowns  might  be  secured  by  not  accept 
ing  the  ransom.  And  yet  this  was  the  bright  being,  and  such  her  acts  by 
Prescott's  own  statements,  cover  them  as  he  will  never  so  artfully,  whose 
practical  wisdom,  he  assures  us,  was  "founded  on  the  purest  and  most  exalted 
principle, "  and  whose  "honest  soul  abhorred  anything  like  artifice. "  Isabella 
was  unquestionably  a  woman  of  good  intentions;  but  with  such  substance  the 
soul-burner's  pit  is  paved. 

Prescott  throws  all  the  odium  of  the  Inquisition  on  Torquemada,  and  I 
concur.  The  monk's  mind  was  the  ashy,  unmelting  mould  in  which  the  wom 
an's  more  plastic  affections  were  cast.  But  then  he  should  be  accredited  with 
some  portion  of  the  virtues  that  adorned  the  character  of  Isabella,  for  he  was 
the  author  of  many  of  them.  To  be  just,  if  Isabella  is  accredited  with  her 
virtues,  she  must  be  charged  with  her  crimes.  And  if  the  queen  may  throw 
from  her  shoulders  upon  those  of  her  advisers  the  responsibility  of  iniquity 
permitted  under  her  rule,  why  not  King  Ferdinand,  who  likewise  had  men 
about  him  urging  him  to  this  policy  and  to  that  ?  True,  we  excuse  much  in 
woman  as  the  weaker,  and  very  justly  so,  which  we  condemn  in  the  man  of 
powerful  cunning.  But  Isabella  was  not  exactly  clay  in  the  hands  of  those 
about  her;  or  if  so,  then  praise  her  for  her  imbecility,  and  not  for  any 
virtue.  But  she  could  muster  will  and  spirit  enough  of  her  own  upon  occa 
sion — witness  her  threat  to  kill  Pedro  Giron  with  her  own  hand  rather  than 
marry  him,  and  the  policy  which  speaks  plainly  her  sagacity  and  state-craft  in 
the  selection  of  Ferdinand,  and  in  the  strict  terms  of  her  marriage  contract 
which  excluded  her  husband  from  any  sovereign  rights  in  Castile  or  Leon. 
Most  inconsistently,  indeed,  in  reviewing  the  administration  of  Isabella,  at 
the  end  of  three  volumes  of  unadulterated  adulation  Prescott  gives  his  heroine 
firmness  enough  in  all  her  ways;  independence  of  thought  and  action  suffi 
cient  to  circumscribe  the  pretensions  of  her  nobles;  and  she  "was  equally 
vigilant  in  resisting  ecclesiastical  encroachment;"  "  she  enforced  the  execution 
of  her  own  plans,  oftentimes  even  at  great  personal  hazard,  with  a  resolution 
surpassing  that  of  her  husband. "  When,  however,  she  signed  the  edict  for 
the  expulsion  of  the  Jews,  the  excuse  was  that  "she  had  been  early  schooled 
to  distrust  her  own  reason."  But  why  multiply  quotations  ?  The  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  of  Prescott  is  full  of  these  flat  contradictions. 

We  all  know  that  when  carried  away  by  feeling  women  are  more  cruel  than 
men;  so  Isabella  tinder  the  frenzy  of  her  fanaticism  was,  if  possible,  more  cruel 
than  Ferdinand,  whose  passions  were  ballasted  by  his  ambitions.  Her  feelings 
were  with  her  faith;  and  her  faith  was  with  such  foul  iniquity,  such  inhuman 
wrong  as  should  cause  her  euphemistic  apologists  to  blush  for  resorting  to  the 
same  species  of  subterfuge  that  makes  heroes  of  Jack  Sheppard  and  Dick  Turpin. 


FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA.  245 

Again,  murder  and  robbery  for  Christ's  sake  suits  the  devil  quite  as  well  as 
when  done  for  one's  own  sake.  And  here  on  earth,  to  plead  in  a  court  of 
justice  good  intentions  in  mitigation  of  evil  acts  nothing  extenuates  in  the 
eyes  of  any  righteous  judge.  Therefore  there  is  little  to  choose  between  those 
of  whom  it  may  be  said — Here  is  a  man  who  perfidiously  robs,  tortures,  and 
murders  his  fellow-beings  by  the  hundred  thousand  in  order  to  glorify  himself, 
and  extend  and  establish  his  dominions;  and,  Here  is  a  woman  who  perfidiously 
robs,  tortures,  and  murders  her  fellow-beings  by  the  hundred  thousand  in 
order  to  glorify  herself,  her  priest,  her  religion,  and  extend  and  establish  the 
dominions  of  her  deity.  At  the  farthest,  and  in  the  minds  of  the  eloquent 
biographers  themselves,  the  relative  refinement  and  nobility  of  the  two  char 
acters  must  turn  wholly  upon  one's  conception  of  the  relative  refinement  and 
nobility  of  earthly  selfishness  and  heavenly  selfishness. 

What  can  we  say  then,  if  we  make  any  pretensions  to  fairness  in  por 
traying  historical  personages,  in  excuse  for  Isabella  that  cannot  as  rightfully 
be  said  in  excuse  for  Ferdinand  ?  For  even  he,  whom  sensational  biographers 
array  in  such  sooty  blackness  in  order  that  the  satin  robes  of  Isabella  may 
shine  with  whiter  lustre,  has  been  called  in  Spain  the  wise  and  prudent,  and 
in  Italy  the  pious.  Of  course  there  were  differences  in  their  dispositions  and 
their  ambitions,  but  not  such  wide  ones  as  we  have  been  told.  He  was  a 
man,  with  a  man's  nature,  cold,  coarse,  stern,  and  artful;  she  a  woman,  with 
a  woman's  nature,  warm,  refined,  gentle,  and  artful.  He  was  foxlike,  she 
feline.  Opposing  craft  with  craft,  she  jealously  guarded  what  she  deemed 
the  interests  of  her  subjects,  and  earnestly  sought  by  encouraging  literature 
and  art,  and  reforming  the  laws,  to  refine  and  elevate  her  realm.  He  did 
precisely  the  same.  In  all  the  iniquities  of  his  lovely  consort  Ferdinand  lent 
a  helping  hand ;  man  could  do  nothing  worse ;  and  all  the  world  agree  that 
Ferdinand  was  bad.  And  yet,  in  what  was  he  worse  than  she?  Both  were 
tools  of  the  times,  incisive  and  remorseless.  To  the  ecclesiastical  tyranny  of 
which  they  were  victims  they  added  civil  tyranny  which  they  imposed  upon 
their  subjects.  Ferdinand  was  the  greatest  of  Spain's  sovereigns,  far  greater 
than  Charles,  whose  fortune  it  was  to  reap  where  his  grandfather  had  planted. 
It  was  Ferdinand  who  consolidated  all  the  several  sovereignties  of  the  Penin 
sula,  save  Portugal,  into  one  political  body,  weighty  in  the  affairs  of  Europe. 
He  was  ambitious ;  and  to  accomplish  his  ends  scrupled  at  nothing.  There 
was  no  sin  he  dared  not  commit,  no  wrong  he  dared  not  inflict,  provided  the 
proximate  result  should  accord  with  his  desires.  He  was  less  bound  by 
superstition  than  the  average  of  the  age;  he  was  thoughtful,  powerful, 
princely.  Both  were  personages  magnificent,  glorious,  who  achieved  much 
good  and  much  evil,  the  evil  being  as  fully  chargeable  to  the  times,  which 
placed  princes  above  promises  and  religion,  above  integrity  and  humanity,  as 
to  any  special  depravity  innate  in  either  of  them.  And  what  was  the  im 
mediate  result  of  it;  and  what  the  more  distant  conclusion;  and  how  much 
after  all  were  Spaniards  indebted  to  these  rulers?  First  Spain  enwrapped  in 
surpassing  glories  !  Spain  the  mistress  of  the  world,  on  whose  dominions  the 
sun  refuses  to  go  down.  Fortunate  Ferdinand  !  Thrice  amiable  and  virtuous 
Isabella!  And  next?  Do  we  not  see  that  these  brilliant  successes,  these 
gratified  co votings  are  themselves  the  seeds  of  Spain's  abasement?  Infinitely 


246  COLUMBUS  AT  VERAGUA. 

better  off  were  Spain  to-day,  I  will  not  say  had  she  not  driven  out  her  Moors 
and  Jews,  but  had  she  never  known  the  New  World.  How  much  soever  of 
honor  Isabella  may  have  brought  upon  herself  by  her  speculations  in  part 
nership  with  the  Genoese,  for  the  self-same  reason,  resulting  in  the  great 
blight  of  gold  and  general  effeminacy  that  followed,  Spain's  posterity  might 
reasonably  anathematize  her  memory  could  they  derive  any  comfort  there 
from. 

In  regard  to  that  much-lauded  act  of  Isabella's  in  lending  her  assistance 
to  Columbus  when  Ferdinand  would  not,  there  is  this  to  be  said.  First,  no 
special  praise  is  due  her  for  assisting  the  Genoese ;  and  secondly,  she  never 
assisted  him  in  the  manner  or  to  the  extent  represented.  Santangel  and  the 
Pinzons  were  the  real  supporters  of  that  first  voyage.  Isabella  did  not  pawn 
her  jewels;  she  did  not  sell  her  wardrobe,  or  empty  her  purse.  But  if  she 
had,  for  what  would  it  have  been?  It  makes  a  pleasing  story  for  children  to 
call  her  patronage  by  pretty  names,  to  say  that  it  was  out  of  pity  for  the  poor 
sailor,  that  it  was  an  act  of  personal  sacrifice  for  the  public  good,  that  it  was 
for  charity's  sake,  or  from  benevolence,  for  the  extension  of  knowledge  or  the 
vindication  of  some  great  principle — only  it  is  a  very  stupid  child  that  does  not 
know  better.  Clearly  enough  the  object  was  great  returns  from  a  small  ex 
penditure;  great  returns  in  gold,  lands,  honors,  and  prosely tings — a  species  of 
commercial  and  political  gambling  more  in  accordance  with  the  character  as 
commonly  sketched  of  the  "cold  and  crafty  Ferdinand,"  whose  measureless 
avarice  and  insatiable  greed  not  less  than  his  subtle  state-craft  and  kingly 
cunning  would  have  prompted  him  to  secure  so  great  a  prize  at  so  small  a 
cost,  than  with  the  character  of  an  unselfish,  heavenly-minded  woman.  And 
were  it  not  for  the  danger  of  being  regarded  by  the  tender-minded  as  ungal- 
lant,  I  might  allude  to  the  haggling  which  attended  the  bargain,  and  tell  how 
the  queen  at  first  refused  to  pay  the  sailor  his  price,  and  let  him  go,  then 
called  him  back  and  gave  him  what  he  first  had  asked,  more  like  a  Jew  than 
like  even  the  grasping  Ferdinand. 

In  conclusion,  I  feel  it  almost  unnecessary  to  say  that  Columbus,  Isabella, 
and  all  those  bright  examples  of  history  whose  conduct  and  influence  in  the 
main  were  on  the  side  of  humanity,  justice,  the  useful,  and  the  good,  have 
my  most  profound  admiration,  my  most  intelligent  respect.  All  their  faults 
I  freely  forgive,  and  praise  them  for  what  they  were,  as  among  the  noblest, 
the  best,  the  most  beneficial  to  their  race — though  not  always  so,  nor  always 
intending  it — of  any  who  have  come  and  gone  before  us.  And  I  can  hate 
Bobadilla,  Roldan,  and  others  of  their  sort,  all  historical  embodiments  of  injus 
tice,  egotism,  treachery,  and  beastly  cruelty,  with  a  godly  hatred ;  but  I  hope 
never  to  be  so  blinded  by  the  brightness  of  my  subject  as  to  be  unable  to 
see  the  truth,  and  seeing  it,  fairly  to  report  it. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 
1492-1526. 

COLUMBUS  THE  RIGHTFUL  RULER— JUAN  AGUADO— FRANCISCO  DE  BOBADILLA 
— NICOLAS  DE  OVANDO — SANTO  DOMINGO  THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  INDIES — 
EXTENSION  OF  ORGANIZED  GOVERNMENT  TO  ADJACENT  ISLANDS  AND 
MAIN-LAND  —  RESIDENCIAS  —  GOLD  MINING  AT  ESPA^OLA —  RACE  AND 
CASTE  IN  GOVERNMENT  —  INDIAN  AND  NEGRO  SLAVERY  —  CRUELTY  TO 
THE  NATIVES  —  SPANISH  SENTIMENTALISM  —  PACIFICATION,  NOT  CON 
QUEST — THE  SPANISH  MONARCHS  ALWAYS  THE  INDIAN'S  FRIENDS— BAD 
TREATMENT  DUE  TO  DISTANCE  AND  EVIL-MINDED  AGENTS  —  INFAMOUS 
DOINGS  OF  OVANDO  —  REPARTIMIENTOS  AND  ENCOMIENDAS — THE  SOV 
EREIGNS  INTEND  THEM  AS  PROTECTION  TO  THE  NATIVES  —  SETTLERS 
MAKE  THEM  THE  MEANS  OF  INDIAN  ENSLAVEMENT  —  LAS  CASAS 
APPEARS  AND  PROTESTS  AGAINST  INHUMANITIES  —  THE  DEFAULTING 
TREASURER — DIEGO  COLON  SUPERSEDES  OVANDO  AS  GOVERNOR — AND 
MAKES  MATTERS  WORSE  —  THE  JERONIMITE  FATHERS  SENT  OUT  — 
AUDIENCIAS  —  A  SOVEREIGN  TRIBUNAL  is  ESTABLISHED  AT  SANTO  DO 
MINGO  WHICH  GRADUALLY  ASSUMES  ALL  THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  AN  AUDI- 
ENCIA,  AND  AS  SUCH  FINALLY  GOVERNS  THE  INDIES  —  LAS  CASAS  IN 
SPAIN — THE  CONSEJO  DE  INDIAS,  AND  CASA  DE  CONTRATACION — LEGIS 
LATION  FOR  THE  INDIES. 

WE  have  seen  how  it  had  been  first  of  all  agreed 
that  Columbus  should  be  sole  ruler,  under  the  crown, 
of  such  lands  and  seas  as  he  might  discover  for  Spain. 
We  have  seen  how,  under  that  rule,  disruption  and 
rebellion  followed  at  the  heels  of  mismanagement, 
until  the  restless  colonists  made  Espanola  an  angusti- 
arum  insula  to  the  worthy  admiral,  and  until  their 
majesties  thought  they  saw  in  it  decent  excuse  for 
taking  the  reins  from  the  Genoese,  and  supplanting 
him  by  agents  of  their  own  choosing.  The  first  of 
these  agents  was  Juan  Aguado,  who  was  merely  a 

(247) 


248  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

commissioner  of  inquiry.  With  him,  it  will  be  re 
membered,  Columbus  returned  to  Spain  after  his 
second  voyage,  leaving  his  brother  Bartolorne  in  com 
mand.  The  admiral  was  permitted  to  try  again;  but 
on  reaching  the  seat  of  his  government  he  was  unable 
to  quiet  the  disturbances  which  had  increased  during 
his  absence.  Rebellion  had  almost  reached  the  dig 
nity  of  revolution,  and  stronger  than  the  government 
were  factions  whose  leaders  openly  defied  the  gov 
ernor-general,  viceroy,  and  admiral  of  the  ocean  sea. 
That  their  Majesties  were  greatly  grieved  at  this,  I 
do  not  say;  or  that  they  were  displeased  that  the 
rebels,  or  revolutionists,  of  Espanola  should  refer 
their  troubles  to  them.  But  this  is  certain,  that 
after  another  fair  trial  Columbus  was  obliged  to  give 
it  up,  and  to  see  himself  displaced  by  a  person  far 
worse  than  himself.  Perhaps  it  is  true  that  a  knave 
was  better  for  the  office  than  an  honest  man. 

Not  that  Francisco  de  Bobadilla  may  be  lawfully 
accused  of  dishonesty;  the  sovereigns  seemed  compe 
tent  to  take  care  of  themselves  where  their  revenue 
was  concerned.  And  yet  he  was  certainly  influenced 
in  his  conduct  by  no  sense  of  right  or  of  humanity. 
He  was  a  man  of  .narrow  mind,  of  ignoble  instincts 
and  mean  prejudices.  He  was  popular  for  a  time 
with  the  colonists  because  he  was  like  them,  and  be 
cause  he  reduced  the  royal  share  of  the  product  of  the 
mines  from  a  third  to  an  eleventh,  and  permitted  the 
dissolute  to  idle  their  time  and  illtreat  the  natives; 
and  because  he  released  those  whom  the  admiral  had 
imprisoned,  and  compelled  Columbus  to  pay  his  debts 
—for  which  last-mentioned  measure  I  have  no  fault 
to  find  with  him. 

It  was  the  21st  of  March,  1499,  that  Bobadilla  was 
authorized  to  proceed  against  offenders  at  Espanola, 
but  he  did  not  leave  Spain  until  July,  1500,  reaching 
Santo  Domingo  the  23d  of  August.  The  enchaining 
of  the  illustrious  discoverer  by  an  infamous  agent, 
and  for  no  crime,  excited  universal  disgust  throughout 


V 


NICOLAS  BE  OVANDO.  249 

Christendom;  and  yet  their  Majesties  seemed  in  no 
haste  to  depose  him;  for  it  was  not  until  the  3d  of 
September,  1501,  in  answer  to  the  persistent  remon 
strances  of  Columbus,  that  a  change  was  made,  and 
the  government  given  to  Nicolas  de  Ovando,  who 
sailed  from  Spain  the  13th  of  February  following, 
and  arrived  at  Santo  Domingo  the  15th  of  April, 
1502;  so  that  Bobadilla  was  in  office  on  the  island 
over  a  year  and  a  half,  long  enough  to  sow  the  seeds 
of  much  iniquity. 

Ovando  was  a  knight  of  the  order  of  Alcantara, 
of  neither  massive  mind  nor  commanding  mien.  But 
his  firm  and  fluent  speech  lent  strength  to  his  slight 
figure  and  fair  complexion,  and  a  courteous  manner 
made  amends  for  a  vanity  which  in  him  assumed  the 
form  of  deep  humility.  He  was  well  known  to  their 
Majesties,  havingbeen  one  of  the  companions  of  Prince 
Juan,  and  it  was  thought  would  make  a  model  gov 
ernor.  Ample  instructions,  both  written  and  verbal, 
were  given  him  before  sailing.  The  natives  should 
be  converted,  but  their  bodies  should  not  be  enslaved 
or  inhumanly  treated.  They  must  pay  tribute,  and 
gather  gold,  but  for  the  latter  they  should  be  paid 
wages.  There  was  to  be  a  complete  change  of  soldiers 
and  officials  at  Espanola,  that  the  new  government 
might  begin  untainted  by  the  late  disorders.  Neither 
Jews  nor  Moors -might  go  to  the  Indies,  but  negro 
slaves,  born  into  the  possession  of  Christians,  were  to 
be  permitted  passage.  For  any  loss  resulting  from 
Bobadilla's  acts,  full  restitution  must  be  made  the  ad 
miral,  and  henceforth  his  rights  of  property  must  be 
respected.  Columbus  might  always  keep  there  an 
agent  to  collect  his  clues,  and  he  was  to  be  treated 
with  consideration.  The  idle  and  profligate  were  to 
be  returned  to  Spain.  Except  the  provinces  given  to 
Ojcda  and  Pinzon,  Ovando's  jurisdiction  was  made 
to  extend  over  all  the  Indies,  that  is  to  say,  over  all 
the  New  World  dominions  of  Spain,  islands  and  firm 
land,  with  the  capital  at  Santo  Domingo,  and  subor- 


250  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

dinate  or  municipal  governments  in  the  more  impor 
tant  localities.  All  mining  licenses  issued  by  Bobadilla 
were  to  be  revoked;  of  the  gold  thus  far  collected 
one  third  should  be  taken  for  the  crown,  and  of  all 
thereafter  gathered  one  half.  Supplementing  these 
instructions  with  much  paternal  advice  consisting  of 
minor  moralities  and  Machiavelisms,  their  Majesties 
bade  their  viceroy  God  speed  and  sent  him  forth  in  a 
truly  royal  fashion. 

There  were  no  less  than  thirty  ships  and  twenty- 
five  hundred  persons  comprising  the  expedition.  Of 
the  company  were  Alonso  Maldonado,  newly  ap 
pointed  alcalde  mayor,1  and  twelve  Franciscans,  with 
a  prelate,  Antonio  de  Espinal.  Las  Casas  was  pres 
ent;  and  Hernan  Cortes  would  have  been  there  but 
for  an  illness  which  prevented  him.  There  were 
seventy-three  respectable  married  women,  who  had 
come  with  their  husbands  and  children,  and  who 
were  to  salt  society  at  their  several  points  of  distri 
bution.  It  was  evident  as  the  new  governor  entered 
his  capital,  elegantly  attired,  with  a  body-guard  of 
sixty-two  foot-soldiers  and  ten  horsemen,  and  a  large 
and  brilliant  retinue,  that  the  colonization  of  the 
New  World  had  now  been  assumed  in  earnest  by 
the  sovereigns  of  Spain.  Nor  was  Ovando  disposed 
to  be  dilatory  in  his  duty.  He  at*  once  announced  the 
residencia*  of  Bobadilla,  and  put  Roldan,  ci-devant 

1  Chief  judge,  or  highest  judicial  officer  in  the  colony,  to  take  the  place 
of  Roldan,  who  was  to  be  returned  to  Spain.     Irving,  Columbus,  ii.  331,  writes 
erroneously  alyuazll  mayor,  evidently  confounding  the  two  offices.     For  Las 
Casas,  Hint.  Ind.,  iii.  18,  says  plainly  enough: — 'Trujo  consigo  por  Alcalde 
mayor  un  caballero  de  Salamanca  y  licenciado,  Hamad  o  Alonso  Maldonado. ' 
An  alguacil  mayor  was  a  chief  constable,  or  high  sheriff,  a  very  different 
person  from  a  chief  judge.     These  terms,  and  the  offices  represented  by  them, 
will  be  fully  explained  in  another  place. 

2  As  this  word  will  often  occur  in  these  pages,  and  as  neither  the  term  nor 
the  institution  it  symbolizes  has  any  equivalent  in  English,  I  will  enter  here 
a  full  explanation.     Residencia  was  the  examination  or  account  taken  of  the 
official  acts  of  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  during  the  term  of  his  residence 
within   the  province  of  his  jurisdiction,  and  while   in  the  exercise  of  the 
functions  of  his  office.     This  was  done  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  office, 
or  at  stated  periods,  or  in  case  of  malefeasance  at  any  time.     The  person 
making  the  examination  was  appointed  by  the  king,  or  in  New  World  affairs 
by  the  Comejo  de  India*,    or  by  a  viceroy,  and  was   called  a  juez  de  resi- 
dencia.     Before  this  judge,  within  a  given  time,   any  one  might  appear 


KESIDENCIAS.  251 

rebel,  and  later  chief  judge,  under  arrest.  Pie  built 
in  Espanola  several  towns  to  which  arms  and  other 
privileges  were  given,  founded  a  hospital,  removed 

and  make  complaint,  and  offer  evidence  against  the  retiring  or  suspended 
official,  who  might  refute  and  rebut  as  in  an  ordinary  tribunal.  The  resi- 
dencia  of  any  officer  appointed  by  the  crown  must  be  taken  by  a  judge 
appointed  by  the  crown;  the  residencia  of  officers  appointed  in  the  Indies 
by  viceroys,  audiencias,  or  president-governors,  was  taken  by  a  judge 
appointed  by  the  same  authority.  Following  are  some  of  the  changes  rung 
upon  the  subject  by  royal  decrees,  the  better  to  make  it  fit  the  government 
of  the  Indies.  The  10th  of  June,  1523,  and  again  the  17th  of  November, 
1528,  Charles  V.  decreed  that  appeal  might  be  made  from  the  judge  of  resi 
dencia  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  except  in  private  demands  not  exceeding 
600  pesos  de  oro,  when  appeal  was  to  the  audiencia.  In  1530  viceroys  and 
president-governors  were  directed  to  take  the  residencia  of  visitadoren  de 
Indio*  that  wrong-doing  to  the  natives  might  not  escape  punishment ;  and  by 
a  later  law  proclamations  of  residencias  must  be  made  in  such  manner  that 
the  Indians  might  know  thereof.  The  Ordenanzax  de  A  udiencias  of  Philip  II.  of 
15G3  and  1567,  state  that  in  some  cities  of  the  Indies  it  was  customary  to 
appoint  at  certain  seasons  two  regidores,  who,  with  an  alcalde,  acted  as 
fates  cjecutores.  At  the  beginning  of  every  year  the  viceroy,  or  the  president, 
in  a  city  which  was  the  residence  of  an  audiencia,  had  to  appoint  an  oidor  to 
take  the  residencia  of  the  fieles  ejecutores  of  the  previous  year.  The  same 
was  to  be  done  if  those  offices  had  been  sold  to  the  city,  villa,  or  lugar ;  but 
in  such  cases  it  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  viceroy  or  president  to  cause 
them  to  be  taken  when  necessary,  not  allowing  them  to  become  too  common 
place.  Philip  II.  in  1573,  and  his  successors  as  late  as  1680,  directed  that  in 
residencias  of  governors  and  their  subordinates,  when  the  fine  did  not  exceed 
20,000  maravedis,  execution  should  issue  immediately;  in  damages  granted 
from  private  demands  to  the  amount  of  200  ducats,  the  condemned  was  to 
give  bonds  to  respond.  While  an  official  was  undergoing  his  residencia  it  . 
was  equivalent  to  his  being  under  arrest,  as  he  could  neither  exercise  office 
nor,  except  in  certain  cases  specified,  leave  the  place.  Thus  the  law  of  1530, 
reiterated  in  1581,  stated  that  from  the  time  of  the  proclamation  of  a  resi 
dencia  till  its  conclusion  alyuaciles  mayores  and  their  {ententes  should  be  sus 
pended  from  carrying  the  varas,  or  from  exercising  any  of  the  functions  of 
office.  In  1583,  in  1620,  and  in  1680,  it  was  ordered  that  such  judges  of  resi 
dencia  as  were  appointed  in  the  Indies  should  be  selected  by  a  viceroy  and 
audiencia,  or  by  a  president  and  audiencia,  acting  in  accord.  Salaries  of 
jueces  de  residencia  were  ordered  by  Felipe  III.  in  1618  to  be  paid  by  the 
official  tried  if  found  guilty,  if  not  by  the  audiencia  appointing.  Before  this, 
in  1610,  the  same  sovereign  had  ordered  notaries  employed  in  residencias 
taken  by  correyldores  to  be  paid  in  like  manner.  The  next  monarch  directed 
that  ships'  officers  should  be  subject  to  residencia  in  the  form  of  a  vistia;  and 
in  visitas  to  c/alconcs  and  flotas  none  but  common  sailors,  artillerymen,  and 
soldiers  should  be  exempt.  Carlos  II.  in  16G7  decreed  that  the  residencia 
of  a  viceroy  must  be  terminated  within  six  months  from  the  publication  of 
the  notice  of  the  judge  taking  it.  Felipe  III.  in  1619,  and  Carlos  II.  in 
1680,  ordered  that  viceroys  and  presidents  should  send  annually  to  the  crown 
lists  of  persons  suitable  for  conducting  residencias,  so  that  no  one  might  be 
chosen  to  act  upon  the  official  under  whose  jurisdiction  he  resided.  See 
Rrcop.  de  IndlaSy  ii.  176-89.  Of  the  report  of  the  residencia  the  original  "7 
was  sent  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  and  a  copy  deposited  in  the  archives  ( 
of  the  audiencia.  So  burdensome  were  these  trials,  so  corrupt  became  the  / 
judges,  that  later,  in  America,  the  residencia  seemed  rather  to  defeat  than  to  \ 
promote  justice,  and  in  1799  it  was  abolished  so  far  as  the  subordinate  officers  j 
were  concerned. 


252  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

Santo  Domingo  to  a  more  healthful  site  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  and  established  a  colony  at  Puerto 
de  Plata,  on  the  north  side  of  Espanola,  near  Isabela. 

Distant  eight  leagues  from  Santo  Domingo  were 
the  mines  where  the  twenty-five  hundred  thought 
immediately  to  enrich  themselves.  For  several  days 
after  landing  the  road  was  alive  with  eager  gold 
hunters  drawn  from  all  classes  of  the  community; 
cavalier,  hidalgo?  and  laborer,  priest  and  artisan, 
honest  men  and  villains,  whose  cupidity  had  been  fired 
by  the  display  of  precious  metal  lately  gathered,  and 
who  were  now  hurrying  forward  with  hard  breath 
and  anxious  eyes  under  their  bundle  of  necessities. 
But  there  was  no  happy  fortune  in  store  for  these 
new-comers.  The  story  then  new  has  been  oft  re 
peated  since :  expecting  to  fill  their  sacks  quickly  and 
with  ease,  and  finding  that  a  very  little  gold  was  to 
be  obtained  only  by  very  great  labor,  they  were  soon 
on  their  way  back  to  the  city,  where  many  of  them 
fell  into  poverty,  half  of  them  dying  of  fever. 

Poor  fools  !  they  did  not  know;  their  countrymen, 
those  that  were  left  from  former  attempts,  did  not  tell 
them,  though  Roldan's  men,  Bobadilla's  men  knew 
well  enough,  and  in  truth  the  remnant  of  Ovando's 
men  were  not  slow  to  learn,  that  the  wise  man,  the 
wise  and  villainous  man  from  Spain,  did  not  work 
or  die  for  gold,  or  for  anything  else,  when  there 
were  unbelievers  that  might  be  pricked  to  it  by  the 
sword. 

3  Originally  written  fjodalrjo,  son  of  something.  Later  applied  to  gentle 
men,  country  gentlemen  perhaps  more  particularly.  Oviedo,  ii.  406,  calls 
Diego  de  Nicuesa  '  hombre  de  limpia  sangre  de  hijosdalgo, '  a  man  of  pure  gentle 
blood.  Concerning  the  origin  of  the  word  hidalgo,  Juan  de  la  Puente  states 
that  during  the  Moorish  wars,  whenever  a  large  town  was  captured  the  king 
kept  it;  the  villages  he  gave  to  captains  who  had  distinguished  themselves,  and 
who  were  called  at  first  rkos  homes,  and  afterward  grandes.  To  minor  meri 
torious  persons  something  less  was  given,  a  portion  of  the  spoils  or  a  grant  of 
land,  but  always  something;  hence  their  descendants  were  called  fijosd<ilgos, 
hijosdalgos,  or  hidalgos,  sons  of  something.  In  the  Die.  Univ.  authorities  are 
quoted  showing  that  the  word  hidaljo  originated  with  the  Roman  colonists 
of  Spain,  called  Ildlicos,  who  were  exempt  from  imposts.  Hence  those 
enjoying  similar  benefits  were  called  Itdlicos,  which  word  in  lapse  of  time 
became  hidalyo. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATIVES.  253 

During 'this  earliest  period  of  Spanish  domination 
in  America,  under  successive  viceroys  and  subordinate 
rulers,  by  far  the  most  important  matter  which  arose 
for  consideration  or  action  was  the  treatment  of  the 
aborigines.  Most  momentous  to  them  it  was,  cer 
tainly,  and  of  no  small  consequence  to  Spain.  Unfor 
tunately,  much  damage  was  done  before  the  subject 
was  fairly  understood;  and  afterward,  evils  continued 
because  bad  men  were  always  at  hand  ready  to  risk 
future  punishment  for  present  benefits.  Spain  was 
so  far  away,  and  justice  moved  so  slowly,  if  it  moved 
at  all,  that  this  risk  was  seldom  of  the  greatest. 

The  sovereigns  of  Spain  now  found  themselves 
called  upon  to  rule  two  races  in  the  New  World,  the 
white  and  the  red.  And  it  was  not  always  easy  to 
determine  what  should  be  done,  what  should  be  the 
relative  attitude  of  one  toward  the  other.  As  to  the 
superiority  of  the  white  race  there  was  rio  question. 
And  among  white  men,  Spaniards  were  the  natural 
masters;  and  among  Spaniards,  Castilians  possessed 
the  first  rights  in  the  new  lands  the  Genoese  had 
found  for  them. 

All  was  plain  enough  so  far.  It  was  natural  and 
right  that  Spaniards  should  be  masters  in  America. 
Their  claim  was  twofold;  as  discoverers,  and  as  prop 
agandists.  But  in  just  what  category  to  place  the 
red  man  was  a  question  almost  as  puzzling  as  to  tell 
who  he  was,  and  whence  he  came.  Several  times  the 
doctors  sat  to  determine  whether  he  had  a  soul,  or  a 
semi-soul,  and  whether  the  liquid  so  freely  let  by  the 
conquerors  was  brute  blood,  or  of  as  high  proof  as 
that  which  Christ  shed  on  Calvary.  The  savages 
were  to  be  governed,  of  course;  but  how,  as  sub 
jects  or  as  slaves?  Columbus  was  strongly  in  favor 
of  Indian  slavery.  He  had  participated  in  the 
Portuguese  slave-trade,  and  had  found  it  profitable. 
Spaniards  enslaved  infidels,  and  why  not  heathens? 
Mahometans  enslaved  Christians,  and  Christians 
Mahometans.  Likewise  Christians  enslaved  Chris- 


254  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

tians,  white  as  well  as  black,  though  it  began  to  be 
questioned  in  Spain  whether  it  was  quite  proper  to 
enslave  white  Christians. 

The  negro  slave-trade  was  at  this  time  compara 
tively  a  new  thing.  It  was  one  of  the  proximate 
results  of  fifteenth-century  maritime  discovery.  The 
Portuguese  were  foremost  in  it,  organizing  for  the 
purpose  a  company  at  Lagos,  and  a  factory  at  Arguin, 
about  the  middle  of  the  century,  Prince  Henry  re 
ceiving  his  fifth.  Europe,  however,  offered  no  profit 
able  field  for  African  slave  labor,  and  but  for  the 
discovery  of  America  the  traffic  probably  never  would 
have  assumed  large  proportions.  Public  sentiment 
was  not  in  those  days  averse  to  slavery,  particularly 
to  the  enslavement  of  the  children  of  Ham.  And 
yet  neither  Isabella  nor  Ferdinand  was  at  all  dis 
posed,  in  regard  to  their  New  World  possessions,  to 
follow  the  example  of  Portugal  on  the  coast  of  Africa. 
Though  they  had  scarcely  made  personal  the  appli 
cation  that  the  practice  was  one  of  the  chief  causes 
of  Home's  ruin,  yet  they  seemed  instinctively  opposed 
to  it  in  this  instance.  They  did  not  want  these 
creatures  in  Spain,  they  had  no  use  for  them.  In 
regard  to  the  ancient  custom  of  enslaving  prisoners  of 
war,  particularly  the  detested  and  chronically  hostile 
Moors,  it  was  different.  This  New  World  had  been 
given  them  for  a  higher  purpose.  Its  natives  were 
not  the  enemies  of  Spain ;  they  were  innocent  of  any 
offence  against  Spain.  It  was  better,  it  was  more 
glorious,  there  was  higher  and  surer  reward  in  it, 
to  Christianize  than  to  enslave.  This  the  clergy 
constantly  urged;  so  that  in  Spain  the  passion  for 
propagandism  was  greater  than  the  passion  for  en 
slaving. 

Columbus  must  have  been  aware  of  this  when  in 
1495  he  sent  by  Torres,  with  the  four  ship-loads  of 
Indian  slaves,  the  apology  to  their  Majesties  that 
these  were  man-eating  Caribs,  monsters,  the  legitimate 
prey  of  slave-makers  wherever  found.  Peradventure 


SLAVERY.  255 

some  of  them  might  be  made  Christians,  who  when 
they  had  learned  Castilian  could  be  sent  back  to 
serve  as  missionaries  and  interpreters  to  aid  in  deliv 
ering  their  countrymen  from  the  powers  of  darkness. 
This  was  plausible,  and  their  Majesties  seemed  con 
tent;  but  when  Columbus  pressed  the  matter  further, 
and  requested  that  arrangements  should  be  made  for 
entering  extensively  into  the  traffic,  they  hesitated. 
Meanwhile  the  Genoese  launched  boldly  forth  in  the 
old  way,  not  only  making  slaves  of  cannibals  but  of 
prisoners  of  war;  and  whenever  slaves  were  needed, 
a  pretence  for  war  was  not  long  wanting.  There 
upon,  with  another  shipment,  the  admiral  grows 
jubilant,  and  swears  by  the  holy  Trinity  that  he  can 
send  to  Spain  as  many  slaves  as  can  be  sold,  four 
thousand  if  necessary,  and  enters  upon  the  details 
of  capture,  carriage,  sale,  and  return  cargoes  of  goods, 
with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  a  sometime  profitable 
experience  in  the  business.  Further  than  this  he 
permits  enforced  labor  where  there  had  been  failure 
to  pay  tribute,  and  finally  gives  to  every  one  who 
comes  an  Indian  for  a  slave. 

Then  the  monarchs  were  angry.  "What  authority 
from  me  has  the  admiral  to  give  to  any  one  my  vassals !" 
exclaimed  the  queen.  All  who  had  thus  been  stolen 
from  home  and  country,  among  whom  were  pregnant 
women  and  babes  newly  born,  were  ordered  returned. 
And  from  that  moment  the  sovereigns  of  Spain  were 
the  friends  of  the  Indians.  Not  Isabella  alone  but 
Ferdinand,  Charles,  and  Philip,  and  their  successors 
for  two  hundred  years  with  scarcely  an  exceptional 
instance,  stood  manfully  for  the  rights  of  the  sav 
ages —  always  subordinate  however  to  their  own 
fancied  rights — constantly  and  determinately  inter 
posing  their  royal  authority  between  the  persistent 
wrong-doing  of  their  Spanish  subjects,  and  their 
defenceless  subjects  of  the  New  World.  Likewise 
the  Catholic  Church  is  entitled  to  the  highest  praise 
for  her  influence  in  the  direction  of  humanity,  and 


256  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

for  the  unwearied  efforts  of  her  ministers  in  guarding 
from  cruelty  and  injustice  these  poor  creatures. 
Here  and  there  in  the  course  of  this  narrative  we 
shall  find  a  priest  so  fired  by  his  fanaticism  as  to 
outdo  a  Pizarro  in  bloody-mindedness,  and  we  shall 
find  church  men  and  church  measures  standing  in  the 
way  of  truth,  liberty,  intelligence,  which  measures  I 
shall  not  be  backward  to  condemn ;  but  though  Span 
ish  priests,  like  the  Spanish  adventurers,  carried  away 
by  passion  or  a  spirit  of  proselytism,  committed  much 
folly  and  unrighteousness,  they  also  did  great  good, 
and  it  is  with  no  small  pleasure  that  I  record  thus 
early  in  this  history  so  noble  an  attribute  of  these  self- 
sacrificing  men. 

After  the  first  invasions,  in  various  quarters,  ag 
gressive  warfare  on  the  natives,  even  on  obdurate 
heathen  nations,  was  prohibited.  In  the  extension 
of  dominion  that  followed,  the  very  word  '  conquest ' 
was  forbidden  to  be  employed,  even  though  it  were  a 
conquest  gained  by  fighting,  and  the  milder  term 
'  pacification '  was  substituted.4  Likewise,  after  the 
first  great  land  robberies  had  been  committed,  side 
by  side  with  the  minor  seizures  was  in  practice  the 
regulation  that  enough  of  the  ancient  territory  should 
be  left  each  native  community  to  support  it  com 
fortably  in  a  fixed  residence.  The  most  that  was 
required  of  the  Indians  was  to  abolish  their  ancient 
inhuman  practices,  put  on  the  outward  apparel  of  civ 
ilization,  and  as  fast  as  possible  adapt  themselves  to 
Christian  customs,  paying  a  light  tax,  in  kind,  nomi 
nally  for  protection  and  instruction.  This  doing,  they 
were  to  be  left  free  and  happy.  Such  were  the  wishes 
of  crown  and  clergy;  for  which  both  strove  steadily 


4 '  For  justas  causas,  y  consideraciones  conviene,  que  en  todas  las  capitu- 
laciones  que  se  liicieren  para  mievos  descubrimientos,  se  excuse  esta  palabra 
conquista,  y  en  su  lugar  se  use  de  las  de  pacificacion  y  poblacion,  pues  habi- 
endose  de  hacer  con  toda  paz  y  caridad,  eg  nuestra  voluntad,  que  aun  este 
nombre  iuterpretado  contra  nuestra  intencion,  no  ocasione,  ni  d£  color  a  lo 
capitulado,  para  que  se  puedo  hacer  fuerza  ni  agravio  a  los  Indios.'  Recop. 
de  fndias,  ii.  2. 


LAWS  RESPECTING  THE  ABORIGINES.  257 

though  unsuccessfully  until  the  object  of  their  solici 
tude  crumbled  into  earth.5 

3  The  best  proof  of  the  policy  of  Spain  in  regard  to  the  natives  of  the 
New  World  is  found  in  her  laws  upon  the  subject.  Writers  may  possibly 
color  their  assertions,  but  by  following  the  royal  decrees  through  suc 
cessive  reigns  we  have  what  cannot  be  controverted.  The  subject  of  the 
treatment  of  the  Indians  occupies  no  inconsiderable  space  in  the  Recopilacion 
de  Leyesde  las  Indias.  At  the  beginning  of  tit.  x.  lib.  vi.  is  placed  a  clause  of 
Isabella's  will,  solemnly  enjoining  her  successors  to  see  that  the  Indians  were 
always  equitably  and  kindly  treated ;  and  this  was  the  text  for  future  legis 
lation.  And  now  let  us  glance  at  the  laws ;  I  cannot  give  them  all ;  but  I 
can  assure  the  reader  they  are  of  one  tenor.  First  of  all  the  natives  were 
to  be  protected  by  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  authorities.  They  might  marry 
freely,  but  always  in  accordance  with  Christian  usage ;  must  not  be  taken  to 
Spain;  must  be  civilized,  Christianized,  taught  to  speak  Spanish,  and  to  love 
labor,  if  possible;  they  might  sow  seed,  breed  stock,  keep  their  ancient 
market-days,  buy  and  sell  at  pleasure,  and  even  dispose  of  their  lands, 
only  the  Spaniards  were  not  allowed  to  sell  them  arms  or  alcoholic  liquors. 
The  Inquisition  could  not  touch  them,  for  in  religious  matters  they  were  subject 
to  the  bishop's  jurisdiction,  and  in  cases  of  witchcraft  to  the  civil  power. 
They  might  have  their  municipal  organizations  in  imitation  of  the  Spanish 
town  government,  with  their  alcaldes,  fiscales,  and  regidores,  elected  from 
among  themselves  to  serve  for  one  year,  elections  to  be  held  in  the  presence 
of  the  priest.  It  was  made  the  duty  of  priests,  prelates,  all  officers  of  the 
government,  and  in  fact  every  Spanish  subject,  to  watch  over  and  protect 
the  Indians.  Governors  and  judges  were  charged  under  the  severest  pen 
alties  to  see  justice  done  them.  Two  officers  were  created  at  an  early  day 
for  this  purpose,  those  of  protector  and  defensor,  the  former  having  general 
oversight  of  the  natives  and  their  interests,  and  the  latter  appearing  in  their 
behalf  in  court.  After  a  time,  when  it  was  thought  the  aborigines  could 
stand  alone,  the  offices  were  abolished.  But  the  action  was  premature,  and 
in  1589  Philip  II.  ordered  them  revived.  These  officers  were  appointed  by 
the  viceroys  and  president-governors.  Indians  might  appear  in  courts  of  law 
and  have  counsel  assigned  them  free  of  any  cost ;  and  even  in  suits  between 
the  natives  themselves  there  was  to  be  no  expense,  the  fiscal  appearing  on 
one  side,  and  the  protector  on  the  other.  Philip  also  gave  notice  in  1593  that  I 
Spaniards  who  maltreated  Indians  were  to  be  punished  with  greater  rigor  i 
than  for  badly  treating  a  Spaniard.  This  was  a  remarkable  law;  it  is  a 
pity  the  Puritans  and  their  descendants  lacked  such  a  one.  Indians  might 
be  hired,  but  they  must  be  paid  promptly.  They  might  work  in  the  mines, 
or  carry  burdens  if  they  chose,  but  it  must  be  done  voluntarily.  Enforced 
personal  service,  or  any  approach  to  it,  was  jealously  and  repeatedly  pro 
hibited.  Indians  under  eighteen  must  not  be  employed  to  carry  burdens. 
Let  those  who  sneer  at  Philip  and  Spain  remember  that  two  centuries  after 
this  England  could  calmly  look  on  and  see  her  own  little  children,  six  years 
of  age,  working  with  their  mothers  in  coal-pits.  There  were  many  ways  the 
Spaniards  had  of  evading  the  just  and  humane  laws  of  their  monarchs — 
instance  the  trick  of  employers  of  getting  miners  or  other  laborers  in  debt  to 
them,  and  keeping  them  so,  and  if  they  attempted  to  run  away  interpose  the 
law  for  their  restraint.  It  was  equivalent  to  slavery.  A  native  might  even 
sell  his  labor  for  an  indefinite  time,  until  Felipe  III.  in  1618  decreed  that  no 
Indian  could  bind  himself  to  work  for  more  than  one  year.  The  law  en 
deavored  to  throw  all  severe  labor  upon  the  negro,  who  was  supposed  to  be 
better  able  to  endure  it.  The  black  man  was  likewise  placed  far  below  the 
red  in  the  social  scale.  It  was  criminal  for  a  negro  or  mixed-breed  to  have 
an  Indian  work  for  him,  although  voluntarily  and  for  pay ;  nor  might  an 
African  even  go  to  the  house  of  an  American.  The  law  endeavored  to  guard 
the  Indian  in  his  privacy,  as  well  as  in  his  rights.  It  studied  to  make  the 
VOL.  I.  17 


258  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

For  the  soldier,  the  sailor,  the  cavalier,  the  vaga 
bond,  the  governor,  and  all  their  subordinates  and 
associates,  all  the  New  World  rabble  from  viceroy  to 
menial  willed  it  otherwise,  the  New  World  clergy  too 

lot  of  the  aboriginal  as  peaceful  and  comfortable  under  Christian  civilization 
as  under  heathen  barbarism.  More  it  could  not  do;  it  could  not  do  this 
much;  after  the  pacifying  raid  through  the  primeval  garden,  all  Europe 
could  not  restore  it.  But  Spain's  monarchs  did  their  best  to  mitigate  the 
sufferings  caused  by  Spain's  unruly  sons.  The  cacique  might  hold  his  place 
among  his  people,  and  follow  ancient  usage  in  regard  to  his  succession,  but  he 
must  not  enslave  them,  or  inflict  upon  them  the  ancient  cruel  customs,  such 
as  giving  Indian  girls  in  lieu  of  tribute,  or  burying  servants  with  their  dead 
masters.  And  these  petty  rulers  must  stay  at  home  and  attend  to  their  affairs; 
Indians  could  not  leave  one  pueblo  to  take  up  their  residence  in  another,  and 
caciques  could  not  go  to  Spain  without  special  license  from  the  king.  The 
natives  were  ordered  to  live  in  communities,  and  have  a  fixed  residence,  and 
their  lands  were  not  in  consequence  to  be  taken  from  them.  They  must  not 
ride  on  horseback,  for  that  would  make  them  too  nearly  equal  to  the  cavalier 
in  battle ;  they  must  not  hold  dances  without  permission,  for  then  they  might 
plot  conspiracies,  or  give  themselves  up  to  serve  heathen  gods  as  of  old; 
they  must  not  work  in  gold  or  silver,  an  illiberal  restriction  which  lost 
to  the  world  the  finest  of  America's  arts.  Spaniards  could  not  place  a 
cattle  rancho  within  1J  leagues  of  a  native  pueblo;  or  swine,  sheep,  or  goats 
within  half  a  league ;  the  Indians  might  lawfully  kill  cattle  trespassing  on 
their  lands.  In  a  pueblo  of  Indians  neither  Spaniard,  nor  mulatto,  nor  negro 
should  live.  No  traveller  might  spend  the  night  at  the  house  of  a  native  if 
an  inn  was  at  hand.  No  Spanish  or  mestizo  merchant  might  remain  in  an 
Indian  pueblo  more  than  three  days,  nor  another  white  man  more  than  two 
days.  Beside  the  property  of  individuals  each  Indian  pueblo  had  some  com 
mon  property,  and  a  strong-box  in  which  the  community  money  and  title- 
deeds  were  kept.  Caciques  must  not  call  themselves  lords  of  pueblos,  as 
that  detracted  from  royal  preeminence ;  they  must  be  called  caciques  simply. 
The  cacique  must  not  attempt  feudal  fashions;  he  must  not  oppress  his 
people,  or  take  more  than  the  stipulated  tribute;  and  he  who  worked  for 
the  cacique  must  be  paid  by  the  cacique.  In  criminal  matters  the  jurisdic 
tion  of  caciques  over  their  people  could  not  extend  to  death  or  mutilation. 
On  the  other  hand  a  cacique  could  not  be  tried  by  the  ordinary  Spanish  justice 
of  the  peace,  but  only  by  the  judge  of  a  district.  The  last  four  laws  were  made 
by  Charles  V.  in  1538.  And  beside  these  were  many  other  edicts  promulgated 
by  the  Spanish  monarchs  during  two  and  a  half  centuries,  notable  for  their 
wisdom,  energy,  and  humanity.  By  the  continued  outrages  and  excesses  of 
their  subjects  in  the  New  World  the  temper  of  the  crown  was  often  severely 
tried.  Thus  was  found  written  by  Felipe  IV.  with  his  own  hand,  on  a  decree 
of  the  council  ordering  the  immediate  suppression  of  all  those  infamous  evils 
practised  in  spite  of  laws  against  them,  a  sentiment  which  was  fully  reiterated 
by  his  son  Carlos  II.  in  1080 :  — 'I  will  that  you  give  satisfaction  to  me  and 
to  the  world  concerning  the  manner  of  treating  those  my  vassals, '  so  reads 
the  writing ;  '  and  if  this  be  not  done,  so  that  as  in  response  to  this  letter 
I  may  see  exemplary  punishment  meted  offenders,  I  shall  hold  myself  dis 
obeyed  ;  and  be  assured  that  if  you  do  not  remedy  it,  I  will.  The  least  omis 
sions  I  shall  consider  grave  crimes  against  God  and  against  me ;  the  evil  conduct 
tending  as  it  does  to  the  total  ruin  and  destruction  of  those  realms  whose 
natives  I  hold  in  estimation ;  and  I  will  that  they  be  treated  as  is  merited  by 
vassals  who  serve  the  monarchy  so  well,  and  have  so  contributed  to  its  grandeur 
and  enlightenment.'  See  further,  Tapia,  Hist.  Civ.  Espnnofa,  passim;  Cojol- 
ludo,  Hist.  Yucat/tan,  71-3;  Ramirez,  Vida  Motolinia,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  Doc.,  i. 
Ixvi.;  Las  Casas,  Carta,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  vii.  290-338. 


DASTARDLY  DOINGS  OP  OVANDO.  259 

often  winking  assent.  However  omnipotent  in  Spain, 
there  were  some  things  in  America  that  the  sover 
eigns  and  their  confessors  could  not  do.  They  could 
not  control  the  bad  passions  of  their  subjects  when 
beyond  the  reach  of  rope  and  dungeon.  That  these 
evil  proclivities  were  of  home  engendering,  having 
for  their  sanction  innumerable  examples  from  church 
and  state,  statesmen  and  prelates  would  hardly  admit, 
but  it  is  in  truth  a  plausible  excuse  for  the  excesses 
committed.  The  fact  is  that  for  every  outrage  by  a 
subject  in  the  far  away  Indies,  there  were  ten,  each 
of  magnitude  tenfold  for  evil,  committed  by  the  sov 
ereigns  in  Spain;  so  that  it  is  by  no  means  wonderful 
that  the  Spaniards  determined  here  to  practise  a  little 
fiendishness  for  their  own  gratification,  even  though 
their  preceptors  did  oppose  wickedness  which  by  reason 
of  their  absence  they  themselves  could  not  enjoy. 

Though  the  monarchs  protested  earnestly,  honestly, 
and  at  the  length  of  centuries,  their  subjects  went 
their  way  and  executed  their  will  with  the  natives. 
Were  I  to  tell  a  tenth  of  the  atrocities  perpetrated  by 
Christian  civilization  on  the  natives  of  America,  I 
could  tell  nothing  else.  The  catalogue  of  European 
crime,  Spanish,  English,  French,  is  as  long  as  it  is 
revolting.  Therefore,  whenever  I  am  forced  to  touch 

O  ' 

upon  this  most  distasteful  subject,  I  shall  be  as  brief 
as  possible. 

Passing  the  crimes  of  Columbus  and  Bobadilla,  the 
sins  of  the  two  being,  for  biographical  effect,  usually 
placed  upon  the  latter,  let  us  look  at  the  conduct 
of  Ovando,  who,  as  Spanish  provincial  rulers  went 
in  those  days,  was  an  average  man.  He  ruled  with 
vigor;  and  as  if  to  offset  his  strict  dealings  with 
offending  Spaniards,  unoffending  Indians  were  treated 
with  treachery  and  merciless  brutality. 

Rumor  reaching  him  that  Anacaona,  queen  of  Ja- 
ragua,  meditated  revolt,  he  marched  thither  at  the 
head  of  two  hundred  foot-soldiers  and  seventy  horse 
men.  The  queen  came  out  to  meet  him,  and  escorted 


260  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

him  with  music  and  dancing  to  the  great  banqueting- 
hall,  and  entertained  him  there  for  several  days.  Still 
assured  by  evil  tongues  that  his  hostess  intended 
treachery,  he  determined  to  forestall  her.  On  a 
Sunday  afternoon,  while  a  tilting-match  was  in  prog 
ress,  Ovando  gave  the  signal.  He  raised  his  hand 
and  touched  his  Alcdntara  cross — a  badge  of  honor 
it  was  called,  which,  had  it  been  real,  should  have 
shrivelled  the  hand  that  for  such  a  purpose  touched  it. 
On  the  instant  Anacaona  and  her  caciques  were  seized 
and  a  mock  trial  given  them;  after  which  the  queen 
was  hanged,  the  caciques  tortured  and  burned,  and  the 
people  of  the  province,  men,  women,  and  children, 
ruthlessly  and  indiscriminately  butchered.  Those  who 
escaped  the  massacre  were  afterward  enslaved.  For 
intelligence,  grace,  and  beauty  Anacaona  was  the  Isa 
bella  of  the  Indies,  and  there  was  no  valid  proof  that 
she  meditated  the  slightest  injury  to  the  Spaniards. 
The  natives  of  Saona  and  Higuey,  in  revenge  for 
the  death  of  a  chief  torn  in  pieces  by  a  Spanish  blood 
hound,  rose  to  arms,  and  slew  a  boat's  crew  of  eight 
Spaniards.  Juan  de  Esquivel  with  four  hundred  men 
was  sent  against  them,  and  the  usual  indiscriminate 
hanging  and  burning  followed.  It  is  stated  that  over 
six  hundred  were  slaughtered  at  one  time  in  one  house. 
A  peace  was  conquered,  a  fort  built;  fresh  outrages 
provoked  a  fresh  outbreak;  and  the  horrors  of  the 
extermination  that  followed  Las  Casas  confessed  him 
self  unable  to  describe.  A  passion  arose  for  mutila 
tion,  and  for  prolonging  agony  by  new  inventions  for 
refining  cruelty.  And  the  irony  of  Christianity  was 
reached  when  thirteen  men  were  hanged  side  by  side 
in  honor  of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  Cotubano,  the 
last  of  the  five  native  kings  of  Espaiiola,  was  taken 
to  Santo  Domingo,  and  hanged  by  order  of  Ovando. 
In  Higuey  were  then  formed  two  settlements,  Sal- 
valeon  and  Santa  Cruz.  To  take  the  places  in  the 
Spanish  service  of  the  Indians  thus  slain  in  Espaiiola, 
forty  thousand  natives  of  the  Lucayas  Islands  were 


THE  LABOR  QUESTION.  261 

enticed  thither  upon  the  pretext  of  the  captors  that 
they  were  the  Indians'  dead  ancestors  come  from 
heaven  to  take  their  loved  ones  back  with  them. 
Espanola  was  indeed  their  shortest  way  to  heaven, 
though  not  the  way  they  had  been  led  to  suppose. 
When  tidings  of  Ovando's  doings  reached  Spain, 
notably  of  his  treatment  of  Anacaona,  Queen  Isabella 
was  on  her  death-bed;  but  raising  herself  as  best  she 
was  able,  she  exclaimed  to  the  president  of  the  council, 
"  I  will  have  you  take  of  him  such  a  residencia  as  was 
never  taken." 

Both  the  Spaniards  and  the  Indians,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  averse  to  labor.  To  both  it  was  degrading ; 
to  the  latter,  killing.  And  yet  it  was  necessary  that 
mines  should  be  worked,  lands  cultivated,  and  cattle 
raised.  Else  of  what  avail  was  the  New  World? 

The  colonists  clamored,  and  the  crown  was  at  a  loss 
what  to  do.  In  her  dilemma  there  is  no  wonder  the 
queen  appeared  to  equivocate;  but  when  in  Decem 
ber,  1503,  she  permitted  Ovando  to  use  force  in  bring 
ing  the  natives  to  a  sense  of  their  duty,  though  they 
must  be.  paid  fair  wages  and  made  to  work  "as  free 
persons,  for  so  they  are,"  she  committed  a  fatal  error. 
The  least  latitude  was  sure  to  be  abused.  Under 
royal  permission  of  1501  a  few  negro  slaves  from  time 
to  time  were  taken  to  the  Indies.  Las  Casas  urged 
the  extension  of  this  traffic  in  order  to  save  the  In 
dians.  Ovando  complained  that  the  negroes  fled  and 
hid  themselves  among  the  natives,  over  whom  they 
exercised  an  unwholesome  influence;  nevertheless  in 
September,  1505,  we  find  the  king  sending  over  more 
African  slaves  to  work  in  the  mines,  this  time  about 
one  hundred.  From  1517,  when  importations  from 
the  Portuguese  establishments  on  the  Guinea  coast 
were  authorized  by  Charles  V.,  the  traffic  increased, 
and  under  the  English,  particularly,  assumed  enormous 
proportions.  This  unhappy  confusion  of  races  led  to 
a  negro  insurrection  at  Espanola  in  1522. 


2G2  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

We  come  now  to  some  of  the  results  of  the  tem 
porizing  policy  of  Spain — always  a  bad  one  when  the 
subject  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ruling  arm — in 
regard  to  the  Indians.  For  out  of  a  desire  to  avoid 
the  odium  of  Indian  slavery,  and  yet  secure  the  bene 
fits  thereof,  grew  a  system  of  servitude  embodying  all 
the  worst  features  of  absolute  bondage,  with  none  of 
its  mitigations. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  during  his  second  voy 
age  Columbus  made  war  on  the  natives  of  Espanola, 
and  after  sending  some  as  slaves  to  Spain,  imposed  a 
tribute  on  the  rest;  on  some  a  bell-measure  of  gold, 
and  on  others  an  arroba6  of  cotton,  every  three  months. 
So  severe  was  this  tax  that  many  could  not  meet  it, 
and  in  1496  service  was  accepted  in  place  of  tribute. 
This  was  the  beginning  in  the  New  World  of  the 
repartimiento,1  or  as  it  shortly  afterward  became  the 

6  Twenty-five  pounds.  The  Spanish  pound  is  a  little  more  than  the  En 
glish  pound.  There  are  four  arrobas  in  a  quintal. 

1  Repartimiento,  a  distribution;  re  part  ir,  to  divide;  encomienda,  a  charge, 
a  commandery ;  encomendar,  to  give  in  charge ;  encomendero,  he  who 
holds  an  encomienda.  In  Spain  an  encomienda,  as  here  understood,  was 
a  dignity  in  the  four  military  orders,  endowed  with  a  rental,  and  held 
by  certain  members  of  the  order.  It  was  acquired  through  the  liberality 
of  the  crown  as  a  reward  for  services  in  the  wars  against  the  Moors. 
The  lands  taken  from  the  Infidels  were  divided  among  Christian  com 
manders;  the  inhabitants  of  those  lands  were  crown  tenants,  and  life- 
rights  to  their  services  were  given  these  commanders.  In  the  legislation 
of  the  Indies,  encomienda  was  the  patronage  conferred  by  royal  favor  over 
a  portion  of  the  natives,  coupled  with  the  obligation  to  teach  them  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church,  and  to  defend  their  persons  and  property.  It  was 
originally  intended  that  the  recipients  of  these  favors  were  to  be  the  discov 
erers,  conquerors,  meritorious  settlers,  and  their  descendants;  but  in  this  as 
in  many  other  respects  the  wishes  of  the  monarchs  and  their  advisers  did  not 
always  reach  the  mark.  The  system  begun  in  the  New  World  by  Columbus, 
Bobadilla,  and  Ovando  was  continued  by  Vasco  Nunez,  Pedrarias,  Cortes, 
and  Pizarro,  and  finally  became  general.  Royal  decrees  upon  the  subject, 
which  seemed  to  grow  more  and  more  intricate  as  new  possessions  were  paci 
fied,  began  with  a  law  by  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  in  1509,  reiterated  by  Philip 
II.  in  1580,  to  the  effect  that  immediately  upon  the  pacification  of  a  province 
the  governor  should  divide  the  natives  among  the  settlers.  The  natives 
thus  distributed  were  held  for  a  term  of  years,  or  during  the  life  of  the 
holder,  or  for  two  or  more  lives— that  is,  during  the  life  of  the  first  holder, 
and  that  of  his  heir,  and  perhaps  that  of  his  heir's  heir,  or  until  the  king 
should  otherwise  decree.  Solorzano,  Def>idlarumJitre,iL lib. ii. cap.i.;  Acosta, 
De  Procur.  Ind.,  iii.  cap.  x.  When  by  this  course  three  fourths  of  certain 
populations  had  been  'recommended'  to  their  death,  at  the  representation 
of  Las  Casas,  the  king  in  1523  decreed  that  'as  God  our  lord  had  made 
the  Indians  free,'  they  must  not  be  enslaved  on  this  or  any  other  pretext; 
'and  therefore  we  command  that  it  be  done  no  more,  and  that  those 


REPARTIMIENTOS  AND  ENCOMIENDAS.  263 

encomienda,  system,  under  which  the  natives  of  a  con 
quered  country  were  divided  among  the  conquerors, 
recommended  to  their  care,  and  made  tributary  to 
them. 

already  distributed  be  set  at  liberty.'  Remesnl,  Hist.  Chyapa,  10.  But  by 
this  abolition  the  destruction  of  the  colonies  was  threatened.  Petition 
followed  petition  for  the  restoration  of  the  system,  until  the  king  finally 
yielded.  Solorzano,  Politica  Indiana,  i.  225.  In  1542  encomiendas  were  again 
abolished,  and  again  the  king  was  obliged  to  restore  them.  Meanwhile 
every  effort  possible  was  made  by  the  crown  to  prevent  abuses.  The  enco 
mendero  must  fulfil  in  person  the  intention  of  the  law.  He  must  not  leave 
without  permission  from  the  governor,  and  then  his  duties  must  be  dele 
gated  to  a  responsible  agent.  If  away  for  four  months  without  permission, 
his  encomienda  was  to  be  declared  vacant.  The  encomendero  must  not  hire 
out  any  natives,  or  pledge  them  to  creditors,  under  penalty  of  loss  of  Indians 
and  a  fine  of  50,000  maravedis.  No  one  could  appropriate  any  natives  except 
those  legally  assigned.  When  it  was  seen  how  those  in  office  misused  their 
power,  in  1530,  in  1532,  in  1542,  in  1551,  and  in  1563  all  civil  and  ecclesias 
tical  functionaries  were  forbidden  to  hold  encomiendas;  but  in  1544  Philip  II. 
excepted  from  this  prohibition  lenientes  de  yohernadores,  correyidores,  and  al 
caldes  mayores  de  pueblos.  Indians  should  not  be  given  in  encomienda  to  the 
daughters  of  royal  officials,  or  to  sons  unless  married.  It  was  just  and  reason 
able  that  the  savages  should  pay  the  Spaniards  tribute,  for  so  God  had  ap 
pointed,  so  the  pope  had  ordained,  and  the  king  had  commanded;  but  it 
was  the  collection  of  this  tribute  only,  and  not  the  deprivation  of  liberty,  or 
of  any  personal  rights,  that  the  encomienda  was  intended  to  cover.  And  for 
this  tax,  which  whosoever  enjoys  the  boon  of  civilization  must  surely  pay, 
the  vassal  was  to  receive  protection,  and  the  still  more  blessed  boon  of 
Christianity.  Nor  must  this  impost  under  any  consideration  be  made  burden 
some. 

The  manner  of  making  assessments  was  minutely  defined  by  edicts  of 
Charles  V.  at  divers  dates  from  1528  to  1555,  and  of  Philip  II.  from  the  be 
ginning  to  the  end  of  his  reign.  In  substance  they  were  as  follows.  The 
king  made  responsible  to  him  the  viceroys,  and  the  presidents  and  audiencias, 
who,  by  the  aid  of  a  commissioner  and  assessors,  fixed  the  rates  in  their  re 
spective  districts.  The  assessors  having  first  heard  a  solemn  mass  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  order  to  enlighten  their  understanding  that  they  might  justly  regard 
the  value  of  the  rental  and  equitably  determine  the  rate,  they  were  to  swear 
with  all  solemnity  before  the  priest  this  to  do  without  bias.  They  were  per 
sonally  to  inspect  all  the  pueblos  of  the  province,  noting  the  number  of  settlers 
and  natives  in  each  pueblo,  and  the  quality  of  the  land.  They  were  to  ascer 
tain  what  the  natives  had  originally  paid  to  their  caciques  as  tribute,  and 
never  make  the  new  rate  higher,  but  always  lower,  than  the  old  one.  For 
surely  they  should  not  be  worse  off  in  serving  Spain  than  in  serving  their 
heathen  lords.  After  thus  carefully  examining  the  resources  and  capa 
bilities  of  the  tributaries,  and  never  infringing  on  the  comfort  of  the  women 
and  children,  the  assessors  should  fix  the  rate  according  to  God  and  their 
conscience.  The  natives  might  pay  in  money  if  they  preferred,  but  pay 
ment  should  be  required  only  in  kind,  in  whatever  produce  grew  on  their 
lands.  They  must  not  be  required  to  raise  anything  specially  for  this  pur 
pose;  and  from  not  over  two  or  three  kinds  of  produce  should  tribute  be 
taken;  a  few  chickens,  or  a  pig  or  two,  need  not  be  counted  at  all.  It  was 
the  intention  of  the  monarchs  that  from  a  tenth  to  a  fifth  might  in  this  way 
be  taken,  though  the  encomendero  too  often  managed  to  get  twice  or  thrice  as 
much,  or  all  the  natives  had.  The  Indians  must  be  made  to  understand  how 
the  appraisement  was  made,  and  that  it  was  not  done  in  the  interests  of  the 
Spaniards  alone.  Then  the  assessor  must  put  in  writing  what  each  had  to  pay, 
and  leave  the  original  with  the  cacique,  giving  one  copy  to  the  encomendero, 


264  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

The  theory  was  that  the  Indians  were  the  vassals 
of  Spain,  no  more  to  be  imposed  upon  than  other 
Spanish  subjects.  The  sovereigns  wishing  to  stimu 
late  discovery,  pacification,  and  settlement,  were  willing 
to  waive  their  right  to  the  tribute  due  the  crown  in 
favor  of  enterprising  and  meritorious  persons,  who  had 
taken  upon  themselves  the  hardships  incident  to  life  in 

and  sending  one  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  or  to  the  viceroy,  or  to  the  au- 
diencia.  For  the  encomendero  to  practise  extortion,  or  demand  more  than 
the  schedule  called  for,  there  were  pronounced  the  severest  penalties,  even  to 
the  loss  of  the  encoinienda  and  half  his  goods.  Natives  voluntarily  coming 
forward  and  entering  in  encomienda  were  excused  from  paying  tribute  for  ten 
years ;  and,  in  any  event,  for  the  first  two  years  after  congregating  in  pueblos 
but  one  half  the  usual  tribute  could  be  legally  exacted.  Males  were  taxed 
after  the  eighteenth  year ;  caciques,  elder  sons,  women,  and  alcaldes  in  office 
were  exempt.  After  the  gift,  the  encomienda  was  the  property  of  the  enco 
mendero,  not  to  be  taken  from  him  before  the  expiration  of  his  term  without 
cause.  In  every  encomienda  there  must  be  a  church,  and  where  there  was 
none,  the  natives  must  be  stimulated  to  build  one,  the  priest  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  rental.  In  every  pueblo  of  100  or  more  natives,  two  or  three  must  be 
taught  to  sing,  so  that  they  might  act  as  choristers;  also  a  native  sacristan — 
these  to  be  exempt  from  tribute.  In  1568  Philip  II.  ordered  that  no  encomen 
dero  should  receive  a  rental  of  over  2000  pesos;  any  excess  was  to  be  retumed 
to  the  crown  and  employed  as  pensions.  The  same  monarch  directed  in  1573 
that  when  an  encomienda  fell  vacant,  a  viceroy  or  governor  might,  if  he  deemed 
best,  appropriate  the  rental  to  benevolent  objects,  and  defer  granting  it  again 
till  the  king's  pleasure  should  be  known.  And  again,  in  1583,  that  the  en 
comendero  must  have  a  house  of  his  own,  built  of  stone  for  purposes  of  de 
fence,  in  the  city  of  his  residence;  and  he  must  keep  his  family  there.  He 
should  maintain  no  house  in  the  town  of  the  Indians,  nor  should  he  have  any 
building  there  except  a  granary.  In  1592  it  was  decreed  that  Indians  in  en 
comienda  could  be  given  to  none  but  residents  in  the  Indies.  When  an  enco 
mienda  became  vacant,  so  it  was  decreed  in  1594  and  subsequently,  the  fact  was 
advertised  for  from  twenty  to  thirty  days,  during  which  time  applicants  might 
prefer  their  respective  claims,  and  recite  services  rendered  the  crown  by  them 
selves  or  their  ancestors.  Preference  was  always  to  be  given  to  the  descendants 
of  discoverers  and  settlers.  Two  or  three  small  encomiendas  might  sometimes 
be  joined  in  one.  And  never  might  religious  training  be  forgotten;  when  the 
rental  was  not  sufficient  for  the  support  of  the  encomendero  and  the  instruc 
tor,  the  latter  must  have  the  revenue.  Felipe  III.  in  1002,  1011,  1616,  1618, 
and  1620,  decreed  that  as  a  rule  but  one  encomienda  could  be  held  by  one 
person;  still  more  seldom  could  one  be  given  up  and  another  taken.  There 
was  to  be  no  such  thing  as  commerce  in  them.  They  were  a  trust.  Much 
evil  had  arisen  from  dividing  encomiendas,  and  it  should  be  done  no  more. 
Felipe  IV.  in  1655  ordered  that  governors  under  royal  commission  and  those 
named  by  the  viceroy  at  interim  might  give  Indians  in  encomienda,  but  alcaldes 
ord'narlos  holding  temporarily  the  office  of  governor  were  not  allowed  this 
privilege.  Recap,  de  f/idias,  ii.  249-284  and  passim.  Finally,  toward  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  monarchs,  becoming  more  and  more  straitened, 
in  their  need  of  money,  ordered  that  encomenderos  should  pay  a  portion  of  their 
revenue  to  the  crown;  then  a  larger  portion  was  demanded;  and  then  the  whole 
of  it.  In  1721  the  system  came  to  an  end.  But  after  endeavoring  for  two 
hundred  years  to  get  back  what  they  had  given  away,  the  monarchs  found 
there  was  nothing  left  of  it,  the  natives  having  by  this  time  merged  with 
sometimes  slightly  whitened  skins  into  the  civilized  pueblos. 


THE  PARTITION  SYSTEM.  2G3 

a  new  country.  At  first  in  certain  instances,  but  later 
to  an  extent  which  became  general,  they  settled  this 
tribute  upon  worthy  individuals  among  the  conquerors 
and  colonists  and  their  descendants,  on  condition  that 
those  who  thus  directly  received  a  portion  of  the 
royal  revenue  should  act  the  part  of  royalty  to  the 
people  placed  temporarily  in  their  care.  They  were 
to  be  as  a  sovereign  lord  and  father,  and  not  as  a 
merciless  or  unjust  taskmaster.  They  were  to  teach 
their  wards  the  arts  of  civilization,  instruct  them  in 
the  Christian  doctrine,  watch  over  and  guide  and 
guard  them,  and  never  to  restrict  them  in  the  use 
of  their  liberties,  nor  impose  burdens  on  them,  nor 
in  any  way  to  injure  or  permit  injury  to  befall  them. 
And  for  this  protection  they  were  neither  to  demand 
nor  receive  more  than  the  legal  tribute  fixed  by  the 
royal  officers,  and  always  such  as  the  natives  could 
without  distress  or  discomfort  pay.  What  the  system 
was  in  practice  we  shall  have  ample  opportunity  of 
judging  as  we  proceed  in  this  history.  Suffice  it  to 
say  here  that  to  the  fatherly-protection  part  of  their 
compact  the  colonists  paid  little  heed,  but  evaded  the 
law  in  many  ways,  and  ground  the  poor  savages  under 
their  iron  heel,  while  the  crown  by  ordering,  and 
threatening,  earnestly  but  vainly  sought  to  carry 
out  in  good  faith  and  humanity  what  they  deemed  a 
sacred  trust. 

First,  repartimientos  of  lands  were  authorized  by 
the  sovereigns.  This  was  in  1497,  and  nothing  was 
then  said  about  the  natives.  But  after  dividing  the 
land  it  was  but  a  step  to  the  dividing  of  the  inhab 
itants.  With  the  shipment  of  six  hundred  slaves  in 
1498,  and  an  offer  to  their  Majesties  of  as  many  more 
as  they  could  find  sale  for,  Columbus  wrote  asking 
permission  to  enforce  the  services  of  the  natives  until 
settlement  should  be  fairly  begun,  say  for  a  year 
or  two;  but  without  waiting  for  a  reply  he  at  once 
began  the  practice,  which  introduced  a  new  feature 
into  repartimientos.  Then  to  all  who  chose  to  take 


266  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

them,  to  Roldan  and  his  followers,  to  the  worst  char 
acters  on  the  island,  among  whom  were  the  late 
occupants  of  Spanish  prisons,  the  vilest  of  human 
kind,  was  given  absolute  dominion  over  these  helpless 
and  innocent  creatures.  Having  paid  nothing  for 
them,  having  no  pecuniary  interest  in  them,  they  had 
no  object  in  caring  whether  they  were  fed  or  starved, 
whether  they  lived  or  died,  for  if  they  died  there  were 
more  at  hand  upon  the  original  terms. 

Under  Bobadilla  the  infamy  assumed  bolder  pro 
portions.  Columbus  had  apportioned  to  certain  lands 
certain  natives  to  labor  for  the  benefit  of  Spaniards, 
but  they  worked  under  their  cacique.  Natives  were 
forced  by  Spaniards  to  work  mines,  but  only  under 
special  monthly  license.  Bobadilla  not  only  per 
mitted  the  exaction  from  the  natives  of  mining  and 
farming  labor,  but  all  restrictions  were  laid  aside,  and 
from  working  their  own  soil  they  became  mere  labor- 
gangs  to  be  driven  anywhere.  Before  sailing  for  the 
New  World  Ovando  had  been  charged  by  the  sov 
ereigns  with  the  exercise  of  extreme  moderation  in 
levying  tributes  and  making  repartimientos.  Those 
who  came  with  him  not  only  failed  in  mining,  but 
neglected  to  plant,  as  did  likewise  the  natives,  think 
ing  thereby  the  quicker  to  rid  themselves  of  the 
invaders.  Hence  famine,  engendering  new  diseases, 
was  at  hand  for  both  white  men  and  red.  Then 
the  Indians  were  systematically  parcelled  among  the 
Spaniards,  to  one  fifty,  to  another  one  hundred,  and 
the  repartiniiento  unfolded  into  the  encomienda.  Oh ! 
holy,  beloved,  and  glorious  religion!  that  can  make 
the  most  loathsome  depravity  acceptable  to  a  kind 
Creator,  consigning  nations  to  perpetual  bondage  with 
the  benignant  words,  "To  you  is  given  an  encomienda 
of  Indians  with  their  chief;  and  you  are  to  teach  them 
the  things  of  our  holy  Catholic  faith."  And  thus  was 
legalized  what  Columbus  and  Bobadilla  illegally  had 
done. 

In  1508  was  sent  to  Santo  Domingo  as  treasurer- 


THE  KING'S  STRONG  BOX.  2G7 

general  Miguel  de  Pasamonte  to  supersede  Bernar 
dino  de  Santa  Clara,  who  had  received  the  office  of 
treasurer  from  Ovando.  Santa  Clara  loved  display 
and  lacked  honesty.  Using  freely  the  king's  money 
he  bought  estates,  and  gave  feasts,  in  one  of  which 
the  salt-cellars  were  filled  with  gold-dust.  This  folly 
reaching  the  king's  ears,  Gil  Gonzalez  Davila,  of  whom 
we  shall  know  more  presently,  was  sent  to  investi 
gate  the  matter,  and  found  Santa  Clara  a  defaulter 
to  the  extent  of  eighty  thousand  pesos  de  oro.  His 
property  was  seized  and  offered  at  auction.  Ovando, 
with  whom  Santa  Clara  was  a  favorite,  stood  by  at 
the  sale,  and  holding  up  a  pineapple  offered  it  to  the 
most  liberal  bidder,  which  pleasantry  was  so  stimulat 
ing  that  the  estate  brought  ninety-six  thousand  pesos 
de  oro,  more  than  twice  its  value.  Afterward  the 
plan  was  adopted  of  having  three  locks  upon  the  gov 
ernment's  strong-box,  the  keys  to  which  were  carried 
by  the  three  chief  treasury  officials.8  Pasamonte  was 
an  Aragonese,  in  the  immediate  service  of  Ferdinand, 
with  whom  he  corresponded  in  cipher  during  his 
residence  in  the  Indies.  A  very  good  repartimiento 
of  Indians  was  ordered  by  the  king  to  be  given  the 
faithful  Pasamonte.  In  1511  Gil  Gonzalez  Ddvila 
was  made  contador  of  Espanola,  and  Juan  de  Am- 
pues  factor;  to  each  were  given  two  hundred  Indians, 
and  they  were  ordered  to  examine  the  accounts  of  the 
treasurer,  Pasamonte.  For  the  faithful  must  be  kept 
faithful  by  the  strictest  watching;  such  was  Spanish 

8  It  was  decreed  by  the  emperor  in  1555  that  the  Casa  de  Contraction 
should  have  an  area  de  tres  Haves,  a  chest  of  three  keys ;  after  which  the  gov 
ernment  strong-box  became  common  in  Spanish  America.  It  was  usually  in 
the  form  of  a  sailor's  chest,  of  heavy  wood  bound  with  brass  or  iron,  and 
having  three  locks  fastening  the  lid  by  hasps.  The  strong-box  of  the  India 
House,  the  law  goes  on  to  say,  must  remain  in  the  custody  of  the  treasurer, 
who  was  responsible  for  its  safe  keeping.  One  of  the  keys  was  held  by  the 
fesorcro,  one  by  the  contador,  and  one  by  the  factor.  Out  of  the  hand  of  any 
one  of  these  three  royal  officers  his  key  could  not  lawfully  go ;  and  no  one 
but  they  might  put  into  the  chest  or  take  out  of  it  any  thing,  under  penalty, 
on  the  official  permitting  it,  of  four  times  the  value  of  the  things  so  handled. 
In  this  box  were  kept,  temporarily,  all  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and  precious 
stones  that  came  from  the  Indies  on  the  king's  account,  or  were  recovered  for 
him  by  suits  at  law  brought  before  the  India  House  in  Spain.  Recop.  de 
Indian,  iii.  17. 


268  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

discretion,  whether  in   the   management  of  men  or 
women. 

The  removal  of  Ovando  was  delayed  by  the  death 
of  Isabella  in  1504,  and  of  Columbus  in  1506.  After 
persistent  importunities  Diego  Colon,  son  of  the  ad 
miral,  was  permitted  in  1508  to  plead  in  the  courts 
of  Spain  his  claim,  as  his  father's  successor,  to  the 
viceroyalty  of  the  Indies.  His  marriage,  meanwhile, 
with  Maria  de  Toledo,  a  lady  of  high  birth  and  con 
nection,  assisted  in  opening  the  eyes  of  the  law  to 
the  justness  of  his  demands,  fully  as  much  as  did 
any  argument  of  counsel.  Ovando  was  recalled  and 
Diego  authorized  to  take  his  place. 

The  new  governor,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  his 
brother  Fernando,  his  uncles  Bartolome  and  Diego, 
and  a  retinue  brilliant  with  rank  and  beauty,  landed 
at  Santo  Domingo  in  July,  1509.  Although  Ferdi 
nand  had  withheld  the  title  of  viceroy,  Diego  evi 
dently  regarded  his  appointment  nothing  less  than  a 
viceroyalty,  although  the  two  mainland  governors, 
Alonso  de  Ojeda  and  Diego  de  Nicuesa,  for  the  prov 
inces  east  and  west  of  Uraba,  remained  independent 
of  him. 

Diego's  administration  was  but  little  if  any  im 
provement  on  those  of  his  predecessors.  He  possessed 
neither  the  ability  nor  the  prudence  of  Ovando.  He 
had  intended  equity  and  honesty  in  his  rulings,  and 
exceptional  kindness  to  the  natives;  notwithstanding 
which  he  began  by  granting  repartimientos  to  him 
self,  his  wife,  and  kindred,  and  giving  the  best  of  the 
remainder  to  his  favorites.  So  that  the  now  standard 
evils  of  favoritism  and  cruelty  were  in  no  wise  miti 
gated.  Not  only  were  the  Indians  no  better  used 
than  formerly,  but  falling  into  the  errors  of  his  father 
in  the  management  of  men  Diego's  weak  government 
soon  found  opposed  to  it  a  faction  at  whose  head  was 
the  powerful  Pasamonte.  Charges  of  a  serious  nature 
against  the  son  of  the  Genoese  so  frequently  reached 


THE  SOVEREIGN  TRIBUNAL.  269 

Spain  that  in  1  5  1  1  the  king  found  it  necessary  to  estab 
lish  at  Santo  Domingo  a  sovereign  tribunal  to  which 
appeals  might  be  made  from  the  decisions  of  the  gov 
ernor.  This  tribunal  which  at  first  was  only  a  royal 
court  of  law,  superior  to  any  other  colonial  power,  was 
the  germ  of  the  Real  Audiencia  of  Santo  Domingo 
by  which  the  greater  part  of  the  Indies,  islands  and 
firm  land,  were  governed  for  a  period  subsequent 
to  1521.  It  was  at  first  composed  of  three  jueces  de 
^  or  judges  of  appeal,  Marcelo  de  Yillalobos, 
uan  Ortiz  de  Matienzo,  and  Lucas  Vazquez  de  Ai- 
llon.  These  licenciados,  having  brought  with  them 
instructions  from  Spain,  and  also  orders  on  Diego 
Colon  for  partitions  of  land  and  two  hundred  Indians 
each,  in  1511  were  ready  to  rule.  They  were  em 
powered  to  hear  and  determine  appeals  from  the  gov 
ernor,  his  tenientes  and  alcaldes  may  ores,  and  from  any 
other  judges  that  had  been  or  should  be  appointed 
either  by  the  colonial  governor  or  by  the  crown, 
appeal  from  their  decision  being  only  to  the  Council 
of  the  Indies  in  Spain.  Although  from  its  creation 
clothed  with  many  of  the  powers  of  an  audiencia,  it 
did  not  all  at  once  possess  that  title,  but  gradually 
assumed  it.9  By  decree  of  September  14,  1526,  we 
find  the  emperor  ordering  that  in  the  city  of  Santo 
Domingo  there  should  reside  the  Audiencia  y  Chan- 
cilleria  Real,  "  como  esta  fundada,"  as  at  present 
constituted.  It  was  to  consist  of  a  president;  four 
oidoreSj  who  were  also  alcaldes  del  crimen,  or  criminal 

90viedo,  i.  103,  says  that  when  the  Jeronimite  friars  arrived  a  few  days 
before  Christmas,  1516,  the  jueces  de,  apelacion  'ya  se  llamaban  oydores,  e"  su 
auditorio  ya  se  de^ia  audien?ia  Real.'  Herrera,  ii.  ii.  iv.,  treating  of  the 
instructions  given  the  Jeronimites  remarks,  that  it  was  ordered  also  that  the 
jueces  de  apelacion  should  be  submitted  to  residencia.  After  that  he  writes 
jueces  de  apelacion,  and  audiencia  indifferently.  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.,  v.  45, 
treating  of  events  in  1518-20,  says  'jueces  de  apelacion;'  relating  the  occur 
rences  of  1521,  165,  177,  he  writes  'audiencia,'  and  '  cuatro  oidores.  '  Writing 


the  king  August  30,  1520,  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col  Doc.,  xiii.  332-48,  the 
court  styles  itself  Real  Audiencia,  the  members  signing  the  communication. 
In  Pncheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col  Doc.,  xiv.  568,  the  presidents  of  this  audiencia 
are  given  as  Luis  de  Figueroa,  1523;  Sebastian  Ramirez  in  1527;  Fuente 
Mayor  in  1533;  Maldonado  in  1552;  Alonso  Arias  de  Herrera  in  1560;  and 
in  1566  Diego  de  Vera,  who  was  sent  to  Panama  as  president  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Doctor  Mejia. 


270  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

judges;  a  fiscal,  a  prosecuting  officer  in  this  case;  an 
alguacil  mayor,  or  high  sheriff;  a  teniente  de  gran  can- 
ciller,  or  deputy  grand  chancellor,  and  other  necessary 
officers.  Indeed,  beside  some  of  the  other  officers,  a 
president  had  already  been  provided  in  1521,  in  the 
person  of  Luis  de  Figueroa,  bishop  of  Concepcion. 
Francisco  de  Prado  was  appointed  fiscal  in  1523,  at 
which  time  the  salaries  of  the  oidores  were  raised, 
as  they  had  been  deprived  of  the  right  of  holding 
Indians.  All  appeals  from  the  jueces  de  residencia, 
where  the  amount  involved  was  less  than  six  hundred 
pesos  de  oro,  were  thereafter  referred  to  this  tribunal. 
Alonso  de  Zuazo  took  his  seat  among  the  oidores 
in  1526.  To  the  audiencia  of  Santo  Domingo  was 
given  for  its  district  the  West  India  Islands;  and  on 
the  mainland  the  governments  of  Venezuela,  Nueva 
Andalucia,  Rio  de  Hacha,  and  Guayana,  or  el  Dorado, 
this  district  being  bounded  by  those  of  the  audiencias 
of  the  Nuevo  Reino  de  Granada,  Tierra  Firme,  Gua 
temala,  Nueva  Espana,  and  the  provinces  of  Florida. 
The  president  was  empowered  to  make  such  ordi 
nances  as  he  should  deem  essential  to  the  good  gov 
ernment  and  defence  of  the  island,  just  as  was  done, 
within  their  jurisdiction,  by  other  governors  of  Indian 
provinces.  He  might  fill  vacancies  in  the  various 
subordinate  offices  until  the  pleasure  of  the  king 
should  be  known,  and  he  might  do  generally  all 
things  pertaining  to  the  executive  power.  In  these 
matters  the  oidores  were  forbidden  to  interfere;  nor 
could  the  president  exercise  judicial  functions,  but 
must  nevertheless  sign  with  the  judges  all  sentences. 
In  other  respects  this  tribunal  was  on  an  equal  footing 
with  others  of  its  class.10 

10  The  word  audiencia,  from  audtre,  to  hear,  has  a  variety  of  significations 
in  Spanish;  meaning,  namely,  the  act  of  hearing,  the  tribunal,  the  court 
room  and  building,  and  finally,  jurisdiction.  Oidor,  he  who  hears,  comes 
from  the  same  root,  but  is  now  applied  only  to  the  magistrate  of  an  audi 
encia.  The  more  important  general  laws  governing  audiencias  in  the  New 
World  were  the  following.  In  1528  the  emperor  ordered,  and  the  decree  was 
reiterated  in  1543,  1569,  1575,  and  1589,  that  each  audiencia  should  make  a 
tariff  of  fees  of  notaries  and  other  officers,  which  must  not  exceed  five  times 
those  in  Spain.  In  1530  the  mandates  of  this  tribunal  were  made  of  equal 


AUDIENCIAS.  271 

Meanwhile  the  most  disturbing  question  in  the  col 
ony  was  that  of  labor.  To  govern  the  few  Spaniards 
at  Espanola,  under  the  arbitrary  system  of  Spain,  was 

force  with  those  of  the  king  himself.  Should  any  one  demand  it,  decisions  in 
civil  suits  were  to  be  rendered  in  one  case  before  another  was  begun ;  suits 
of  poor  persons  always  to  have  preference  in  time  of  hearing.  Even  dis 
senting  judges  must  sign  the  decision,  making  it  unanimous.  On  the  first 
business  day  of  each  year,  all  the  members  and  officers  being  present,  the  laws 
governing  audiencias  should  be  read.  In  1541  the  emperor  ordered  that  in 
'first  instance'  alcaldes,  regidores,  alguaciles  mayores,  and  escribanos  should 
not  be  brought  before  the  audiencia ;  in  each  pueblo  one  alcalde  should  have 
cognizance  of  what  affected  the  other,  and  both  of  matters  concerning  its 
other  officers.  In  1540,  and  many  times  thereafter,  the  audiencia  was 
charged  to  look  to  the  welfare  of  the  natives,  to  watch  narrowly  the  con 
duct  of  governors  and  other  officials,  and  to  punish  excesses.  While  in  Octo 
ber,  1545,  the  emperor  was  at  Malines,  hence  known  as  the  law  of  Malinas, 
directions  were  given  for  procedure  in  cases  of  claims  of  Indians.  Me/ior 
cuantta  in  suits  was  fixed  at  300,000  maravedis;  not  exceeding  this  amount 
two  oidores  might  decide;  also  in  suits  of  mayor  cuantia,  except  at  Lima  and 
Mexico  where  three  votes  were  necessary  as  in  Spanish  law.  It  was  ordered 
in  1548  that  audiencias  must  not  meddle  with  questions  of  rank  and  pre 
cedence.  In  1551,  Saturdays  and  two  other  days  in  the  week  were  set  aside, 
there  being  no  suits  of  poor  persons,  for  hearing  disputes  between  Indians, 
and  between  Indians  and  Spaniards.  More  ca-sos  de  corte,  that  is  important 
suits  taken  from  lower  courts,  were  not  to  be  admitted  by  an  audiencia  of 
the  Indies  than  was  customary  in  Spain.  This  was  in  1552,  and  repeated  in 
1572.  In  1553  it  was  ordered  that  any  person  having  a  grievance  against  a 
president  or  viceroy  might  appeal  to  the  audiencia,  the  accused  officer  being 
forbidden  to  preside  at  such  times.  If  the  president  was  a  bishop  he  was  not 
permitted  to  adjudicate  in  matters  ecclesiastic.  Six  years  later  all  petitions 
presented  were  to  be  admitted.  Philip  II.  in  1561  ordered  that  suits  of  the 
royal  treasury  should  have  precedence  over  all  others.  The  year  15G3  was 
prolific  in  regulations  for  the  audiencia.  Where  the  president  of  an  audiencia 
was  governor  and  captain-general,  the  tribunal  should  not  meddle  in  matters 
of  war,  unless  the  president  was  absent,  or  unless  specially  directed  by  the 
crown.  In  the  city  where  the  audiencia  is  held  there  must  be  an  Audiencia 
House,  and  the  president  must  live  there,  and  keep  there  the  royal  seal,  the 
registry,  the  jail,  and  the  mint;  in  this  house  must  be  a  striking  clock; 
and  if  there  be  no  such  building  provided,  the  residence  of  the  president 
shall  in  the  mean  time  be  so  used.  On  every  day  not  a  feast-day  the 
audiencia  must  sit  at  least  three  hours,  beginning  at  7  A.  M.  in  summer,  and 
8  A.  M.  in  winter,  and  at  least  three  oidores  must  be  present.  Audiencias 
must  not  annul  sentences  of  exile ;  or,  unless  bonds  for  payment  are  given, 
grant  letters  of  delay  to  condemned  treasury  debtors.  The  majority  decide. 
The  governor,  alcalde  mayor,  or  other  person  refusing  obedience  to  any  mandate 
of  the  tribunal  must  be  visited  by  a  judge  and  punished.  In  exceptional 
cases  only  the  audiencia  might  touch  the  royal  treasury.  Each  audiencia  must 
keep  a  book  in  which  was  to  be  recorded — where  the  amount  in  question  was 
over  100,000  maravedis,  or,  in  other  important  cases — the  verdict  of  each 
oidor;  and  the  president  must  swear  to  keep  secret  the  contents  of  this  book 
unless  ordered  by  the  king  to  divulge  the  same.  A  book  should  also  be  kept 
in  which  was  to  be  entered  anything  affecting  the  treasury;  and  another  the 
fines  imposed.  Audiencias  could  appoint  only  to  certain  offices.  Philip  II. 
further  ordered  during  the  subsequent  years  of  his  reign,  that  audiencias 
must  keep  secret  the  instructions  from  the  crown ;  that  they  must  not  in 
terfere  with  the  lower  courts,  or  with  the  courts  of  ecclesiastics,  except  in 
cases  provided  by  law,  but  rather  aid  them;  that  they  should  register  the 


272  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

a  small  matter ;  but  to  divide  among  them  lands,  agri 
cultural  and  mineral,  and  laborers  in  such  a  way  as  to 
satisfy  at  once  the  colonists  and  the  many  tender  and 

names  of  persons  coming  from  Spain,  with  their  New  World  address ;  that 
with  such  matters  as  residencias,  compelling  married  men  to  live  with 
their  wives,  and  the  estates  of  deceased  persons,  presidents  and  viceroys 
should  not  into.rmeddle,  but  leave  them  to  the  other  members;  that  they 
should  use  no  funds  resulting  from  their  judgments,  but  draw  on  the  treasury 
for  expenses ;  that  when  an  audiencia  was  to  be  closed,  a  governor  should  be 
appointed  with  power  to  continue  and  determine  pending  suits,  but  he 
should  institute  no  new  suits,  and  appeals  lie  to  the  nearest  audiencia ;  that 
they  should  not  make  public  the  frailties  of  ecclesiastics,  but  examine  charges 
against  them  in  secret ;  that  royal  despatches  for  the  audiencia  must  not  be 
opened  by  the  president  alone,  but  at  an  acuerdo,  and  in  presence  of  the 
oidores  and  fiscal,  and  if  thought  necessary  the  escribano  de  cdmara  must  be 
present ;  and  that  they  must  not  remit  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies  trivial 
matters  for  decision.  In  subsequent  reigns  during  the  seventeenth  century 
it  was  at  various  times  decreed  that  a  president  might  impeach  an  oidor 
before  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  though  he  could  not  send  him  to  Spain,  but 
no  oidor  might  impeach  his  president  except  by  royal  command ;  that  audi- 
encias  should  exercise  their  functions  in  love  and  temperance,  especially 
during  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  president  or  viceroy ;  that  in  their  visits  to 
the  jail  the  oidores  should  not  entertain  petitions  of  those  condemned  to 
death  by  the  ordinary  justices  in  consultation  with  the  criminal  section 
of  the  audiencia,  nor  should  they  on  such  visits  take  cognizance  of  anything 
not  specially  confided  to  them ;  that  they  should  not  legitimize  natural 
children,  but  refer  such  cases  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies;  that  each  year 
the  president  should  designate  an  oidor  to  oversee  the  officers  and  attache's 
and  punish  their  faults;  that  no  favoritism  should  be  shown  appointees  of 
viceroys  or  presidents;  one  oidor  might  transact  business,  if  the  audiencia 
were  reduced  to  that  extremity ;  in  arriving  at  a  decision  the  junior  member 
should  vote  first,  then  the  next  youngest,  and  so  on  up  to  the  senior  member. 
This  from  the  Recopilacion  de  las  fndias,  i.  323-70.  In  the  Politico,  Indiana 
of  Solorzano,  ii.  271-82,  may  be  found  how  the  audiencias  of  America  dif 
fered  from  those  of  Spain.  Larger  powers  were  given  the  former  by  reason 
of  their  distance  from  the  throne.  They  were  given  jurisdiction  in  the 
residencias  of  the  inferior  judiciary;  they  could  commission  pesquisidores,  or 
special  judges,  and  order  execution  to  issue  where  an  inferior  judge  had  neg 
lected  to  do  so.  They  had  cognizance  in  matters  of  tithes,  of  royal  patron 
age,  patrimony,  treasury  matters,  and  jurisdiction;  they  could  even  fix  the 
fee-bill  of  the  ecclesiastical  tribunals,  settle  the  estates  of  bishops,  retain 
apostolic  bulls  which  they  deemed  prejudicial  to  the  royal  patronage,  and 
they  could  watch  and  regulate  the  conduct  of  all  ecclesiastical  officials.  In 
making  appointments  the  viceroy  was  obliged  to  take  the  opinion  of  the 
audiencia.  Persons  aggrieved  might  appeal  from  the  viceroy  to  the  audi 
encia.  On  the  death,  absence,  or  inability  of  the  viceroy  the  senior  oidor 
stood  in  his  place.  None  of  these  powers  were  given  audiencias  in  Spain. 
This  and  kindred  subjects  are  treated  at  great  length  by  Solorzano  y  Pereira, 
who  was  a  noted  Spanish  jurist,  born  at  Madrid  in  1575.  He  studied  at 
Salamanca,  and  in  1609  was  appointed  by  Felipe  III.  oidor  of  the  audi 
encia  of  Lima.  Later  he  became  fiscal  and  councillor  in  the  Consejo  de  Haci 
enda,  the  Consejo  <Ie  Indias,  and  the  Conscjo  de  Camilla.  He  published  sev 
eral  works  on  jurisprudence,  the  most  conspicuous  being  Disqidsitiones  de 
Indiarum  jure,  2  vols.  folio,  Madrid,  1029-39.  It  was  reprinted  in  1777,  an 
edition  meanwhile  appearing  in  Lyons  in  1672.  A  Spanish  translation  by 
Vaienzuela  was  published  at  Madrid  in  1648,  and  reprinted  in  1776.  I  have 
used  both  the  Latin  edition  and  the  Spanish,  but  the  latter  is  preferable. 


END  OF  DIEGO  COLON.  273 

enlightened  consciences  in  Spain,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
prevent  the  utter  ruin  either  of  colonial  enterprise  or 
of  the  natives  themselves,  was  indeed  a  difficult  task. 
In  1509  possession  had  been  taken  of  Jamaica  by 
Juan  de  Esquivel,  and  toward  the  end  of  151 111  the 
governor  of  Espanola  had  sent  Diego  Velazquez  to 
occupy  Cuba,  which  was  done  without  the  loss  of  a 
Spaniard.  Ojeda  and  Nicuesa  having  failed  in  col 
onizing  Darien,  the  mainland  in  that  vicinity  was 
offered  by  the  king  in  1514  to  the  adelantado,  Barto- 
lome  Colon,  but  he  was  then  too  ill  to  accept  the 
charge,  and  died  not  long  after.  In  April,  1515, 
Diego  Colon  embarked  for  Spain;  and  we  find  him 
attempting  his  vindication  at  court,  when  Ferdinand 
died,  the  23d  of  January,  1516.  Cardinal  Jimenez, 
who  held  the  reins  of  Spanish  government  for  a  time, 
refused  to  decide  between  the  governor  and  treasurer ; 
but  in  1520  the  emperor  directed  Pasamonte  to  molest 
Diego  no  more.  Then  affairs  at  Espanola  became 
more  intolerable  than  ever,  and  in  1523  Diego  was 
divested  of  authority  by  the  Council  of  the  Indies, 
the  sovereign  tribunal  at  Santo  Domingo  furnishing 

The  work  is  a  commentary  on  the  laws  of  the  Indies,  wonderfully  concise  for 
a  Spanish  lawyer  of  that  period,  and  was  of  great  utility  at  a  time  when 
those  laws  were  in  chaotic  condition. 

To  conclude  my  remarks  on  audiencias  in  America  I  will  only  say  that 
ultimately  their  number  was  eleven ;  and  one  at  Manila,  which,  like  that  of 
Santo  Domingo,  had  a  president,  oidores,  and  a  fiscal,  and  exercised  executive 
as  well  as  judicial  functions.  The  eleven,  including  that  of  Santo  Domingo, 
were  those  of  Mexico  and  Lima,  each  being  presided  over  by  a  viceroy,  and 
having  8  oidores,  4  alcaldes  del  crimen,  and  2  fiscales ;  and  those  of  Guate 
mala,  Guadalajara,  Panama,  Chile,  La  Plata,  Quito,  Santa  Fe,  and  Buenos 
Ayres.  These  several  audiencias  were  formed  at  different  times  soon  after 
the  establishing  of  government  in  the  respective  places.  See  further,  Monte- 
mayor,  Svmarios,  110-11 ;  Revue  Amtricaine,  i.  3-32;  Zamora  y  Coronado,  Bib- 
lioleca  de  Legislation  Ultramarina,  passim. 

11  Irving  says  1510.  I  cannot  undertake  to  correct  all  the  minor  errors 
of  popular  writers,  having  neither  the  space  nor  the  inclination.  It  would 
seem  that  in  the  present,  and  like  instances,  of  which  there  are  many,  the 
mistake  springs  from  an  easy  carelessness  which  regards  the  difference  of  a 
year  or  two  in  the  date  of  the  settlement  of  an  island  as  of  no  consequence; 
for  Las  Casas,  and  other  authorities  who  agree  better  than  usual  in  this  case, 
were  before  Mr  Irving  at  the  time  he  entered  in  his  manuscript  the  wrong 
date.  Important  and  sometimes  even  unimportant  discrepancies  of  original 
or  standard  authorities  will  always  be  carefully  noted  in  these  pages.  What 
I  shall  endeavor  to  avoid  is  captious  criticism,  and  the  pointing  out  of  insig 
nificant  errors  merely  for  the  satisfaction  of  proving  others  in  the  wrong. 
HIST.  GEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.  18 


274  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

ample  information  of  a  condemnatory  character.  Diego 
succeeded,  however,  in  having  a  commission  appointed 
to  examine  the  matter  more  carefullv,  but  this  tended 

*J   ' 

only  to  further  complications ;  and  the  last  days  of  the 
son,  which  ended  in  1526,  were  not  more  happy  than 
those  of  the  father  had  been.12 

A  steadily  growing  character,  impressing  itself  more 
and  more  upon  the  affairs  of  the  Indies  as  time  went 
by,  was  that  of  Bartolome  de  las  Casas.  Born  at 
Seville  in  1474,  he  conned  his  humanities  at  Salamanca, 
making  little  stir  among  the  Gamaliels  there,  but 
taking  the  bachelor's  degree  in  his  eighteenth  year. 
After  a  residence  of  about  eight  years  in  the  Indies, 
having  come  with  Ovando  in  1502,  he  was  admitted 
to  priestly  orders,  from  which  time  he  takes  his  place 
in  history.  He  was  a  man  of  very  pronounced  tem 
perament  and  faculties,  as  much  man  of  business  as 
ecclesiastic,  but  more  philanthropist  than  either;  pos 
sessed  of  a  burning  enthusiasm,  when  once  the  fire  of 
his  conviction  was  fairly  kindled,  he  gave  rest  neither 
to  himself  nor  to  his  enemies.  For  every  evil-minded 
man  who  came  hither  was  his  enemy,  between  whom 
and  himself  was  a  death-struggle.  The  Apostle  of 
the  Indies  he  was  sometimes  called,  and  the  mission 
he  took  upon  himself  was  to  stand  between  the  naked 
natives  and  their  steel-clad  tormentors.  In  this  work 

12  Maria,  widow  of  Diego,  demanded  of  the  audiencia  of  Santo  Domingo  for 
her  son  Luis,  then  six  years  of  age,  the  viceroyalty  of  Veragua,  which  was 
refused.  She  then  carried  her  claim  to  Spain,  where  the  title  of  admiral  was 
conferred  on  Loiis,  and  many  other  benefits  were  extended  by  the  emperor  to 
the  family,  but  the  title  of  viceroy  was  withheld.  Subsequently  Luis,  having 
instituted  court  proceedings  which  were  referred  to  an  arbitration,  succeeded 
in  having  himself  declared  captain-general  of  Espanola.  Shortly  before  his 
death  he  relinquished  the  claim  to  the  viceroyalty  of  the  New  World  for  the 
titles  of  duke  of  Veraguas  and  marquis  of  Jamaica,  and  gave  his  right  to  a  tenth 
of  the  produce  of  the  ladies  for  a  pension  of  a  thousand  doubloons.  Luis  was 
succeeded  by  a  nephew,  Diego,  by  whose  death  the  legitimate  male  line  was 
extinguished.  Then  followed  more  litigation,  female  claimants  now  being 
conspicuous,  until  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  we  find  in  the 
Portuguese  house  of  Braganza  the  titles  the  discoverer  once  so  coveted,  they 
being  then  conferred  on  Nuiio  Gelves,  grandson  of  the  third  daughter  of 
Diego,  son  of  Christopher  Columbus,  and  who  then  might  write  his  name 
De  Portugallo  Colon,  duque  de  Veraguas,  marques  de  la  Jamaica,  y  almirante 
do  las  Indias. 


BARTOLOMti  DE  LAS  CASAS.  275 

he  was  ardent,  ofttimes  imprudent,  always  eloquent 
and  truthful,  and  as  impudently  bold  and  brazen  as 
any  cavalier  among  them  all.  Nor  was  he  by  any 
means  a  discontented  man.  He  sought  nothing  for 
himself;  he  had  nothing  that  man  could  take  from 
him  except  life,  upon  which  he  set  no  value,  or  except 
some  of  its  comforts,  which  were  too  poor  at  best  to 
trouble  himself  about.  His  cause,  which  was  the 
right,  gave  breadth  and  volume  to  his  boldness,  beside 
which  the  courage  of  the  hare-brained  babbler  was 
sounding  brass. 

When  the  attention  of  the  church  was  first  seri 
ously  drawn  toward  the  amelioration  of  the  condition 
of  the  Indians,  which  was  in  1511,  there  were  at 
Espanola  some  thirteen  Dominicans,  living  with  their 
vicar,  Pedro  de  Cordoba,  according  to  the  strictest 
rules  of  the  order,  and  likewise  several  Franciscans, 
among  whom  was  Antonio  de  Espinal.  The  Domini 
cans  began  their  protest  by  a  sermon  denouncing  the 
course  of  the  colonists,  and  when  ordered  to  retract, 
they  repeated  their  charges  with  still  greater  empha 
sis.  The  colonists  sent  agents  to  Spain  to  have  the 
contumacious  monks  displaced,  and  among  them  Es 
pinal;  for  the  Franciscans,  as  much  in  a  spirit  of 
opposition  to  the  Dominicans  as  to  find  favor  with 
the  laity,  showed  a  leaning  toward  the  repartimiento 
system,  though  they  could  not  decently  defend  it. 
The  Dominicans  sent  Antonio  Montesino,  he  who 
had  preached  the  distasteful  sermon,  all  the  Domini 
cans  present  having  signed  approval  of  it.  To  con 
sider  the  matter,  a  junta  was  summoned  in  Spain, 
which  pronounced  the  Indians  a  free  people,  a  people 
to  be  Christianized,  and  not  enslaved;  they  were  in 
nocent  heathen,  not  infidel  enemies  like  the  Moors,  or 
natural-born  slaves  like  the  nesrroes.  Ferdinand  and 

O 

Fonseca  were  both  earnest  in  obtaining  this  verdict, 
for  so  had  said  the  king's  preachers.  Meanwhile 
Montesino  encountering  Espinal  in  Spain,  won  him 
over  to  the  side  of  humanity.  But  all  the  same  the 


276  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

repartimientos  were  continued,  for  they  were  fatherly 
protection  only  in  theory,  and  the  colonists  went  on 
scourging  the  poor  red  men. 

In  the  occupation  of  Cuba,  Panfilo  de  Narvaez  was 
named  by  Velazquez  his  lieutenant,  and  sent  forth  to 
subjugate  other  parts  of  the  island.  With  Narvaez 
went  Las  Casas,  who  put  forth  almost  superhuman 
exertions  in  vain  to  stay  the  merciless  slaughter  of 
the  helpless  and  innocent.  A  warm  friend  of  Las 
Casas  was  Velazquez'  alcalde,  Pedro  de  Renteria, 
who  in  the  division  of  the  spoils  joined  Las  Casas 
in  accepting  a  large  tract  of  land,  and  a  propor 
tionate  repartimiento  of  Indians.  This  was  before 
Las  Casas  had  seriously  considered  the  matter,  and 
he  was  at  first  quite  delighted  with  his  acquisition. 
But  the  enormity  of  the  wrong  coming  upon  him,  his 
conversion  was  as  decisive  as  that  of  St  Paul.  Like 
the  Dominicans  of  Espanola,  Las  Casas  began  by 
preaching  against  repartimientos.  In  1515  he  sailed 
for  Spain  in  company  with  Montesino,  leaving  his 
charge  with  certain  monks  sent  over  from  Espanola 
by  the  prelate  Cordoba.  These  Dominican  brothers 
did  what  they  could,  but  to  such  straits  were  the  sav 
ages  driven  after  the  departure  of  Las  Casas  that  to 
escape  the  bloodhounds  and  other  evils  set  upon  them 
by  the  Spaniards  thousands  of  them  took  refuge  in 
suicide.  When  Diego  Colon  arrived  in  1509  there 
were  left  in  Espanola  forty  thousand  natives.  A  re- 
partidor  was  appointed  in  the  person  of  Rodrigo  de 
Alburquerque  to  repartition  the  Indians,  but  when  he 
arrived  in  1514  there  were  but  thirteen  thousand  left 
to  divide.  After  proclaiming  himself  with  great  pomp, 
Alburquerque  plainly  intimated  that  bribery  was  in 
order,  that  he  who  paid  the  most  money  should  have 
the  best  repartimiento.  Afterward  the  Licentiate 
Ibarra,  sent  to  Espanola  to  take  the  residencia  of  the 
alcalde  Aguilar,  was  authorized  to  make  a  new  par 
tition.  Large  numbers  of  natives  were  given  to  the 
king's  favorites  in  Spain,  and  the  evil  grew  apace. 


THE  JERONIMITE  FATHERS.  277 

Nor  were  affairs  at  Espanola  mended  by  sending  out 
so  frequently  new  officials  with  new  and  conflicting 
powers. 

Whatever  hopes  the  monks  may  have  derived  from 
Ferdinand's  benign  reception,  death  cut  short  the 
proposed  relief.  Fonseca,  now  bishop  of  Btirgos, 
with  coarse  ribaldry  dismissed  the  subject;  but  when 
Las  Casas  applied  to  the  regent,  Cardinal  Jimenez, 
an  earnest  and  active  interest  was  manifest.  Las 
Casas,  Montesino,  and  Palacios  Rubios  were  di 
rected  to  present  a  plan  for  the  government  of  the 
Indies,  which  resulted  in  sending  thither  three  Jero- 
nimite  Fathers,  Luis  de  Figueroa,  Alonso  de  Santo 
Domingo,  and  Bernardino  Manzanedo,  monks  of  the 
order  of  St  Jerome,  being  selected  because  they  were 
free  from  the  complications  in  which  those  of  St 
Francis  and  St  Dominic  already  found  themselves 
involved  in  the  New  World.  The  Jeronimites  were 
ordered  to  visit  the  several  islands  and  inform  them 
selves  regarding  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  and 
adopt  measures  for  the  formation  of  native  settle 
ments.  These  settlements  or  communities  were  to 
be  governed  each  by  a  cacique,  together  with  an 
ecclesiastic;  and  for  every  two  or  three  settlements 
a  civil  officer,  called  an  administrator,  having  supreme 
power  in  the  settlements,  was  to  be  appointed.  The 
cacique,  after  obtaining  the  consent  of  the  ecclesiastic,- 
should  inflict  no  higher  punishment  on  his  subjects 
than  stripes;  none  should  be  capitally  punished  except 
under  regular  process  of  law.  The  matters  of  educa 
tion,  labor,  tribute,  mining,  and  farming  were  then 
treated,  in  all  which  the  welfare  of  the  natives  was 
carefully  considered,  although  the  repartimiento  sys 
tem  remained.  Las  Casas  was  named  Protector  of 
the  Indians  with  a  salary  of  one  hundred  pesos  de  oro. 
Zuazo,  a  lawyer  of  repute,  was  sent  with  the  most 
ample  powers  to  take  a  residencia  of  all  the  judges 
in  the  New  World,  and  against  his  decisions  there 
was  to  be  no  appeal. 


278  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

The  Jeronimites  set  out  wrapped  in  mighty  deter 
minations.  They  would  not  even  sail  in  the  same 
ship  with  Las  Casas,  wishing  to  be  wholly  free.  In 
this  they  were  right;  but  unfortunately,  on  arriv 
ing  among  the  wrangling  colonists,  and  having  the 
actual  issues  thrust  upon  them,  they  found  them 
selves  by  no  means  infallible.  .  Their  measures  were 
tame,  and  they  soon  found  the  Protector  arrayed 
against  them.  The  result  was  their  open  defence  of 
the  repartimiento  system,  as  the  only  one  by  which 
Spain  could  colonize  the  Indies.  The  burden  should 
be  laid  as  lightly  as  possible  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
natives,  but  they  must  be  made  to  work.  Las  Casas 
set  out  in  1517  to  enter  his  complaints  at  court, 
closely  followed  by  an  emissary  of  the  Jeronimites  to 
represent  their  side  of  the  question ;  but  they  arrived 
in  Spain  only  to  find  the  regent  dying.  Had  Charles 
V.  remained  in  Flanders,  and  had  the  life  of  Cardinal 
Jimenez  been  spared  to  Spain  and  the  New  World  a 
few  years  longer,  it  is  certain  that  the  cruelties  to  the 
Indians  would  many  of  them  have  been  prevented, 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  negro  slavery  would  ever  have 
been  introduced  into  America. 

Though  the  change  of  rulers  which  now  occurred 
seriously  clogged  the  wheels  of  government  in  Spain, 
-the  affairs  of  the  Indies  seemed  directly  to  suffer 
little  inconvenience  therefrom.  It  was  indeed  a  great 
change.  Isabella  and  Ferdinand  gone,  Columbus  and 

O      '  O  ' 

Jimenez  also ;  and  the  presence  of  this  young  Charles, 
undemonstrative,  thoughtful,  cautious,  even  when  a 
boy,  and  enveloped  in  a  Flemish  atmosphere  that 
shut  out  all  that  was  most  beautiful  in  Spain,  even 
Castile's  liquid  language,  made  it  seem  strange  there 
even  to  Spaniards,  made  it  seem  a  long,  long  time 
since  the  Moors  were  beaten  and  America  discovered. 
The  Indies,  however,  were  far  away,  and  so  little 
understood  by  the  Flemings  that  they  did  not  trouble 
themselves  much  about  them. 


DIVERS  RULES  AND  RULERS.  279 

Las  Casas  was  fortunate  in  winning  the  favor  of 
the  Flemish  chancellor,  Selvagius,  but  as  in  the  two 
previous  cases,  scarcely  was  the  friendly  footing  estab 
lished  when  the  great  man  died,  and  the  bishop  of 
Burgos,  whose  influence  in  the  government  of  the 
Indies  had  fallen  low  of  late,  was  again  elevated. 
All  the  measures  that  Las  Casas  had  proposed  to 
Selvagius  fell  to  the  ground — all  save  one,  the  only 
bad  one,  and  one  concerning  which  Las  Casas  after 
ward  asserted  that  he  would  give  all  he  possessed 
on  earth  to  recall  it;  it  was  the  introduction  of  negro 
slaves  to  relieve  the  Indians. 

If  the  Jeronimite  Fathers  accomplished  no  great 
things  in  the  Indies,  they  at  least  did  little  harm. 
Small-pox  attended  the  herding  of  the  natives  in 
settlements,  but  it  never  prevailed  to  the  extent 
represented.  The  fact  that  Fonseca  held  an  enco- 
mienda  of  eight  hundred  Indians,  the  Comendador 
Conchillos  one  of  eleven  hundred,  Vega  one  of  two 
hundred,  and  other  influential  men  at  court  other 
numbers,  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the 
hostility  manifested  in  that  quarter  toward  Las  Casas, 
who  was  unflinching  to  the  end  in  denouncing  the 
system  as  unjust,  unchristian,  and  inhuman. 

The  office  of  Indian  distributor  was  most  impor 
tant,  and  one  in  which  the  vital  interests  of  the 
colonists  were  involved.  It  should  have  been  filled 
by  one  of  high  integrity  who  would  hold  aloof  from 
contaminating  influences.  Such  was  not  Ibarra,  who 
became  offensively  meddlesome  in  the  affairs  of  the 
common  council,  and  died  under  suspicious  circum 
stances  not  long  after,  Lebron  being  sent  out  to  take 
his  place.  When  the  Jeronimites  countenanced  negro 
slavery  to  relieve  the  Indians,  the  colonists  were  be 
nignant;  when  they  undertook  civil  service  reform, 
some  of  them  became  furious,  especially  Pasamonte, 
who  had  been  enriching  himself  as  fast  as  possible 
while  his  patron  lived,  but  who  had  now  sunk  into 


280  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

insignificance.  The  favorites  of  the  Flemish  min 
isters,  such  as  Rodrigo  de  Figueroa,  to  whom  was 
given  charge  of  the  Indian  settlements,  were  now  the 
recipients  of  the  fat  offices;  and  the  fact  of  their 
being  Flemish  favorites  was  sufficient  to  array  the 
colonists  against  them.  It  was  not  long  before  they 
succeeded  in  having  the  residencia  of  Figueroa  or 
dered,  and  Lebron  installed  as  overseer  of  Indians  in 
his  place.  In  1518,  Jimenez  who  sent  the  Jeroni- 
mites  being  dead  and  Fonseca  once  more  manager, 
the  monks  were  recalled  to  Spain,  and  the  affairs  of 
Espanola  and  of  the  Indies  were  left  with  the  audi- 
encia  of  Santo  Domingo,  acting  in  conjunction  with 
the  Consejo  de  Indias13  in  Spain,  the  Casa  de  Con- 

13  The  Consejo  Suprenw  de  Indias,  Supreme  Council  of  the  Indies,  some 
times  termed  the  Consejo  de  Indias,  or  India  Council,  was  a  body  possessing 
executive  as  well  as  judicial  powers,  in  permanent  session  at  Madrid,  and 
having  the  same  jurisdiction  over  Spanish  colonies  in  America  that  was  held 
in  Spain  by  the  other  supreme  councils,  especially  the  Consejo  de  Castillo,. 
Immediately  after  its  discovery  the  American  portion  of  the  Spanish  realm 
was  superintended  by  the  Council  of  Castile,  or  by  councillors  selected  there 
from.  But  with  the  constantly  increasing  burden  of  business  the  creation 
of  a  separate  supreme  tribunal  became  necessary.  Thus  the  machinery  set 
in  motion  by  Ferdinand  was  augmented  by  Charles,  and  further  improved  by 
Philip,  until  these  vast  western  interests  were  watched  over  with  underrating 
care.  Thence  all  measures  for  the  government  and  commerce  of  Spanish 
America  issued;  it  was  the  tribunal  likewise  of  ultimate  resort  where  all 
questions  relating  thereto  were  adjudicated.  For  many  years,  however,  the 

t  India  Council  had  no  formal  existence.  Fonseca ;  Hernando  de  Vega,  comen- 
dador  mayor  of  Leon ;  Mercurino  Gatinara,  afterward  superintendent  of  all 
the  councils ;  a  gentleman  of  the  emperor's  bedchamber  called  De  Lassao ; 
Francisco  de  Vargas,  treasurer-general  of  Castile,  and  others,  acted  specially 
at  the  request  of  their  sovereign.  This  fact  gave  rise  to  errors  of  date  into 
which  several  kistorians  fell.  Thus  Prescott,  Fcrd.  and  Isabella,  iii.  452,  says, 
copying  Robertson,  Hist.  Am.,  ii.  358,  that  the  Council  of  the  Indies  was  first 
established  by  Ferdinand  in  1511.  Helps,  Span.  Conq.,  ii.  28 — drawing  a  false 
inference  from  a  false  inference  drawn  by  Herrera,  ii.  ii.  xx.,  who  makes  the 
date  1517 — goes  on  to  describe  a  council  for  Indian  affairs,  dating  its  organi 
zation  1518,  and  of  which  Fonseca  was  president,  and  Vega,  Zapata,  Peter 
Martyr,  and  Padilla  were  members. 

It  was  the  first  of  August,  1524,  that  the  office  proper  of  the  Council  of 

'  the  Indies  was  created.  See  Solorzano,  Politico.  Indiana,  ii.  394.  The  de 
cree  of  final  organization  may  be  found  in  the  Rcc.op.  d<}.  India?,  i.  228. 
It  sets  forth  that  in  view  of  the  great  benefits,  under  divine  favor,  the 
crown  daily  receives  by  the  enlargement  of  the  realm,  the  monarch  by  the 
grace  of  God  feeling  his  obligation  to  govern  these  kingdoms  well,  for  tha 
better  service  of  God  and  the  well-being  of  those  lands,  it  was  ordered 
that  there  should  always  reside  at  court  this  tribunal.  It  should  have 
a  president;  the  grand  chancellor  of  the  Indies  should  also  be  a  coun 
cillor;  its  members,  whose  number  must  be  eight,  should  be  letrados,  men 
learned  in  the  law.  There  were  to  be  a  fiscal,  two  secretaries,  and  a  deputy 
grand  chancellor,  all  of  noble  birth,  upright  in  morals,  prudent,  and  God- 


COUNCIL  OF  THE  INDIES.  281 

tratacion  having  more  especial  charge  of  commercial 
matters. 

fearing  men.  There  must  be,  also,  three  relatores,  or  readers,  and  a  notary, 
all  of  experience,  diligence,  and  fidelity;  four  expert  contadores  de  cuentas, 
accountants  and  auditors;  a  treasurer -general;  two  solicitadores  fiscales, 
crown  attorneys;  a  chief  chronicler  and  cosmographer ;  a  professor  of 
mathematics ;  a  tasador  to  tax  costs  of  suits ;  a  lawyer  and  a  procurador  for 
poor  suitors ;  a  chaplain  to  say  mass  on  council  days ;  four  door-keepers,  and 
a  bailiff,  all  taking  oath  on  assuming  duty  to  keep  secret  the  acts  of  the 
council.  The  first  president  appointed  was  Fray  Garcia  de  Loaysa,  at  the 
time  general  of  the  Dominicans,  confessor  of  the  emperor,  and  bishop  of 
Osma,  and  later  cardinal  and  archbishop  of  Seville.  The  first  councillors  were 
Luis  Vaca,  bishop  of  the  Canary  Islands ;  Gonzalo  Maldonado,  later  bishop 
of  Ciudad  Rodrigo ;  Diego  Beltran ;  the  prothonotary,  Pedro  Martyr  de  An- 
glerla,  abbot  of  Jamaica,  and  Lorenzo  Galindez  de  Carbajal.  Prado  was  the 
first  fiscal.  A  list  of  the  earlier  presidents,  councillors,  and  officials  may  be 
found  at  the  end  of  Description  de  las  Indicts  Occidentals,  in  vol.  i.  Barcia's 
edition  of  Herrera. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  council  extended  to  every  department,  civil,  mili 
tary,  ecclesiastical,  and  commercial,  and  no  other  council  in  Spain  might  have 
cognizance  of  any  affairs  appertaining  to  the  New  World.  Two  thirds  of  tho 
members  must  approve  of  any  law  or  ordinance  before  it  was  presented  to  the 
king  for  his  signature.  In  the  Recopilacion  de  las  Indins,  i.  228-323,  is  given  the 
legislation  on  the  council  to  1080.  Philip  II.  ordered  the  council  to  be  obeyed 
equally  in  Spain  and  in  the  Indies.  Three  members  were  to  constitute  a 
quorum,  and  sit  from  three  to  five  hours  every  day  except  holidays.  For 
purposes  of  temporal  government  the  New  World  was  to  be  divided  into 
viceroyalties,  provinces  of  audiencias,  and  chanciUerias  reales,  or  sovereign 
tribunals  of  lesser  weight  than  audiencias,  and  provinces  of  the  officials  of 
the  royal  exchequer,  adela-ntamientos,  or  the  government  of  an  adelantado, 
gobr.rnaciones,  or  governmentships,  alcaldias mayore*,  corret/imienfo*,  alcaldias 
ordinarias,  and  of  the  hermandad,  concejos  de  Etpanole*  y  de  Indios;  and  for 
spiritual  government  into  archbishoprics  and  suffragan  bishoprics,  abbeys, 
parishes,  and  diezmerias,  or  tithing  districts,  and  provinces  of  the  religious 
orders.  The  division  for  temporal  matters  was  to  conform  as  nearly  as  pos 
sible  to  that  for  spiritual  affairs.  The  council  was  commanded  to  have  for  its 
chief  care  the  conversion  and  good  treatment  of  the  Indians.  The  laws  made 
by  the  Council  for  the  Indies  should  conform  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  ex 
isting  laws  of  Spain.  In  selecting  ecclesiastics  and  civil  officers  for  the  Indies, 
the  greatest  care  should  be  exercised  that  none  but  good  men  were  sent,  and 
their  final  nomination  must  rest  with  the  king.  Nepotism  was  strictly  pro 
hibited,  and  offices  were  not  to  be  sold.  In^lGOO  Felipe  III.  ordered  that 
twice  a  week  should  be  held  a  council  of  war,  composed  of  eight  members, 
four  of  whom  were  councillors  of  the  Indies,  and  four  specially  selected  by  the 
king.  It  was  decreed  in  1584  that  the  offices  of  governors,  corregidores, 
and  alcaldes  mayores  of  the  Indies,  when  bestowed  on  persons  residing  in 
Spain,  should  be  for  five  years;  when  residents  in  the  Indies  were  appointed, 
it  should  be  for  three  years.  Felipe  IV.  in  1036  ordered  that  in  the  archives 
of  the  council,  beside  records,  should  be  kept  manuscripts  and  printed  books 
treating  on  matters  moral,  religious,  historical,  political,  and  scientific,  touch 
ing  the  Indies,  all  that  had  been  or  should  be  issued ;  and  publishers  of  books 
of  this  class  were  required  by  law  to  deposit  one  copy  each  in  these  archives. 
Two  keys  were  ordered  kept,  one  by  the  councillor  appointed  by  the  presi 
dent,  and  the  other  by  the  senior  secretary.  And  when  the  archives  of  the 
council  became  too  full,  a  portion  might  be  sent  to  Simancas.  It  was 
early  ordered  that  the  chronicler  of  the  council  should  write  a  history,  natu 
ral  and  political,  of  the  Indies,  every  facility  being  afforded  him;  and  before 
drawing  his  last  quarter's  salary  each  year,  he  must  present  what  lie  had 
written.  So  it  was  with  the  cosmographer,  who  was  to  calculate  eclipses,  com- 


282  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

Many  schemes  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  filled 
the  mind  of  Las  Casas,  who  continued  to  labor  for 

pile  guide-books,  prepare  tables  and  descriptions,  and  give  an  annual  lecture. 
The  regulations  governing  this  august  body  were  most  wise,  and  it  was  the  con 
stant  aim  of  the  Spanish  monarchs  to  increase  its  power  and  sustain  its  author 
ity.  Its  jurisdiction  extended  over  half  the  world,  being  absolute  on  sea  and 
land.  By  it  viceroys  were  made  and  unmade,  also  presidents  and  governors ; 
and,  in  ecclesiastical  rule,  patriarchs,  archbishops,  bishops,  and  lesser  spiritual 
dignitaries.  His  Holiness  himself  was  second  here.  All  bulls  or  briefs  of  in 
dulgences  issued  by  the  pope  must  be  laid  before  the  Consejo  de  Cruzada,  and 
pass  through  the  Council  of  the  Indies.  The  Consejo  de  Indias  continued  in 
Spain  till  by  a  law  of  the  Cortes,  March  24,  1834,  it  was  abolished,  as  indeed 
was  the  Consejo  de  Castillo,.  The  judicial  functions  of  the  two  were  vested  in 
the  Tribunal  Supremo  de  Espana  e  Indias;  their  executive  powers  in  the  Con 
sejo  Real  de  Etpaiia  e  Jndias,  both  being  created'  by  the  same  law. 

The  next  most  important  agency  in  the  management  of  New  World  affairs 
was  the  Gaxade  Contratacion,  house  or  board  of  trade,  supreme  in  commercial 
matters,  save  only  in  its  subordination  to  the  Consejo  de  Indias,  in  common 
with  every  other  power  below  absolute  royalty.  As  before  stated,  on  the  re 
turn  of  Columbus  from  his  first  voyage,  Fonseca,  with  two  or  three  assistants, 
was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  business  appertaining  to  the  discov 
ery,  the  nature  or  importance  of  which  was  then  but  faintly  conceived. 
This  Indian  office  or  agency  was  established  at  Seville,  with  a  branch  office  in 
the  form  of  a  custom-house  at  Cadiz.  But  before  the  expiration  of  the  first 
decade  the  New  World  business  had  so  increased,  and  the  New  World  dimen 
sions  were  so  rapidly  expanding,  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  enlarge  the 
capabilities  and  powers  of  the  India  Office;  hence  by  decrees  of  January  20, 
and  June  5,  1503,  was  ordered  established  at  Seville  the  Casa  de  Contratacion 
de  las  Indias,  or  India  house  of  trade,  that  commerce  between  the  mother 
country  and  the  Indian  colonies  might  be  promoted.  The  first  ce"dula  ordered 
the  office  placed  in  the  arsenal,  the  second  in  a  building  known  as  the  al 
cazar  viejo,  and  in  that  part  of  it  called  the  cuarto  de  lo*  almirantes,  or  admi 
rals'  quarters!. — The  board  consisted  of  a  president,  three  royal  officers,  or 
judges,  to  wit,  treasurer,  auditor,  and  factor;  also  three  judges  bred  to  the 
law;  one  fiscal,  and  other  lesser  officers  and  attendants.  Among  the  first  to 
serve,  beside  Fonseca,  were  Sancho  de  Matienzo,  a  canon  of  Seville,  treasurer ; 
Francisco  Pinelo,  factor,  or  general  agent ;  and  Jimeno  de  Berviesca,  contador, 
or  auditor.  By  law  those  three  officers  were  to  reside  in  the  building;  and  were 
to  despatch  all  ships  going  to  the  Indies,  and  receive  all  merchandise  coming 
thence.  In  all  which  they  were  scrupulously  to  respect  the  agreement  made 
with  Columbus  by  the  sovereigns.  They  were,  moreover,  to  proclaim  that 
licenses  for  discovery  and  trade  would  be  given,  under  just  conditions,  to  all 
seeking  them  and  filing  commensurate  bonds.  See  Nuc.va  Espana,  Brev. 
Res.  MS.;  Veltia  Linage,  Norte  de  la  Contratacion;  Recop.  de  Indias; 
Sohrzano,  Pol.  Ind.;  Zamora  y  Coronado,  Bib.  Leg.  Ult.;  Young's  Ili.it. 
Mex.,  40-6;  Democratic  Review,  i.  264-9;  Walton's  Expose,  24;  Niles* 
S.  Am.  and  Mex.,  65-8;  Revolution  in  Sp.  Am.,  5-6;  Purchas,  His  Pil- 
(jrimex,  iv.  916-17.  An  officer  appointed  by  the  king  resided  at  Cadiz 
to  despatch  vessels  under  the  supervision  of  the  Casa  de  Contratacion. 
The  India  House  was  a  court  of  judicature  no  less  than  a  board  of  trade;  it 
had  cognizance  in  all  civil,  criminal,  and  commercial  questions  arising  from 
the  traffic  of  Spain  with  the  Indies,  appeal  being  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies. 
I  will  mention  a  few  only  of  the  more  important  of  the  many  minor  orders 
regulating  this  board.  The  volume  and  variety  of  its  business  rapidly  in 
creased  from  year  to  year.  In  1510  Diego  Colon  was  instructed  to  inform 
its  officers  concerning  all  that  he  should  write  to  the  king.  The  board  was 
obliged  to  possess  itself  of  the  minutest  knowledge  concerning  New  World 
affairs,  and  of  persons  asking  permission  to  go  thither,  and  in  the  execution  of 


CASA  DE  CONTRATACION.  283 

them  indefatigably.  One,  originating  with  Pedro  de 
Cdrdoba,  was  to  set  apart  on  the  mainland  one  hun 
dred  leagues  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  savages,  into 
which  no  Spaniards  but  priests  might  enter.  This 

its  duties  it  was  not  to  be  interfered  with  even  by  royal  officers  of  high  rank. 
The  actual  powers  conferred  on  the  three  officials  first  named  by  Queen  Juana 
are  not  given  by  any  of  the  chronicles,  or  collections  of  laws,  which  I  have 
examined.      Indeed,  the  powers  and  jurisdiction  of  the  board  were  never 
clearly  denned  until  the  issuing  of  the  ordinances  of  the  23cl  of  August,  1543, 
known  as  the  ordenanzasde  lacasa,  and  which  should  not  be  confounded  with 
the  ordcnanzaa  of  other  years.     Every  day  but  feast-days  the  board  should 
meet  for  business,  and  remain  in  session  lor  three  hours  in  the  forenoon,  and 
on  the  afternoons  of  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays  for  the  despatch  of 
ships.     Absence  involved  primarily  loss  of  pay,  and  finally  loss  of  office.     If 
this  be  not  time  sufficient  for  the  business,  they  must  take  more  time.     The 
president  and  judges  together  should  transact  the  business;  a  judge  might 
not  act  singly  except  upon  a  matter  referred  to  him  by  all.     The  notary  should 
keep  in  his  book  an  account  of  the  hours  of  absence  among  the  officers.     Before 
the  platform  on  which  sat  the  judges,  benches  were  ordered  placed  for  the  con 
venience  of  the  vixitadores,  or  inspectors  of  ships,  and  such  other  honorable 
persons  having  business  there  as  should  be  invited  by  the  tribunal  to  sit.     The 
authorities  of  Seville  should  not  interfere  in  the  trial  and  punishment  of 
crimes  committed  on  board  ships  sailing  to  and  from  the  Indies.     If  the  pen 
alty  was  death  or  mutilation,  the  offender  was  to  be  tried  by  the  three  judges, 
members  of  the  board,  learned  in  the  law.     In  the  civil  suits  of  private  per 
sons,  appertaining  to  the  Indies,  litigants  were  given  the  option  of  bringing 
their  disputes  before  the  judges  of  the  India  House,  or  before  the  ordinary 
justice  of  Seville.     Disputes  arising  from  shipwreck,  loss  of  cargo,  and  frauds 
connected  therewith,  were  all  brought  before  the  India  House.     Traders  to 
the  Indies  residing  in  Seville  were  authorized  to  meet  and  elect  a  prior  and 
consul,  or  consuls,  which  consulate  should  be  called  the  Univeraidad  de  los 
Carffad&res  d  las  Indicts,  and  hold  their  meetings  in  the  Casa  de  Contratacion. 
No  foreigner,  his  son  or  grandson  could  so  hold  office.     This  consulate  had 
cognizance  in  disputes  between  these  merchants  and  factors  in  matters  relative 
to  purchases,  sales,  freights,  insurance,  and  bankruptcy,  all  being  subordinate 
to  the  regular  tribunal  of  the  India  House.     Appeals  were  from  the  consulate 
to  one  of  the  regular  judges  selected  annually  to  that  duty.     The  consulate 
could  address  the  king  only  through  the  Casa  de  Contratacion,  and  government 
despatches  from  the  Indies  must  be  forwarded  by  the  board.     As  justice  alone 
was  the  object  of  these  merchants,  and  not  chicanery,  or  the  distortion  of 
evidence,   parties  to  suits  before  the  consulate  were  not  allowed  lawyers. 
That  harmony  might  be  maintained,  the  Casa  de  Contratacion  should  carry 
out  the  orders  of  the  audienda  de  (jrados  of  Seville,  if  deemed  conformable  to 
law,  and  to  existing  regulations  of  the  board.     Communications  from  the 
board  to  the  king  must  be  signed  by  the  president  and  judges  conjointly,  and 
no  letter  must  treat  of  more  than  a  single  subject.     All  gold,  silver,  pearls, 
and  precious  stones  coming  from  the  Indies  were  first  to  be  deposited  in  the 
India  House,  and  thence  distributed  to  the  owners.     The  king's  share  was  to 
be  placed  in  a  safe  with  three  keys,  or  if  this  was  too  small,  then  in  a  room 
having  three  keys.     Other  safes  were  to  be  kept,  one  for  each  kind  of  prop 
erty.     Accounts  of  receipts  at  the  India  House  were  to  be  rendered  the  king 
every  year.     The  board  must  render  an  annual  statement  of  its  expenditures 
on  reliyioxox  sent  to  the  Indies.     Felipe  IV.  ordered  that  the  board  should  col 
lect  from  all  ships  and  merchandise,  including  a  pro  rota  on  the  king's  share, 
the  cost  for  convoying  them  forth  and  back.     Such  was  the  famous  India  House 
at  Seville,  modest  in  its  beginning,  mighty  in  its  accomplishments,  through 
which  passed  into  Spain  the  almost  fabulous  wealth  of  Spanish  America. 


284  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

measure  was  opposed  by  Fonseca,  who  said:  "The 
king  would  do  well,  indeed,  to  give  away  a  hundred 
leagues  without  any  profit  to  himself."  After  this 
Las  Casas  spent  some  time  travelling  through  Spain 
and  inducing  Spaniards  to  emigrate  to  the  Indies, 
but  little  that  was  beneficial  came  of  it.  Succeeding 
finally  in  enlisting  the  sympathies  of  the  king's  preach 
ers  in  behalf  of  the  Indians,  a  plan  for  founding  a 
colony  on  the  Pearl  Goast  was  carried,  and  notwith 
standing  Oviedo  appeared  in  opposition  to  his  brother 
chronicler  by  offering  a  larger  royalty,  a  grant  of  two 
hundred  and  sixty  leagues  was  signed  in  May,  1520. 
Failing  as  a  colonist,  Las  Casas  retired  for  a  time  to 
the  Dominican  convent  at  Santo  Domingo.  After 
many  years  spent  as  missionary  and  preacher  in  Nica 
ragua,  Guatemala,  Mexico,  and  Peru,  he  was  appointed 
bishop  of  Chiapas,  where  in  the  progress  of  this  history 
we  shall  again  meet  him. 

Certain  attention  which  the  Indies  were  now  receiv 
ing  may  be  mentioned  here.  Some  little  attention 
was  paid  by  the  ever-watchful  government  to  the 
welfare  of  society  in  these  distant  parts.  The  wearing 
of  rich  apparel  in  Espanola  was  forbidden  by  the  king 
in  1523.  The  appellations  of  certain  of  the  islands 
were  undergoing  change,  so  that  in  due  time  their 
aboriginal  names  were  restored  to  Cuba  and  Jamaica, 
the  authorities  thereby  evincing  a  good  taste  which 
rulers  and  explorers  of  other  nations  might  well  have 
profited  by  at  a  later  period.  In  1515  six  loaves  of 
sugar  and  twenty  cassia  fistula  were  taken  by  Oviedo 
to  Spain.  In  1517  the  pope  made  bishops  in  the 
Indies  inquisitors;  and  when  in  1521-2  the  bulls  of 
Leo  X.  and  Adrian  VI.  ordered  the  Franciscans  to 
prepare  for  mission  work  in  the  New  World,  liberal 
concessions  were  made  to  friars  going  thence.  After 
the  death  of  Pedro  de  Cordoba,  who  had  been  ap 
pointed  inquisitor  of  the  Indies,  authority  became 
vested  in  the  audiencia  of  Santo  Domingo.  Desirous 
of  stimulating  emigration,  the  emperor  in  1522  granted 


SUNDRY  PROVISIONS.  285 

further  privileges  to  settlers  in  the  Indies.  Colonists 
were  ordered  to  take  their  families  to  the  New  World 
under  severe  penalties  for  neglect.  Licenses  were  re 
vised,  and  regulations  concerning  the  going  to  the  New 
World  of  the  religious  orders  as  well  as  of  all  others 
were  made  to  the  utmost  extent  favorable,  but  friars 
found  in  the  New  World  without  a  license  must  be 
sent  forthwith  to  Spain.  Then  laws  were  made  at 
tempting  to  regulate  the  method  of  making  war  on 
Indians;  and  in  1523  it  was  decreed  that  idols  should 
be  destroyed  and  cannibalism  prevented.  Provision 
was  made  for  the  annual  payment  of  thirty  thousand 
maravedis  for  the  support  of  a  preceptor  of  grammar. 
And  because  of  the  heavy  expenses  of  living,  the 
emperor  permitted  the  salaries  of  New  World  officials 
to  be  increased.  The  tribunals  were  likewise  reor 
ganized  to  fit  the  emergency  and  facilitate  business. 
Directions  were  issued  how  gold  chains  should  be  made 
and  dye-woods  cut.  It  seemed  to  the  emperor  neces 
sary  in  1526  to  issue  orders  facilitating  the  arrest  of 
dishonest  mercantile  agents  in  the  Indies,  and  to  send 
Padre  de  Bobadilla,  a  provincial  of  the  order  of  La 
Merced,  to  look  after  the  baptism  of  the  Indians. 
And  as  to  the  question  of  negroes,  vexatious  from  the 
beginning,  the  emperor  in  1523  revoked  for  a  time 
the  permission  given  in  1511  to  send  negroes  as  slaves 
to  the  Indies;  and  it  was  again  ordered  in  1526  that 
Indian  slaves  then  in  Spain  should  be  returned  to 
their  country  and  treated  as  vassals.14 

11  Recopilacion  de  Leyes  de  los  Reynos  de  las  Indicts,  of  which  I  make  general 
use  in  referring  to  the  laws  passed  in  Spain  for  the  regulation  of  the  affairs 
of  the  New  World,  is  the  result  of  several  previous  efforts  in  the  direction  of 
compilation.  It  was  published  at  Madrid,  the  first  edition  in  four  volumes, 
by  order  of  Carlos  II.  in  1681,  and  the  fourth  edition  in  three  volumes, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Royal  and  Supreme  Council  of  the  Indies,  in  1791. 
The  work  aimed  to  embody  all  laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  the  respective 
editions  relative  to  the  Spanish  American  colonies.  The  three  volumes  are 
divided  into  nine  books,  and  each  book  into  from  eight  to  forty-six  titles. 
The  first  title  of  the  first  book  is  De  la  Santa  Fe  Cattilica,  a  subject  then 
second  to  none  in  grave  importance.  In  fact  the  whole  of  the  first  book  is 
devoted  to  ecclesiastical  and  kindred  matters.  The  second  book  refers  in 
the  main  to  tribunals  and  officials;  the  third  in  a  great  measure  to  the  army; 
the  fourth  to  discoveries  and  settlements;  the  fifth  to  executive  and  judicial 
offices;  the  sixth  to  Indians,  including  treatment,  repartimientos  and  enco- 


286  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

miendas ;  the  seventh  to  crimes  and  punishments ;  the  eighth  to  the  manage 
ment  of  the  royal  treasury ;  and  the  ninth  to  the  India  House  and  the  com 
merce  of  the  Indies.  By  a  decree  of  the  emperor  in  1550,  which  was 
embodied  in  the  ordinances  of  audiencias  in  1563,  by  Philip  II. ,  it  was  ordered 
that  all  ccdulas  and  provisiones  should  be  copied  in  extenso  in  a  book  set  apart 
for  that  service,  and  of  which  great  care  should  be  taken,  and  that  the  said 
documents  were  to  be  filed  chronologically  in  the  archives  of  each  audiencia. 
In  1571,  by  Philip  II.,  it  was  decreed,  and  the  decree  embodied  in  the  JReco- 
pilacion  of  1680,  that  ccdulas  and  provisiones  concerning  the  royal  treasury 
should  be  kept  in  a  separate  book. 

The  earliest  printed  collection  of  laws  relating  solely  to  the  Indies  is  that 
of  the  ordenanzas  for  the  government  of  the  audiencia  of  Mexico.  This  was 
issued  in  1548.  In  1552  a  similar  collection  was  made  by  order  of  the  viceroy  of 
Peru,  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  for  the  government  of  the  audiencia  of  Lima, 
but  was  not  printed  at  that  time.  Later  the  fiscal  of  Mexico,  Antonio  Mal- 
donado,  began  a  compilation  to  which  he  gave  the  name  Repertorio  de  las 
Cedulas,  Provisiones,  i  Ordenanzas  Reales,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  ever 
completed  his  task,  although  a  royal  cedula  in  1556  authorized  him  to  do  so. 
Upon  the  representation  in  1552  by  Francisco  Hernandez  de  Liebana,  fiscal 
of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  of  the  urgent  necessity  of  such  a  work,  a  royal 
cedula  was  issued  in  1560,  directing  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  Luis  de 
Velasco,  to  have  prepared  and  printed  such  regulations  as  were  in  force 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  audiencia  of  Mexico,  which  was  done  in  1563 
under  the  direction  of  Vasco  de  Puga,  oidor  of  the  audiencia.  Francisco  de 
Toledo,  sent  from  Spain  in  1569  as  viceroy  of  Peru,  was  ordered  to  make  a 
similar  compilation  covering  the  limits  of  his  viceroyalty,  but  it  was  after 
ward  thought  better  the  work  should  be  done  in  Spain.  Hence  in  1570 
Philip  II.  ordered  made  a  general  compilation  of  laws  and  provisions  for  the 
government  of  the  Indies,  which  was  intended  as  a  code,  obsolete  laws  being 
omitted,  new  ones  provided  where  necessary,  and  those  in  conflict  reconciled. 
Of  this  work,  from  some  cause  not  satisfactorily  explained,  probably  from 
the  death  of  the  author,  only  the  title  relating  to  the  Consejo  de  Indias  and 
its  ordenanzas  was  printed,  although  the  whole  of  the  first  book  had  been 
prepared. 

In  1581  some  ordinances  relative  to  the  Casa  de  Contratacion  and  its 
judges  were  printed  at  Madrid;  and  more  of  a  similar  nature  in  1585,  beside 
the  Leyes  y  Ordenanzas  for  the  government  of  the  Indies,  and  the  ordinances 
of  1582  concerning  the  despatch  of  fleets  for  New  Spain  and  Tierra  Firme, 
printed  at  Madrid;  and  in  Guatemala  the  ordenanzas  of  July  14,  1556,  relat 
ing  to  the  Univer*idad  de  los  Mercadercs  de  Sev'dla.  In  1594  the  marques  de 
Canete,  viceroy  of  Peru,  published  at  Lima  a  small  volume  of  ordinances  rel 
ative  to  the  good  treatment  of  the  Indians.  But  the  want  of  a  general  com 
pilation  becoming  more  and  more  apparent,  Diego  de  Encinas,  a  clerk  in  the 
office  of  the  king's  secretary,  was  ordered  to  prepare  a  copy  of  all  provisiones, 
cedulas,  cartas,  ordenanzas,  and  instrucciones  despatched  prior  to  1596,  which 
work  was  printed  at  Madrid,  in  four  folio  volumes,  the  same  year.  Harrisse 
is  mistaken  when  he  says  these  volumes  were  suppressed,  not  having  been 
authorized;  for  not  only  is  their  authorization  distinctly  stated  over  the  king's 
own  hand  in  the  enacting  clause  of  the  Recopilacion  de  las  Indias,  May  18, 
1680,  where  it  says  that  Philip  II.  ordered  Encinas  to  do  this  work,  but  that 
owing  to  their  faulty  arrangement  the  volumes  '  aun  no  han  satisfecho  el  in- 
tento  de  recopilar  en  forma  conveniente,'  which  clearly  shows  them  to  have 
been  in  use  up  to  that  time.  Shortly  after  this,  Alvar  Gomez  de  Abaunza, 
oidor  of  the  audiencia  of  Guatemala,  and  subsequently  alcalde  del  crimen  of 
the  audiencia  of  Mexico,  compiled  two  large  volumes  under  the  title  of  Reper 
torio  de  Cedulas  Reales,  which  were  not  printed.  And  in  Spain,  Diego  de  Zor- 
rilla  made  an  attempt  to  revive  the  project  of  the  recopilacion  de  leyes,  by 
making  extracts  from  Encinas  and  adding  laws  of  later  date;  but  having  re 
ceived  an  appointment  as  oidor  of  the  audiencia  of  Quito,  he  left  the  work 
incomplete  and  in  manuscript.  Others  made  similar  attempts;  I  shall  not  be 


RECOPILACION  DE  LAS  INDIAS.  287 

able  to  enumerate  them  all,  or  give  a  full  list  even  of  the  printed  collections. 
For  example,  in  1603  was  published  at  Valladolid  a  folio  entitled  Ordenangas 
Reales  del  Consejo  de  Indias,  and  another  thin  folio  called  Leyesy  Ordenangas 
Nuevamente  Lechas  por  su  Afajestad,  para  la  fjouernadd  de  las  Indias;  later 
appeared  a  folio  entitled  Ordenangas  de  la  Casa  de  la  Contratacion  de  Sevilla, 
and  another,  Ordenangas  Reales  para  el  yobirrno  de  los  Tribunales  de  Contaduria 
Mayor  en  los  Reynos  de  las  Indias.  In  1606  Hernando  de  Villagomez  began 
to  arrange  ce"dulas  and  other  laws  relating  to  the  Indies ;  and  two  years  after, 
the  celebrated  conde  de  Le"mos  being  president  of  the  Council,  Villagomez, 
and  Rodrigo  de  Aguiar  y  Acuiia,  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  were  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  compile  the  laws ;  but  nothing  came  of  it,  even  Fernando 
Carrillo  failing  to  complete  their  unfinished  task.  Juan  de  Sol6rzano  y  Pereira, 
oidor  of  the  audiencia  of  Lima,  also  began  a  collection  of  ce"dulas,  and  sent 
to  the  Council  of  the  Indies  the  first  book  of  his  contemplated  work,  with 
the  titles  of  the  other  five  books  which  he  intended  to  compile.  In  a  carta 
real  he  was  thanked  for  what  he  had  done,  and  charged  to  continue  his  labors, 
sending  each  book  as  prepared  to  the  Council.  I  have  no  evidence  that  he 
did  so. 

All  this  time  our  book  was  a-building,  and  indeed  for  170  years  more.  A 
complete  history  of  this  one  work  would  fill  a  volume ;  obviously  in  a  biblio 
graphical  note,  even  of  undue  length,  only  the  more  prominent  agencies  and 
incidents  of  its  being  can  be  touched  upon. 

We  come  now  to  the  time  when  A.ntonio  de  Leon  Pinelo,  judge  in  the 
India  House,  presented  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies  the  first  and  second 
books,  nearly  complete,  of  his  Discurso  sobre  la  importanda,  forma,  y  dispo 
sition  de  la  Recopiladon  de  Ldes  de  Indias,  which  was  printed  in  one  volume, 
folio,  in  1623.  This  was  in  reality  Encinas'  work  with  some  cedulas  added. 
Meanwhile  it  appears  that  some  direct  official  work  was  done  on  a  compila 
tion,  for  in  1624  we  find  the  Council  instructing  Pinelo  to  enter  into  relations 
with  the  custodian  of  the  material  for  the  compilation.  Pinelo  was  likewise 
authorized  to  examine  the  archives  of  the  Council;  and  for  two  years  he 
employed  himself  continuously  in  examining  some  500  MS.  volumes  of  cedulas, 
containing  over  300,000  documents.  In  the  law  authorizing  the  Recopila- 
don  de  las  Indias  of  1680,  it  is  said  that  in  1622  the  task  had  been  entrusted 
to  Rodrigo  de  Aguiar  y  Acuna,  probably  the  custodian  referred  to.  In  1628 
it  was  thought  best  to  print  for  the  use  of  the  Council  an  epitome  of  the  part 
completed ;  hence  appeared  the  Sumarios  de  la  Recopiladon  General  de  la*  Ldes 
de  las  Indias.  Aguiar  y  A  curia  dying,  Pinelo  worked  on  alone  until  1 634,  when 
the  Council  approved  of  what  had  been  done ;  and  in  the  year  following  this 
indefatigable  and  learned  man  had  the  satisfaction  of  presenting  the  completed 
Recopiladon  de  las  Indias.  To  one  of  the  members,  Juan  de  Solorzano  y  Pe 
reira,  the  work  was  referred,  and  received  his  approbation  in  1636.  More  than 
half  a  million  of  cedulas  had  been  examined  and  classified  during  the  progress 
of  this  compilation.  And  yet  it  was  not  published ;  and  during  the  delay  it 
was  becoming  obsolete,  and  new  material  and  partial  compilations  were  being 
made  both  in  Spain  and  in  America,  some  of  which  were  printed  in  separate 
pieces.  In  1634  the  Ordenamas  de  la  Junta  de  Guerra  de  Indias  were  pub 
lished  ;  in  1646  Juan  Diez  de  la  Calle  compiled  and  published  for  the  Council 
of  the  Indies  in  small  quarto  a  memorial  containing  some  of  the  cddulas  of 
the  Recopiladon.  A  useful  aid  for  the  study  of  statistic  geography  in  America 
is  to  be  found  in  the  exceedingly  rare  Memorial  y  Notidas  tiacr<ts  >/  Realms  del 
Impcrio  de  la*  Indias  Ocddcntales.  By  luan  Diez  de  la  Calle,  1646,  sin.  4to, 
183  folios.  A  register  for  the  Spanish  colonies,  chiefly  of  state  and  church 
officials,  of  towns,  their  wealth  and  notable  objects.  Folios  41-132  refer  to 
the  jurisdictions  of  the  audiencias  of  Mexico,  Guadalajara,  and  Guatemala. 
Calle  had  in  the  previous  year,  as  assistant  chief  clerk  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Royal  Council  of  the  Indies,  presented  the  work  to  the  king  as  Memorial 
Infonnatorio  al  Rey,  and  in  accordance  with  his  approval  it  had  been  reprinted 
with  additions  as  above.  Encouraged  hereby  he  wrote  at  greater  length  the 
Notidas  Sacras  i  Reales  in  twelve  libros,  the  publication  of  which  was  begun, 


288  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  INDIES. 

but  never  finished.  Puga's  work  was  continued  in  the  form  of  an  Inventarlo  of 
the  cedulas  relating  to  New  Spain  issued  from  1567-1620,  the  manuscript  be 
ing  presented  to  the  secretary  of  the  New  Spain  department  of  the  Council 
of  the  Indies  by  Francisco  do  Parraga,  afterward  forming  part  of  the  Barcia 
collection.  In  1647  appeared  at  Seville  the  Ordenangas  Reales,  para  la  Ca*a  de 
Contratadon  de  Kevilla,  y  para  otras  cosas  de  las  Indias ;  in  1658  Pinelo  pub 
lished  at  Madrid  the  Autos,  acuerdos  y  decretos  de  gobierno  del  real  y  supremo 
consejo  de  las  Indias.  In  1661  there  was  printed  at  Madrid  a  folio  entitled 
Ordenanqaa  para  remedio  de  los  danos,  6  inconvenientes  que  se  siguen  de  los  des- 
caminos  i  arribadas  maliciosas  de  los  Navios  que  navegan  de  las  Indias  Ocdden- 
tales;  and  in  1672  the  Norte  de  la  Contratadon  de  las  Indias  Ocddentales  of 
Joseph  de  Veitia  Linage  was  published  at  Seville.  J.  Stevens  translated  this 
last  work  into  English  and  published  it  in  London  in  1702. 

The  many  and  long  periods  of  suspended  animation  of  the  Recopiladon  de 
India*,  between  its  inception  and  its  birth,  is  no  less  remarkable  a  feature  in 
the  history  of  the  work  than  its  multiplicity  of  origins  and  collateral  afflu 
ents.  In  1660  the  case  was  brought  before  the  king,  and  then  referred  to 
successive  committees,  in  each  of  which  were  several  members  of  the 
Council,  the  whole  being  under  the  supervision  of  their  successive  presi 
dents,  until  finally,  on  the  18th  of  May,  1680,  a  royal  decree  made  the 
Recopiladon  de  Indias  law,  and  all  ordinances  conflicting  therewith  null. 
Even  now  printing  did  not  seem  to  be  at  first  thought  of.  Two  authenticated 
copies  were  ordered  made,  one  to  be  kept  in  the  archives  of  the  Council,  and 
the  other  at  Simancas.  It  was  soon  seen,  however,  that  this  was  not  suffi 
cient,  and  in  1681  the  king  ordered  the  book  printed  under  the  superintend 
ence  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  which  was  done.  Although  the  Recopila 
don  de  Indias  was  several  times  revised,  and  well  fulfilled  its  mission  for  over 
a  hundred  years,  in  fact  to  the  end  of  Spain's  dominion  in  America,  several 
partial  collections  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  Spain  and  in  America. 

Among  these  were  Sumarios  de  la*  Cedulas que  se  han  dcspachado. . .  .desde 

el  ano  1628 hasta 1677,   printed  in  Mexico  in  1678;    Ordenanzas  del 

Pern,  Lima,  1685;  also  the  Ordenanhas  de  Crugada,  para  fas  Subdelegados  del 
Peru;  Reglamento  y  Arancdes  Reales  para  el  Comerdo  Libre  de  Espana  & 
Indias,  1778;  Teatro  de  la  legisladon  universal  de  Espana  e  Indias,  by  An 
tonio  Javier  Perez  y  Lopez,  28  vols.  4to,  Madrid,  1791-8.  In  the  various 
public  and  private  archives  of  Spain  and  Spanish  America  are  manuscript 
collections  of  cedulas  and  compilations  on  special  subjects. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   GOVERNMEOTS   OF   NUEVA  ANDALUClA  AND  CASTILLA 

DEL  ORO. 

1506-1510. 

TlERRA  FlRME  THROWN  OPEN  TO  COLONIZATION  —  RlVAL  APPLICATIONS  — 
ALONSO  DE  OJEDA  APPOINTED  GOVERNOR  OF  NIJEVA  ANDALUCIA,  AND 
DIEGO  DE  NICUESA  OF  CASTILLA  DEL  ORO  —  HOSTILE  ATTITUDES  OF 
THE  RIVALS  AT  SANTO  DOMINGO — OJEDA  EMBARKS  FOR  CARTAGENA — 
BUILDS  THE  FORTRESS  OF  SAN  SEBASTIAN  —  FAILURE  AND  DEATH  — 
NICUESA  SAILS  FOR  VERAGUA— PARTS  COMPANY  WITH  HIS  FLEET — His 
VESSEL  is  WRECKED — PASSES  VERAGUA — CONFINED  WITH  HIS  STARV 
ING  CREW  ON  AN  ISLAND — SUCCOR — FAILURE  AT  VERAGUA — ATTEMPTS 
SETTLEMENT  AT  NOMBRE  DE  DIGS — Loss  OF  SHIP  SENT  TO  ESPANOLA 
FOR  RELIEF — HORRIBLE  SUFFERINGS — BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES  OF 
LAS  CASAS,  OVIEDO,  PETER  MARTYR,  GOMARA,  AND  HERRERA — CHAR 
ACTER  OF  THE  EARLY  CHRONICLERS  FOR  VERACITY. 

THE  voyages  of  Bastidas  and  Columbus  completed 
the  discovery  of  a  continuous  coast  line  from  the  gulf 
of  Paria  to  Cape  Honduras.  In  1506  Juan  Diaz  de 
Solis,  a  native  of  Lebrija,  and  Vicente  Yaiiez  Pinzon 
took  up  the  line  of  discovery  at  the  island  of  Guanaja, 
where  the  admiral  had  first  touched,  and  proceeding 
in  the  opposite  direction  sailed  along  the  coast  of  Hon 
duras  to  the  westward,  surveyed  the  gulf  of  Honduras 
and  discovered  Amatique  Bay,  but  passed  by  without 
perceiving  the  Golfo  Dulce  which  lies  hidden  from 
the  sea.  The  object  still  was  to  find  the  much-de 
sired  passage  by  water  to  the  westward.  Continuing 
northerly  along  Yucatan,  and  finding  the  coast  trend 
ing  east  rather  than  west,  they  abandoned  the  under 
taking  and  returned  to  Spain.  Meanwhile  Juan 
Ponce  de  Leon  was  enriching  himself  by  the  pacifi- 

HIST.  GEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    19  (289) 


290  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

cation  of  Puerto  Rico,  preparatory  to  invading  the 
mainland  to  the  northward  in  search  of  the  fountain 
of  youth;  in  which  sapient  attempt  he  lost  his 
money,  and  not  long  afterward  his  life,  unfortunately 
never  finding  the  liquid  immortality  that  bubbled 
somewhere  in  the  jungles  of  Florida. 

And  now  ten  years  had  elapsed  since  Cabot  and 
Columbus  first  saw  the  western  continent,  the  former 
in  1497,  the  latter  in  1498,  and  although  several 
attempts  had  been  made,  as  yet  there  was  no  Euro 
pean  settlement  on  any  part  of  it.  It  was  not  that 
the  thirst  for  western  spoils  was  by  any  means  as 
suaged;  but  Ferdinand  was  busy,  and  the  experiences 
of  Ojeda  and  Columbus  on  the  mainland  were  not 
encouraging  to  the  most  chivalrous  cupidity.  Re 
turned,  however,  from  his  Neapolitan  wars  in  1507, 
his  disaffected  nobles  somewhat  quieted,  and  the  dis 
putes  attending  Isabella's  succession  allayed,  the  king 
began  to  look  about  him.  By  the  queen's  testament 
he  inherited  one  half  the  revenues  of  the  Castilian 
colonies.  And  the  king  wanted  money.  It  is  a  royal 
weakness.  Then  he  remembered  what  Columbus  had 
reported  of  the  rich  coast  of  Veragua;  and  although 
the  licenses  hitherto  granted  for  private  voyages  had 
not  proved  very  lucrative,  and  expenditures  at  Santo 
Domingo  were  too  near  receipts  to  be  satisfactory,  no 
better  way  seemed  feasible  than  to  throw  open  to  col 
onization  the  mainland,  or  tierra  jirme,  as  the  discov 
ered  portion  of  the  continent  now  began  to  be  called.1 

1  The  world  was  a,t  a  loss  at  first  what  to  call  the  newly  found  region  to 
the  westward.  It  was  easy  enough  to  name  the  islands,  one  after  another, 
as  they  were  discovered,  but  when  the  Spaniards  reached  the  continent  they 
were  backward  about  giving  it  a  general  name.  Everything  was  so  dark 
and  uncertain;  islands  were  mistaken  for  continent,  and  continent  for 
islands.  The  simple  expression  New  World  that  fell  with  the  first  ex 
clamations  of  wonder  from  the  lips  of  Europeans  on  learning  of  the  suc 
cess  of  Columbus  sufficed  for  a  time  as  a  general  appellation.  More  general 
and  more  permanent  was  the  name  India,  arising  from  the  mistake  that 
this  was  the  farther  side  or  eastern  shore  of  India,  applied  at  first  to  the 
continent  as  well  as  to  the  islands,  and  which  fastened  itself  permanently  on 
the  people  as  well  as  on  the  country.  '  Segun  la  opinion  mas  probable,  que 
penetro  hasta  aquellos  parages,  y  tambien  rnas  comunmente  se  da  a  este  nuevo 
mundo  descubierto,  el  nombre  de  Indias  Occidentales,  para  distinguiiias  do 


THE  NAME  AMERICA.  291 

Further  than  this,  Ferdinand  was  well  aware  that  if  he 
would  retain  his  western  possessions  he  must  occupy 
them;  for  stimulated  by  the  success  of  Portugal  and 

las  verdaderas  que  estan  situadas  en  la  Asia  a  iiuestro  Oriente  entre  el  Indo, 
y  el  Ganges.'  Nueva  Esparto,,  Brev.  Res.,  MS.  i.  3.  As  the  coast  line  of  the 
continent  extended  itself  and  became  known  as  such  it  was  very  naturally 
called  by  navigators  tierra  firme,  lirm  land,  in  contradistinction  to  the  islands 
which  were  supposed  to  be  less  firm.  And,  indeed,  not  the  islands  only,  but 
the  people  of  the  islands  are  inconstant,  the  moon  being  mistress  of  the 
waters.  As  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Indicts,  iii.  395,  puts  it,  'La  naturaleza  dellos 
no  les  consiente  tener  perse verancia  en  la  virtud,  quier  por  ser  insulares, 
que  iiaturalmente  tienen  m6nos  constancia,  por  ser  la  luna  seiiora  de  las 
aguas.'  The  name  Tierra  Firme,  thus  general  at  first,  in  time  became  par 
ticular.  As  a  designation  for  an  unknown  shore  it  at  first  implied  only  the 
Continent.  As  discovery  unfolded,  and  the  magnitude  of  this  Firm  Land  be 
came  better  known,  new  parts  of  it  were  designated  by  new  names,  and 
Tierra  Firme  became  a  local  appellation  in  place  of  a  general  term.  Paria 
being  first  discovered,  it  fastened  itself  there ;  also  along  the  shore  to  Darien, 
Veragua,  and  on  to  Costa  Rica,  where  at  no  well  defined  point  it  stopped,  so 
far  as  the  northern  seaboard  was  concerned,  and  in  due  time  struck  across  to 
the  South  Sea,  where  the  name  marked  off  an  equivalent  coast  line.  Lopez 
Vaz,  in  Purchas,  HisPilgi~ime*,iv.  1433,  says,  'From  this  Land  of  Veragua  vnto 
the  Hand  of  Margereta,  the  Coast  along  is  called  the  firme  Land,  not  for  that 
the  other  places  are  not  of  the  firmc  Land,  but  because  it  was  the  first  firme 
Land  that  the  Spaniards  did  conquer  after  they  had  past  the  Hands. '  In  the 
Recop.  de  [iidias,  i.  324,  is  a  law  dated  1535,  and  repeated  1537,  1538,  1563, 
1570,  1571,  and  1583,  which  places  within  the  limits  of  the  kingdom  of  Tierra 
Firme  the  province  of  Castilla  del  Oro.  As  a  political  division  Tierra  Firme 
had  existence  for  a  long  time.  It  comprised  the  provinces  of  Darien,  Veragua, 
and  Panama,  which  last  bore  also  the  name  of  Tierra  Firme  as  a  province. 
The  extent  of  the  kingdom  was  65  leagues  in  length  by  18  at  its  greatest 
breadth,  and  nine  leagues  at  its  smallest  width.  It  was  bounded  on  the  east 
by  Cartagena,  and  the  gulf  of  Uraba  and  its  river ;  on  the  west  by  Costa  Rica, 
including  a  portion  of  what  is  now  Costa  Rica ;  and  on  the  north  and  south 
by  the  two  seas.  On  the  maps  of  Novvs  Orbis  sen,  descriptionis  Indies.  Occi- 
dentalis  by  De  Laet,  1633,  and  of  Oyilby's  America,  1671,  the  Isthmus  is  called 
Tierra  Firme.  Villagutierre  writes  in  1701,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  12,  'Tierra- 
Firme  de  la  Costa  de  Paria,  6  Provincia,  que  llamo  de  Veragua ;  principio 
de  los  dilatados  Reynos  do  aquel  Nuevo,  y  Grande  Emisferio. '  Neither  Gua 
temala,  Mexico,  nor  any  of  the  lands  to  the  north  were  ever  included  in  Tierra 
Firme.  English  authors  often  apply  the  Latin  form,  Terra  Firma,  to  this 
division,  which  is  misleading. 

The  early  Spanish  writers  were  filled  with  disgust  by  the  misnomer  Amer 
ica.  Pizarro  y  Orellana,  Varones  Ilvstres,in  his  preface  speaks  of  the  'Nueva, 
y  riquissima  Parte  del  Mundo,  que  se  llama  vulgarmete  America,  y  nosotros 
llamamos  Fcr-Isabdica;'  and  throughout  his  book  the  author  persists,  where 
'Nuevo  Mundo'  is  not  employed,  in  calling  America  Fer-Isabelica,  that  is  to 
say  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  an  attempt  at  name-changing  no  less  futile  than 
bungling.  This  was  in  1639.  If  with  these  seventeenth-century  writers  the 
name  Columbia,  the  only  appropriate  one  for  the  New  World,  smacked  too 
strongly  of  Genoa,  they  might  have  called  it  Pinzonia,  which  would  have 
been  in  better  taste,  at  least,  than  in  bestowing  the  honor  on  the  cold  and 
haggling  sovereigns.  Jules  Marcou,  like  thousands  of  his  class  who  seek 
fame  through  foolishness,  writes  in  the  Atlantic  MonfMi/,  March,  1875,  to  prove 
that  the  name  America  came  from  a  mountain  range  in  Nicaragua,  called  by 
the  natives  Americ,  which  became  a  synonym  for  the  golden  mainland,  first  at 
the  islands  and  then  in  Europe,  until  it  finally  reached  the  foot  of  the  Vosges, 
where  Waldsee-Miiller,  or  Hylacomylus  of  Saint  Die,  confuses  it  with  the 


232  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

Spain,  France,  England,  Holland,  and  Sweden  had  all 
awakened  to  oceanic  enterprise.  He  had  before  this 
commissioned  Ojeda  to  watch  the  inroads  of  the  En 
glish  at  the  north,  and  directed  Pinzon  to  have  an 
eye  on  the  Portuguese  and  the  pope's  partition  line 
at  the  south ;  now  he  was  resolved  to  break  the  terri 
tory  into  kingdoms  and  provinces,  and  apportion  them 
for  government  to  such  of  his  subjects  as  were  able 
and  willing  to  colonize  at  their  own  cost. 

When  the  intention  of  the  king  was  known,  two 
dashing  cavaliers  appeared  and  asked  for  the  govern 
ment  of  the  rich  coast  of  the  Tierra  Firme.  One 
was  Diego  de  Nicuesa,  a  native  of  Baeza,  well-born 
and  an  accomplished~courtier,  having  been  reared  by 
Enrique  Enriquez,  chief  steward  and  uncle  of  the 
king.  He  came  to  the  Indies  first  with  Ovando. 
The  other  was  Alonso  de  Ojeda,  then  in  Santo  Do 
mingo,  and  already  famous  in  New  World  annals, 
making  his  first  appearance  there  with  Columbus  in 
his  second  voyage,  and  having  already  achieved  two 
notable  voyages  to  Paria,  or  the  Pearl  Coast,  one  in 
1499  with  Juan  de  la  Cosa  and  Amerigo  Vespucci, 
and  one  in  1502,  with  Garcia  cle  Ocampo  and  Juan  de 
Vergara.  The  last  had  been  made  in  four  ships,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  colonizing;  instead  of  which  dis 
putes  arose,  and  the  fiery  commander  \vas  seized  and 
carried  in  shackles  to  Espanola.  There  he  was  tried, 

name  of  Vespucci,  and  is  led  to  print  in  the  preface  of  Vespucci's  Voyages : — • 
'  And  the  fourth  part  of  the  world  having  been  discovered  by  Ainericus  may 
well  be  called  Amerige,  which  is  as  much  as  to  say,  the  land  of  Ainericus, 
or  America.'  Had  the  name  been  so  early  and  so  commonly  applied  to  Tierra 
Firme,  it  is  strange  that  some  one  of  the  many  Spanish  writers  in  the  Indies 
or  in  Spain  had  not  employed  it  or  mentioned  it.  Villagutierre  in  1701  en 
dorses  the  effort  made  by  Pizairo  y  Orellana  in  1G39,  saying,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza, 
13,  that  the  New  World  should  have  been  called  after  the  Catholic  sovereigns, 
'  de  cuya  orden,  y  a  cuyas  expensas  se  descubrian. '  He  states  further,  on  the 
authority  of  Simon,  that  the  Council  of  the  Indies  as  late  as  1020  talked  of 
changing  the  name,  but  were  deterred  by  the  inconvenience  involved.  Like 
wise  Vetancurt,  Teatro  Mex.,  13-15,  in  1098  says  that  the  name  America 
should  be  erased  from  history,  calling  attention  to  the  bull  of  partition  issued 
by  Pope  Adrian  VI.,  which  alludes  to  the  new  lands  as  the  Western  Part — 
only  it  was  not  Adrian  but  Alexander  VI.  who  perpetrated  the  bull,  in  which 
moreover  there  is  no  such  term  as  Western  Part  used — arguing  therefrom 
that  Indias  Occidentales  was  the  most  proper  term.  On  the  application  and 
origin  of  the  name  America  see  cap.  i.  p.  123-5  of  this  volume. 


OJEDA  AND  NICUESA.  293 

and  a  decision  rendered  against  him,  which  however 
was  overruled  on  appeal  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies ; 
but  he  came  out  of  his  difficulties  stripped  of  all  his 
possessions. 

The  candidates  were  much  alike,  each  being  a  fair 
type  of  the  Spanish  cavalier.  Both  were  small  in 
stature,  though  none  the  less  men  of  prowess.  Sym 
metrical  in  form,  muscular,  active,  and  skilful  in 
the  use  of  weapons,  they  delighted  in  tilting  matches, 
feats  of  horsemanship,  and  in  all  those  pastimes  which 
characterized  Spanish  chivalry  at  the  close  of  the 
Mahometan  wars.  The  school  in  which  Ojeda  had 
studied  experience,  as  page  to  the  duke  of  Medina 
Celi,  who  appeared  in  the  Moorish  wars  at  the  head 
of  a  brilliant  retinue,  was  in  no  wise  inferior  to  that 
of  his  rival.  Their  accomplishments  were  varied, 
though  not  specially  in  the  direction  of  colonizing 
new  countries.  Not  only  was  Nicuesa  a  fine  musi 
cian,  playing  well  the  guitar,  and  having  some  knowl 
edge  of  ballad  literature,  but  he  could  make  his  horse 
prance  in  perfect  time  to  a  musical  instrument.  As 
for  Ojeda,  there  was  little,  in  his  own  opinion,  he 
could  not  do.  The  more  of  recklessness  and  folly  in 
the  exploit  the  better  he  could  perform  it.  Once  at 
Seville,  while  Isabella  was  in  the  cathedral  tower,  out 
from  which  ran  a  beam,  at  a  height  so  great  that  from 
it  men  on  the  ground  looked  like  pygmies,  to  show 
the  queen  of  what  metal  he  was  made,  he  mounted 
this  beam,  balanced  himself,  then  tripped  lightly  as  a 
rope-dancer  to  the  end  of  it,  wheeled,  and  lifting  one 
foot  poised  himself  on  the  other  at  this  fearfully  dizzy 
height,  where  almost  a  breath  would  dash  him  to 
destruction;  then,  returning,  he  stopped  at  the  wall 
and  placing  one  foot  against  it  threw  an  orange  to 
the  top  of  the  tower. 

With  such  distinguished  ability  on  either  side,  it 
was  difficult  to  determine  between  them.  Who  so 
suitable  to  baffle  miasma,  poisonous  reptiles,  and 
wild  beasts  while  dressing  the  institutions  of  Spain 


294  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

for  the  wilderness  of  America,  as  the  graceful  and 
witty  Nicuesa!  What  a  glorious  missionary  Ojeda 
would  make!  So  moderate,  so  wise,  so  gentle,  so 
just,  both!  Nicuesa  had  money,  a  necessary  com 
modity  to  him  who  would  colonize  at  his  own  cost. 
But  then  Ojeda  had  influence;  for  Fonseca  was  his 
friend,  and  an  inquisitor  his  cousin.  Yet  Nicuesa 
was  not  without  advocates  at  court;  money  alone  was 
a  powerful  argument.  When,  finally,  the  veteran 
pilot,  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  threw  his  experience  and 
earnings  upon  the  side  of  Ojeda,  to  whom  he  was 
devotedly  attached,  and  offered  himself  to  embark  in 
the  adventure,  the  king  concluded  to  let  them  both 
go;  and  then  it  was  that  Jie_divided  Tierra  Firme 
between  them,  making  the  gulf  of  Urabd,2  the  drvicP 
ing  point.  The  eastern  or  South  American  portion 
was  called  Nueva  Andalucia,  and  of  this  Alonso  de 
Ojeda  was  appointed  governor;  the  western  division, 
extending  from  the  gulf  of  Urabd,  or  Darien,  toTJape 
Gracias  a  Dios,  was  named  by  the  king  Castilla  del 
Oro,3  or  Golden  Castile,  and  the  command  giveiTto 

2  Now  gulf  of  Darien.  The  name  Uraba  was  first  applied  to  the  gulf  by 
Bastidas,  or  by  navigators  immediately  following  him.  Subsequently  the 
territory  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  gulf  was  called  Uraba,  and  that  on  the 
western  side  Darien.  On  Peter  Martyr's  map,  India  beyond  the  Ganges,  1510, 
is  the  word  vraba;  on  the  globe  of  Orontius,  1531,  Sinus  vraba  is  applied  to 
the  gulf,  and  vrabe  to  the  river  Atrato.  Pilestrina,  Munich  Atlas,  no.  iv.  , 
1515,  places  G:  d  epimecj  at  the  southern  end  of  the  gulf,  which  is  repre 
sented  as  very  wide.  Maiollo,  Munich  Atlax,  no.  v.,  1519,  writes  Vraba  in 
small  letters  at  the  southern  end  ;  also  the  words  aldea,  tera  plana,  and  Jlio 


3  Castilla  del  Oro  was  for  the  time  but  another  name  for  this  part  of  Tierra 
Firme.  Then  Castilla  del  Oro  became  a  province  of  Tierra  Firme  ;  for;  in  the 
ficcop.  de  Indias,  ii.  110,  we  find  ordered  by  the  emperor  in  1550,  'que  la 
Provincia  de  Tierrafirme,  llamada  Castilla  del  Oro,  sea  de  las  Provincias  del 
Peru,  y  no  de  las  de  Nueva  Espaiia.'  The  province  of  Veragua,  and  the  ter 
ritory  'back  of  the  gulf  of  Uraba,  where  dwelt  the  cacique  Cimaco,'  were 
declared  within  the  limits  of  the  government  of  Tierra  Firme.  Helps, 
Span.  Conq.,  i.  400,  calls  a  map  of  that  portion  of  South  America  extending 
from  the  gulf  of  Maracaibo  to  the  gulf  of  Uraba  by  the  name  Castilla  .del 
Oro.  I  have  noticed  in  several  of  the  early  maps  the  same  mistake.  Colon 
and  Ribero  call  only  the  Pearl  Coast  Castilla  del  Oro.  In  West-Indisc/ie 
Spieghel,  1624.  C4,  the  country  between  the  Atrato  and  a  river  flowing  into 
the  gulf  of  Venezuela  is  called  Castilla  del  Oro.  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  i. 
320,  erroneously  narrows  the  limits  of  Nicuesa's  government  to  that  'partie 
de  la  Terre-Ferme  placee  entrc  le  Veragua  et  le  golfe  d'  Uraba,  ou  common  - 
cait  la  governacion  de  Hojeda;'  for  Xavarrete  says  distinctly  in  his  Notlclas 
lioyrdficats  del  capitan  Alontso  Hojeda,  Col.  de  Viayes,  iii.  170,  '  Los  limites  de  la 


MAINLAND  DIVISIONS.  295 

Diegg  do  JSTifiuesa.  The  island  of  Jamaica,  whence 
they  expected  to  draw  their  supplies,  was  to  be  held 
in  common  by  the  two  governors.  Were  it  not  so 
much  more  delightful  to  bargain  with  new  suitors 
who  have  money,  than  to  reward  old  servants  who 
have  none,  a  fine  sense  of  decency  might  have  prompted 
the  monarch  to  give  Castilla  del  Oro  to  the  adelan- 
tado,  Bartolome  Colon,  who  had  assisted  in  discover 
ing,  and  in  an  attempt  to  colonize  the  country,  and 
who  had  little  to  show  for  his  many  and  valuable 
services  to  Spain.  But  Diego  Colon  was  determined 
they  should  not  have  Jamaica,  and  so  sent  thither 
Juan  de  Esquivel,  as  we  have  seen,  to  hold  it  for  the 
governor  of  Santo  Domingo. 

The  mainland  governors  were  each  appointed  for 
four  years,  during  which  time  supplies  were  free 
from  duties.  Their  outfit,  with  four  hundred  settlers 
and  two  hundred  miners  each,  might  be  obtained  from 

7  O 

Santo  Domingo.  They  were  given  the  exclusive 
right  to  work  for  ten  years  all  mines  discovered  by 
them  on  paying  into  the  royal  treasury  for  the  first 
year  one  tenth  of  the  proceeds,  the  second  year  one 

gobernacion  do  Hojeda  eraii  desde  el  cabo  de  la  Vela  liasta  la  mi  tad  del  golfo 
de  Uraba,  que  llamaron  nueva  Andalucia;  y  los  de  la  gobernacion  de  Diego 
de  Nicuesa,  que  se  le  concedio  al  mismo  tiempo,  desde  la  otra  mitad  del  golfo 
liasta  el  cabo  de  Gracias  d  Dios,  que  se  denomino  Castilla  del  Oro.'  He  who 
some  time  after  drew  the  commission  of  Pedrarias  Duvila  as  'Gobernador  de 
la  provincia  de  Castilla  del  Oro  en  el  Darien, '  is  sadly  confused  in  his  New 
World  geography  when  he  writes,  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  337,  '  Una  muy 
grand  parte  de  tierra  que  fasta  aqui  se  ha  llamado  Tierra-firme,  e  agora  man- 
damos  que  se  llame  Castilla  del  Oro,  y  en  ella  ha  hecho  nuestra  gente  un 
asiento  en  el  golfo  de  Uraba,  que  es  en  la  provincia  del  Darien,  que  al  preseiite 
se  llama  la  provincia  de  Andalucia  la  Nueva,  e  el  pueblo  se  dice  Santa  Maria 
del  Antigua  del  Darien ;'  and  again  on  the  following  page : — 'Castilla  del  Oro, 
con  tanto  que  no  se  entienda  ni  comprenda  en  ella  la  provincia  de  Veragiia, 
cuya  gobernacion  pertenece  al  Almirante  D.  Diego  Colon  por  le  haber  descu- 
bierto  el  Almirante  su  padre  por  su  persona,  ui  la  tierra  que  descubrieron 
Vicente  Yaiiez  Pinzon  e  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis,  iii  la  provincia  de  Paria.'  Oviedo 
marks  the  limits  plainly  enough,  iv.  lib',  'Por  la  costa  del  Norte  tiene  liasta 
Veragua,  quo  lo  que  con  aquel  corresponde  en  la  costa  del  Sur  puede  ser  la 
punta  de  Chame,  que  esta  quince  leguas  al  Poniente  de  Panama,  e  desde  alii 
para  arriba  seria  Castilla  del  Oro  liasta  lo  que  respondiesse  6  responde  de 
Norte  :i  Sur.'  The  Description  Panama,  in  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenax,  Col.  Doc., 
ix.  82,  says  the  official  name  was  Provincia  de  Castilla  del  Oro  y  reino  de  Tierra 
Firme,  and  so  remained  till  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century,  and  afterward 
Bctica  durea,  or  Camilla  del  oro,  is  written  in  Dccadas,  Poc/tecoand  Cdrdetias, 
Col.  Doc.,  viii.  14. 


296  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

ninth,  the  third  one  eighth,  the  fourth  one  seventh, 
the  fifth  one  sixth,  and  for  the  remaining  five  years 
one  fifth.  The  king  conditioned,  moreover,  that  each 
governor  should  build  two  forts  for  the  protection  of 
the  colonists,  to  whom  the  lands  in  the  vicinity  of 
which  were  to  belong. 

It  so  happened  that  the  doughty  little  governors 
met  at  Santo  Domingo,  while  making  their  final 
preparations.  Swelling  with  new  dignities,  active  and 
mettlesome,  each  desirous  of  obtaining  as  many  re 
cruits  as  possible,  it  was  not  long  before  they  came 
into  collision.  First  they  quarrelled  about  Jamaica; 
as  a  supplement  to  which  Ojeda  stoutly  swore  that 
should  he  there  encounter  Juan  de  Esquivel,  his 
head  should  pay  the  penalty.  Then  their  partition 
line  became  a  bone  of  contention,  both  claiming  the 
Indian  province  of  Darien.4  The  geography  of  the 
coast  was  at  that  time  but  little  known;  their  domin 
ions  toward  the  south  were  limitless,  and  for  aught 
they  knew  larger  than  Spain.  Although  both  the 
commanders  were  small  corporally,  in  feeling  they 
were  large,  and  required  much  room.  The  breach 
thus  opened  was  in  no  wise  lessened  by  the  superior 
success  of  Nicuesa,  who  with  a  deeper  purse,  and  a 
government  famous  for  its  wealth,  drew  off  recruits 
from  his  less  fortunate  rival.  Five  large  caravels 
and  two  brigantines,  flying  the  flag  of  Castilla  del 
Oro,  rode  in  the  harbor.  All  were  well  equipped 
and  liberally  provisioned;  and  already  Nicuesa  mus 
tered  nearly  eight  hundred  men  and  six  horses,  while 
Ojeda  at  his  best  could  muster  but  three  hundred 
men  in  two  small  ships  and  two  brigantines.5 

4  And  no  wonder  misunderstandings  should  arise  over  a  ce'dula  dividing 
territory  in  such  words  as,   '  a  vos  el  dicho  Diego  de  Nicuesa  en  el  parte  de 
Veragua  y  el  dicho  Alonso  de  Hojeda  en  el  parte  de  Uraba.'   Navarrete, 
Col.  de  VMycS)  iii.  116. 

5  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  ii.  cap.  i..,  gives  Nicuesa  705,  and  Ojeda  300  men. 
Herrera,  dec.  i.  lib.  vii.  cap.  xi.,  says  that  700  sailed  from  Espanola  with 
Nicuesa  and  300  with  Ojeda.     'No  pudiendo  Hojeda  por  su  pobreza  aprestar 
la  expedicion,  la  Cosa  y  otros  amigos  le  fletaron  mia  nao,  y  uno  6  dos  bergan- 
tines,  que  con  doscientos  hombres.'    Notlclas  btojrujicas  del  capitan  ALOIMO 


THE  RIVAL  GOVERNORS.  297 

Nettled  at  every  turn  he  made  about  the  little 
town,  Ojeda,  who  was  a  better  swordsman  than  logi 
cian,  at  length  proposed  to  settle  all  scores  by  single 
combat.  "  Agreed,"  replied  Nicuesa,  who  was  equally 
brave  yet  less  passionate,  "  but  for  what  shall  we 
fight  ?  Match  me  with  five  thousand  castellanos,  and 
I  am  your  man."  Finally  old  Juan  de  la  Cosa  inter 
fered  to  prevent  bloodshed;  the  river  Darien,  or 
Atrato,  was  made  the  dividing  line,  and  measures 
were  taken  to  hasten  departure  before  the  fire  of  hot 
Ojeda  should  blaze  out  again. 

But  Ojeda  was  not  without  his  little  triumphs. 
There  dwelt  at  this  time  at  the  capital  of  the  Indies 
a  lawyer,  known  as  the  Bachiller6  Martin  Fernandez 
de  Enciso,  who  during  a  successful  practice  of  many 
years  had  accumulated  some  two  thousand  castellanos. 
Tempted  by  the  offer  of  being  made  alcalde  mayor7 

Hojeda,  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  170.  Benzoni,  who  pays  little  heed 
to  numbers  or  dates,  says,  Hist.  Hondo  Nvovo,  37,  'Hoieda  compr6  quattro 
naui  e  fece  piu  di  quattrocento  soldati  alle  fue  spese,  e  cosi  parti  san  Do- 
menico. ' 

6 'Bachiller,'  says  the  English  translator  of  Benzoni,  '  has  a  wider  meaning 
than  our  word  bachelor,  signifying  also  an  inferior  order  of  knighthood. '  This 
is  a  mistake.  The  word  has  the  same  corresponding  significance  in  both  lan 
guages.  It  is  true  that  the  degree  exempts  the  possessor  from  certain  obliga 
tions,  such  as  personal  service,  military  and  municipal,  imprisonment  for  debt, 
etc.,  and  grants  him  certain  privileges  enjoyed  by  noblemen.  But  this  does 
not  make  him  noble.  The  next  degree,  which  is  that  of  licentiate,  carries  with 
it  still  further  privileges,  but  even  this  does  not  constitute  knighthood.  The 
degree  of  doctor,  which  follows  that  of  licentiate  and  is  the  highest  conferred 
by  the  university,  gives  the  possessor  the  right  to  prefix  Don  to  his  name,  and 
places  him  in  nearly  every  respect  on  a  par  with  noblemen. 

7  The  word  alcalde  is  from  the  Arabic  al  cadi,  the  judge  or  governor.  Al 
calde  ordinario  used  formerly  to  designate  the  officer  having  the  immediate 
superintendency  of  a  town  or  city,  with  cognizance  of  judicial  matters  except 
those  of  persons  enjoying  some  privilege  (fuero).  Alcalde  mayor  signifies  a 
judge,  learned  in  the  law,  who  exercises  ordinary  jurisdiction,  civil  and  crimi 
nal,  in  a  town  or  district.  The  office  is  equivalent  to  that  of  district  judge  in 
the  United  States,  the  audiencia  standing  for  the  supreme  court.  There  were, 
however,  in  the  early  years,  alcaldes  mayores  who  were  not  law  judges,  or 
men  learned  in  the  law ;  they  governed  for  the  king  a  town  or  city  not  the 
capital  of  a  province. 

Corregidor,  a  magistrate  having  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  in  the 
first  instance  (nixi  prim)  and  gubernatorial  inspection  in  the  political  and 
economical  government  in  all  the  towns  of  the  district  assigned  to  him.  There 
were  corregidorea  letrados  (learned  in  the  law),  politico*  (political),  de  capa  y 
« spa  da  (cloak  and  sword),  and  politico.*  y  m>litares  (holding  civil  and  military 
authority).  All  had  equal  jurisdiction.  When  the  corregidor  or  mayor  was 
not  by  profession  a  lawyer,  unless  he  had  an  asesor  of  his  own,  the  alcalde 
mayor,  if  possessed  of  legal  knowledge,  became  his  adviser,  which  greatly 


298  COLONIZATION  OF  TIEKRA  FIRME. 

of  the  new  government,  he  was  induced  by  the 
impetuous  Ojeda  to  embark  his  entire  fortune  in 
the  adventure.  It  was  arranged  that  the  bachiller 
should  remain  at  Santo  Domingo  for  some  time  after 
the  departure  of  Ojeda,  in  order  to  obtain  further 
recruits  and  fit  out  another  ship,  and  then  follow  the 
governor  to  Nueva  Andalucia. 

Of  Ojeda's  party  was  Francisco  Pizarro;  and  flit 
ting  restlessly  from  one  heterogeneous  group  to 
another,  enviously  watching  preparations  in  which 
circumstances  prevented  their  participating,  were 
other  dominant  spirits  waiting  opportunity,  notably 
Yasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  tied  by  debt  to  distasteful 
agriculture,  and  Hernan  Cortes,  fortunately  forbid 
den  to  embark  by  illness. 

Ojeda  was  the  first  to  sail,  embarking  November 
10,  1509.  Nicuesa  would  have  weighed  anchor  at  the 
same  time,  but  was  prevented  by  his  creditors;  for 
his  success  in  securing  followers  was  attended  by  so 
copious  a  drain  of  purse  that  not  only  his  money  but 
his  credit  was  gone. 

Favorable  winds  wafted  Ojeda  quickly  to  Carta 
gena,  where  he  landed  and  proclaimed  in  loud  and 
vaunting  tones  his  manifesto.8  A  shower  of  poisoned 
darts  was  the  reply;  a  mark  of  disrespect  from  his 
new  subjects  which  set  the  governor's  blood  boiling. 
Breathing  a  short  prayer  to  the  virgin,  Ojeda  seized 
a  lance,  and  charging  the  natives  at  the  head  of  his 
followers  scattered  them  in  the  forest,  and  rashly  pur- 
increased  the  importance  of  the  latter.  The  alcalde  mayor  was  appointed 
by  the  king.  He  must  be  by  profession  a  lawyer,  twenty-six  years  of  age, 
and  of  good  character.  He  could  neither  be  a  native  of  the  district  in  which 
he  was  to  exercise  his  functions,  nor  could  he  marry  a  wife  in  his  district. 
liecop.  de  Ind/as,  ii.  113-27  and  note.  So  much  for  the  law.  Practically  in 
cases  of  this  kind,  where  the  governor  was  not  learned  in  the  law,  civil, 
criminal,  and  some  phases  even  of  military  authority  devolved  on  the  alcalde 
mayor,  the  two  first  ex  ojficio,  and  the  last  as  the  legal  adviser  of  the  military 
chief.  In  new  colonies  this  officer  was  invested  with  powers  almost  equal  to 
those  of  the  governor,  though  of  a  different  kind. 

8  A  document  prepared  by  theTinited  wisdom  of  church  and  state,  for  gen 
eral  use  in  the  Indies,  setting  forth  the  obligations  of  all  good  savages  to  their 
dual  head  of  Spain  and  Home,  with  a  list  of  punishments  which  were  to  follow 
disobedience.  Of  which  more  hereafter. 


NUEVA  ANDALUCIA.  299 

sued  them.  These  were  no  effeminate  islanders;  the 
women  fought  side  by  side  with  the  men,  who  were 
equal  to  those  of  Veragua,  with  the  additional  advan 
tage  of  envenomed  arrow-points,  which,  with  the  oc 
casional  shelter  their  forests  afforded,  made  them  more 
than  a  match  for  the  Spaniards.9  This  Ojeda  had  all 
to  learn,  and  to  pay  dearly  for  the  knowledge.  Of 
seventy  of  his  best  and  bravest  who  followed  him 
four  leagues  inland  but  one  returned.  Even  his 
staunch  and  veteran  friend,  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  after 
vainly  attempting  to  dissuade  his  self-willed  colleague 
from  his  purpose,  placed  himself  by  his  side  and  died 
there.  Oieda  fought  like  a  tiger  until  his  men  were 

v  O  O 

scattered  and  killed,  and  he  was  left  wounded  and 
alone  in  a  marshy  thicket,  where  several  days  after 
a  fresh  party  from  the  ships  found  him  half-dead. 
When  warmed  into  life  and  returned  to  the  harbor 
he  saw  entering  it  Nicuesa's  fleet  he  hid  himself, 
afraid  to  meet  his  rival  in  that  plight.  Told  of 
this  by  Ojeda's  men,  as  supplemental  to  their  dismal 
tale,  Nicuesa's  anger  was  aroused  at  the  unjust  sus 
picion.  "  Tell  your  commander,"  he  exclaimed,  "  that 
Diego  de  Nicuesa  is  a  Christian  cavalier  who  makes 
no  war  on  a  prostrate  foe;  that  not  only  shall  past 
feuds  be  buried,  but  he  promises  never  to  leave  this 
spot  until  the  deaths  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa  and  his  com 
rades  are  avenged."  He  was  as  good  as  his  word. 
Landing  four  hundred  men,  he  surprised  an  Indian 
village,  put  men,  women,  and  children  to  the  sword, 
and  secured  large  booty. 

After  Nicuesa  had  departed  on  his  way,  Ojeda  cast 
off  from  that  ill-fated  shore  his  ships,  and  brought 
them  to  the  gulf  of  Uraba,  where  on  its  eastern 
side,  near  the  entrance,  he  built  a  fortress,  the  begin 
ning  of  his  capital  city,  and  called  it  San  Sebastian10 

9  To  this  day  there  are  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Atrato  River  which 
have  never  been  subjugated. 

10 1  am  unable  to  find  this  place  on  any  map.  Gomara,  II  1st.  IncL,  68, 
says :  '  Comedo  luego  vna  fortaleza,  y  pueblo,  donde  se  recoger,  y  assegurar 
enel  mesnio  lugar  que  quatro  afios  antes  lo  auia  come^ado  luan  dela  Cosa. 


300  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

in  honor  of  the  arrow-martyred  saint,  whose  protec 
tion  he  craved  from  the  venomous  darts  of  his  sub 
jects.  From  San  Sebastian,  Ojeda  despatched  to 
Santo  Domingo  one  of  his  vessels  with  the  gold  and 
captives  he  had  taken,  at  the  same  time  urging  Enciso 
to  hasten  his  departure,  and  send  supplies.  Mean 
while  Ojeda's  temper,  which  was  as  sharp  and  fiery 
as  Damascus  steel,  made  little  head-way  against  tan 
gled  marshes  and  poisoned  arrows.  Persisting  in  his 
high-handed  policy,  he  could  do  nothing  with  the 
natives,  food  being  as  difficult  to  obtain  as  gold,  and 
his  ranks  rapidly  thinned. 

While  harassed  by  hunger  and  watching  anxiously 
the  coming  of  Enciso  and  the  return  of  their  ships, 
the  colonists  descried  one  day  a  strange  sail.  On 
reaching  San  Sebastian  it  proved  to  be  a  Genoese 
vessel  which,  while  loading  with  bacon  and  cassava 
bread  at  Cape  Tiburon,  had  been  piratically  seized 
by  one  Bernardo  de  Talavera  and  a  gang  of  vaga 
bonds  from  Santo  Domingo,  who  escaped  with  their 
prize  and  had  come  to  Nueva  Andalucia  to  seek 
fortune  under  the  wise  and  happy  rule  of  Gov 
ernor  Ojeda.  To  buy  the  cargo  was  the  work  of  a 
moment,  for  the  pirates  were  very  ready  to  sell;  and, 
indeed,  had  they  not  been,  the  governor  would  have 
compelled  them.  The  poison  was  in  his  blood,  which 
was  now  hot  with  fever,  and  he  was  in  no  mood  for 
ceremony.  But  the  relief  thus  obtained  was  only 

Este  f ue  el  primer  pueblo  de  Espafioles  enla  tierra  firme  de  Indias. '  If  the 
author  refers  his  first  town  to  the  former  visit  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa  four  years 
before,  I  should  say  that  could  scarcely  be  called  an  attempted  settlement, 
still  less  an  established  town.  If  he  intimates  that  this  fort  of  Ojeda's  was 
the  first  settlement,  then  is  he  wrong,  for  Belen,  in  Veragua,  was  before  this. 
Whatever  he  means,  and  that  often  is  impossible  to  determine,  in  this  in 
stance  it  is  safe  to  say  that  he  is  in  error,  as  Sail  Sebastian  can  by  no  possibil 
ity  have  been  the  first  settlement  in  Tierra  Firme.  Herrera  writes,  i.  vii. 
xvi. :  '  Entro  en  el  golfo  de  Vraba,  y  busco  el  rio  del  Darien,  que  entre  los 
Indios  era  muy  celebrado  de  oro,  y  de  gente  belicosa,  y  no  le  hallando,  sobre 
vnos  cerros  assent6  vn  pueblo,  al  qual  llamb  la  villa  de  sail  Sebastian,  toman- 
dole  por  abogado  contra  las  flechas  de  la  yerua  mortif  era :  y  esta  f  ue  la  se- 
gunda  villa  de  Castellanos  que  se  poblb,  en  todo  la  tierra  firme,  auiendo  sido 
la  primera  la  que  comencb  a  poblar  el  Almirante  viejo,  en  Veragua.'  Words 
to  the  same  effect  are  in  Nav'trrete,  Col.  de  Via  yes,  iii.  172.  It  seems  rather 
premature  to  call  these  futile  attempts  establishing  towns. 


DEATH  OF  OJEDA.  301 

temporary.  Day  by  day  the  food  supply  diminished. 
The  colonists  were  reduced  in  number  from  three 
hundred  to  three  score.  And  with  bodily  ailment 
came  as  usual  mind -distempers,  wranglings,  ruin, 
and  despair.  Where  now  was  the  valiant  Ojeda? 
Humiliated  to  the  dust,  as  well  before  the  savages  as 
before  the  Spaniards. 

Yet  he  would  not  yield  to  fate  without  another 
effort,  wasted  and  weak  as  he  was.  Giving  Pijano 
command  of  the  fortress,  Ojeda  took  passage  in  the 
freebooter's  ship  and  sailed  for  Santo  Domingo.  But 
his  patroness,  the  virgin,  had  indeed  deserted  him. 
Shipwreck  met  him  at  Cuba,  whence  he  crossed  to 
Jamaica.  Talavera  and  his  gang,  after  the  most  ex 
traordinary  exertions,  likewise  reached  Jamaica,  but 
only  to  be  seized  by  order  of  Diego  Colon  and  hanged. 
Ojeda  said  nothing  to  Esquivel  about  striking  off  his 
head,  but  humbly  took  the  kindly  extended  aid.  Pro 
ceeding  to  Espaiiola  in  a  caravel  he  found  Enciso 
gone,  and  himself  a  bankrupt  invalid.  Pride,  which 
seldom  deserts  a  Spanish  cavalier,  gave  way.  Re 
duced  to  penury,  broken-hearted,  he  died,  begging  as 
proof  of  his  humility  to  be  buried  under  the  monastery 
portal,  that  all  who  entered  should  tread  upon  his 
grave.  Farewell,  daring,  dashing,  irrational  Ojeda! 

Let  us  now  look  after  Nicuesa.  When  from  the 
discomfited  Ojeda  the  gallant  governor  of  Castilla  del 
Oro  last  parted,  he  coasted  westward  toward  Veragua, 
where  he  purposed  to  plant  his  colony.  The  better 
to  survey  the  seaboard,  he  took  a  small  caravel,  and 
ordered  Lope  de  Olano,  his  lieutenant,  to  attend  him 
with  two  brigantines,  while  the  larger  vessels  kept 
farther  from  the  shore.  Thus  they  proceeded  until 
reaching  the  Indian  province  of  Cueba,  where  a  port 
was  discovered  into  which  flowed  a  small  stream  called 
Pito.  There  they  landed  and  said  mass,11  and  there 
fore  named  the  place  Misas. 

11  The  first  in  Tierra  Firme,  Oviedo  says,  but  he  forgets  the  landing,  for 
the  same  purpose,  of  Bartolome  Colon  at  Cape  Honduras,  Sunday,  August 
14,  1502. 


302  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

Leaving  there  the  largest  ships  in  charge  of  a  rel 
ative  named  Cueto,  who  was  to  receive  word  when  to 
follow,  Nicuesa  pressed  forward  toward  Veragua  with 
a  caravel  carrying  sixty  men,  Lope  de  Olano  still  at 
tending  in  a  brigantine  with  thirty  men.  A  storm 
arising  not  long  after,  the  latter  took  advantage  of 
this  and  the  darkness  of  the  night  to  separate  from 
him,  impelled  partly  by  a  conviction  that  they  were 
on  the  wrong  course,  partly  by  ambitious  projects. 
After  waiting  two  clays  in  vain  for  his  companion 
Nicuesa  continued  westward.  In  the  search  for  Ver 
agua  he  attempted  to  follow  a  chart  drawn  by  Barto- 
lome  Colon,  though  his  pilots  Diego  de  Bibero  and 
Diego  Martin,  both  of  whom  had  been  with  Colum 
bus,  assured  him  that  he  had  passed  the  place.  The 
storm  increasing,  Nicuesa  ran  his  vessel  into  the 
mouth  of  a  large  river;  but  when  attempting  to  pro 
ceed  after  the  storm  he  found  himself  caught  in  a  trap, 
and  his  vessel  on  the  bar  amidst  the  breakers,  the 
water  having  subsided.  Unable  to  move  the  ship  in 
either  direction,  its  destruction  was  inevitable,  and 
the  men  set  about  saving  themselves.  A  rope  was 
stretched  to  the  shore  at  the  cost  of  a  life ;  and  scarcely 
had  the  last  person  reached  land  when  the  vessel  went 
to  pieces. 

Behold,  then,  the  courtly  Nicuesa,  so  lately  the 
proud  commander  of  a  fleet,  by  this  sudden  freak  of 
fortune  cast  upon  an  inhospitable  shore,  his  where 
abouts  unknown  to  himself  or  to  those  in  the  ships, 
and  his  almost  naked  followers  destitute  of  food,  save 
one  barrel  of  flour  and  a  cask  of  oil  flung  them  by 
the  surly  breakers!  His  mind  was  moreover  ill  at 
ease  concerning  Olano,  whose  reputation  was  none  of 
the  best,  and  who  Nicuesa  thought  might  have  joined 
him  had  he  been  disposed.  The  ship's  boat  fortu 
nately  drifted  ashore,  and  in  it  Nicuesa  placed  Diego 
de  Bibero  and  three  seamen,  ordering  them  to  keep 
him  company  along  the  shore,  and  render  assistance 
in  crossing  streams  and  inlets.  Already  faint  with 


CASTILLA  DEL  OHO.  303 

hunger,  they  began  their  march.  But  whither?  Still 
westward,  but  not  toward  Veragua.  Each  weary 
footstep  carried  them  farther  and  farther  from  their 
destination.  It  was  not  a  pleasant  journey  feeling 
their  way  through  tropical  forests,  with  such  impedi 
ments  as  tangled  jungles,  hot  malarious  mudbeds, 
craggy  hills  and  treacherous  streams  to  block  their 
way.  Some  of  the  party  had  no  shoes,  some  no 
hat ;  sharp  stones  cut  their  feet,  thorny  brambles  tore 
their  flesh,  and  their  half-clad  bodies  were  exposed 
alternately  to  burning  sun  and  drenching  rain.  They 
were  soon  glad  to  get  shell-fish  and  roots  to  eat  with 
their  leaves.  One  day  an  arrow  from  an  overhanging 
height  struck  dead  Nicuesa's  page,  but  fortunately 
the  savages  retired  without  pressing  their  advantage. 
Nicuesa's  dog,  seeing  murder  in  his  hungry  master's 
eye,  took  to  his  heels  and  was  never  afterward  seen. 
Yet  greater  misfortunes  awaited  the  Spaniards.  After 
crossing  an  inlet  in  the  boat  one  evening,  they  rested 
for  the  night,  and  in  attempting  to  resume  their 
march  next  morning  found  themselves  upon  an  island. 
Calling  for  Ribero,  he  was  missing.  Nor  was  the 
boat  anywhere  to  be  seen.  It  could  not  be  possible 
that  he  had  left  them  to  die  on  that  circumscribed 
and  barren  spot.  Loudly  they  called,  searching  every 
inlet,  and  sweeping  the  horizon  with  terror -lighted 
eyes.  It  was  true;  they  were  abandoned! 

It  is  curious  to  witness  the  effect  of  despair  on 
different  minds,  of  the  near  approach  of  that  hateful 
means  for  our  final  suppression.  Some  will  fight  the 
monster;  others  succumb,  sinking  into  drivelling  im 
becility;  others  calmly  abandon  themselves  to  the 
inevitable,  even  the  ludicrous  aspect  of  the  case  com 
ing  home  to  some  of  them,  looking  grimly  cheerful. 
As  elsewhere,  both  fools  and  philosophers  were  found 
among  Nicuesa's  crew.  Some  prayed  and  confessed, 
with  divers  degrees  of  accompaniment,  from  low  lam 
entation  to  frantic  raving;  some  cursed;  some  nursed 
their  horror  in  sullen  silence. 


304  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  Nicuesa's  suffer 
ings  while  on  this  island.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
on  a  scanty  diet  of  roots  and  shell-fish  with  brackish 
water  many  died,  while  others  wished  themselves 
dead;  for  the  former  might  rot  in  peace,  but  the 
latter  yet  living  swarmed  with  impatient  vermin. 
And  there  was  little  satisfaction  in  effort,  when 
drinking  only  increased  thirst,  and  eating  but  kept 
alive  despondency.  Truly  it  was  a  good  thing,  a 
grand  thing  to  adventure  life  to  capture  wild  lands 
and  rule  one's  fellows! 

Thus  weeks  passed.  Then  like  a  ray  shot  from  the 
Redeemer's  throne  a  sail  was  seen.  Men  wasted  to 
the  last  extremity  shook  off  death's  grip  and  roused 
themselves,  stretching  their  long  lank  necks,  their  bony 
chins  and  glazed  eyes  toward  the  approaching  vessel, 
which  soon  came  to  anchor  before  the  island.  Ribero 
was  not  a  villain  after  all.  Satisfied  that  Veragua 
was  behind  them,  but  unable  to  convince  Nicuesa, 
Ribero  won  over  to  his  views  the  three  boatmen,  left 
the  island  during  the  night,  retraced  their  course  and 
reached  Veragua.  There  they  found  the  colonists, 
with  Olano  bearing  rule,  who  on  the  information  of 
Ribero  could  scarcely  do  less  than  send  his  governor 


succor.12 


Leaving  here  Nicuesa,  let  us  inquire  concerning 
the  other  portions  of  his  scattered  colony.  Two 
months  having  elapsed  since  the  departure  of  the 
governor  from  the  port  of  Misas,  and  hearing  nothing 
from  any  one,  Cueto,  in  whose  charge  the  fleet  was 
left,  became  uneasy,  and  taking  a  small  vessel,  set  out 
in  search  of  his  commander.  The  only  tidings  he 
could  gain  were  from  a  letter  found  on  an  island, 
wrapped  in  a  leaf  and  fastened  to  a  stick,  which  in- 

12  When  Oviedo  gravely  asserts  that  Ribero  intended  desertion,  and  was 
stealing  by  Belen  when  he  was  captured  by  Olano,  he  goes  out  of  his  way  to 
make  palpable  nonsense  appear  as  truth.  Admit  them  inhuman  monsters, 
which  they  were  not,  whither  would  four  starved  helpless  wretches  desert  on 
this  deadly  shore? 


WOES  OF  NICUESA.  305 

formed  him  that  Nicuesa  was  well  and  still  journey 
ing  westward.  Returning  to  Misas,  Cueto  with  the 
entire  fleet  sailed  for  Veragua;  but  so  badly  worm- 
eaten  were  the  ships  that  he  was  obliged  to  come  to 
anchor  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Chagre,13  which 
from  the  ravenous  alligators  that  swarmed  there  was 
called  by  the  Spaniards  Lagartos.  There  portions 
of  the  cargoes  were  landed;  and  while  attempts  were 
made  to  repair  the  ships,  one  of  the  pilots,  Pedro  de 
Umbria,  was  sent  in  quest  of  the  lost  governor. 
Meanwhile  Lope  de  Olano  arrived. 

Evidently  the  lieutenant  did  not  in  his  heart 
desire  his  captain's  return.  For  although  in  recit 
ing  to  his  comrades  the  circumstances  of  the  storm, 
and  the  disappearance  of  the  governor,  with  such 
variations  as  suited  his  purpose,  with  tears  which 
would  have  done  honor  to  the  crocodiles  thereabout, 
he  made  no  effort  to  find  Nicuesa.  He  affected  to 
believe  him  dead.  "And  now,  gentlemen,"  he  said, 
"  let  no  more  mention  be  made  of  him  if  you  would 
not  kill  me." 

The  fleet  now  proceeded  to  Belen,  where  the  usual 
catalogue  of  disasters  attends  the  disembarkation. 
Four  men  are  drowned.  The  worm-eaten  ships  are 
dismantled,  broken  in  pieces,  and  of  the  fragments 
huts  are  made  on  the  site  formerly  occupied  by 
Bartolome  Colon.  Olano,  after  some  opposition,  is 
formally  proclaimed  lieutenant-governor.  Raids  fol- 

13  Chagre,  not  Chagres,  was  the  name  of  the  native  province  through 
which  this  river  flows.  Near  its  mouth  empty  several  small  streams,  and  it 
was  only  below  the  confluence  of  these  that  the  term  Lagartos  for  any  length 
of  time  applied.  Says  Alcedo,  Die. ,  i. ,  of  the  River  Chagre : — '  Lo  descubri6 
el  de  1527  Hernando  de  la  Serna  llamandole  rio  de  Lagartos,  y  antes  su  boca 
Lope  dc  Olano  el  de  1510.'  Oviedo  remarks  upon  it: — 'Algunos  han  querido 
decir  qne  los  de  aquesta  armada  le  dieron  este  nombre,  porque  ninguna  cosa 
viva  saltaba  de  los  navios  que  en  pressen^ia  de  la  gente  no  se  la  comiessen 
luego  muy  grandes  lagartos,  lo  qua!  se  experiment6  en  algunos  perros.  Este 
rio  es  la  boca  del  rio  Chagre.'  Hist.  Gen.,  ii.  407.  Acosta  is  somewhat  loose 
in  the  statement,  Compcnd.  Hist.  Nueva  Granada,  34,  'En  la  boca  del  rio 
Chagres,  que  entonces  llamaban  de  los  Lagartos  por  la  multitud  de  caimanes 
que  Colon  habia  visto  en  el.'  Vaz  Dourado  places,  on  Munich  Atlas,  no.  x., 
1571,  in  this  vicinity  a  river  with  the  word  chi.  Munich  Atlas  no.  ix.  has  it 
Chiche.  De  Laet  writes  11.  de  Chayre;  Dampier,  If.  Chagre;  Jefferys,  /?. 
C'hayre  and  Ft  Char/re. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    20 


306  COLONIZATION  OF  TIEREA  FIRME. 

low;  but  the  quibian,  grown-  wise  by  experience,  re 
tires  with  his  people,  and  leaves  the  Spaniards  to 
shift  for  themselves.  There  being  nothing  to  steal, 
they  starve.  Disease  and  disaffection  follow;  Olano 
is  not  happy. 

Wrathful,  indeed,  was  Nicuesa  on  reaching  Belen. 
Against  Olano  his  indignation  was  extreme.  He 
charged  him  with  wilful  desertion,  with  felonious 
destruction  of  the  ships,  and  with  gross  mismanage 
ment.  He  had  ruined  all.  Branding  him  as  a  traitor 
he  ordered  his  arrest ;  and  when  some  feeble  attempts 
were  made  by  the  others  to  mitigate  the  governor's 
displeasure,  he  broke  forth  on  them.  "It  well  be 
comes  you,"  he  exclaimed,  "to  ask  pardon  for  him, 
when  you  should  be  begging  mercy  for  yourselves!" 

But  of  what  use  were  oaths  and  bickerings  ?  Of 
his  gallant  company  half  were  dead,  and  the  less 
fortunate  remainder  lived  only  to  suffer  yet  awhile 
before  following.  Of  all  the  men  who  came  from 
Spain,  proud  Nicuesa  lost  the  most,  having  most 
to  lose.  Of  all  New  World  woes,  Nicuesa' s  woes 
were  greatest;  the  half  of  what  thus  far  has  been 
words  cannot  tell,  and  the  worst  part  is  yet  to  come. 

Now  that  the  rich  Veragua  was  reached,  the  Golden 
Castile  of  greedy  anticipations,  what  then  ?  The  gold 
with  which  to  load  the  ships  was  wanting;  the  ships 
with  which  to  bear  away  that  gold  were  almost  all 
destroyed.  The  fertile  soil  was  marshy,  the  spicy  air 
malarious,  the  redundant  vegetation  yielded  little  food 
for  man.  Sallow -faced  skeletons  of  men  clamored 
their  distress.  Death  was  busy  enough,  so  Olano's 
life  was  spared,  though  his  badge  of  office  was  ex 
changed  for  fetters.  Even  foragers  perished  for  want 
of  food;  every  member  of  one  band  died  from  eating 
of  a  putrescent  Indian.  The  governor  grew  peevish ; 
his  generous  temper  was  soured  by  misfortune.  The 
colonists  complained  of  his  harsh  treatment  and  in 
difference  to  their  sufferings.  And  they  said  to  him : 
"The  fates  are  against  us  here;  let  us  abandon  this 


NOMBUE  DE  DIGS.  307 

place."  "Oh,  very  well !"  snarled  Nicuesa.  Leaving 
Alonso  Nunez,  with  the  dignified  title  of  alcalde 
mayor,  and  a  few  men  to  harvest  some  grain  planted 
by  Olano,  the  colonists  embarked  in  two  brigantines 
and  a  caravel,  built  of  fragments  of  the  broken  ships, 
to  seek  some  healthier  spot.  After  sailing  eastward 
some  twenty  leagues,  a  Genoese  sailor  named  Gregorio 
addressed  the  governor:  "I  well  remember,  when 
with  the  admiral  in  this  vicinity  we  entered  a  fine 
port  where  we  found  food  and  water."  After  some 
search  the  place  was  found,  the  Portobello  of  Co 
lumbus,  and  an  anchor  dropped  there  by  the  admi 
ral  was  seen  protruding  from  the  sand.  Landing 
for  food,  the  Spaniards  were  attacked  and  twenty 
killed;  indeed,  they  could  scarcely  wield  their  weap 
ons  so  weak  were  they.  Faint  and  disheartened  they 
continued  their  way  about  seven  leagues  farther, 
when  approaching  the  shore  Nicuesa  cried  out:  "Pa- 
remos  aqui  en  el  nombre  de  Dios  !"  Here  let  us  stop 
in  God's  name  !  They  found  anchorage,  the  place 
being  the  Puerto  de  Bastimentos  of  Columbus.  The 
companions  of  Nicuesa,  however,  ready  in  their  dis 
tress  to  seize  on  any  auspice,  took  up  the  cry  of  their 
commander  and  applied  the  words  Nombre  de  Dios14 
to  the  harbor  which  they  then  entered,  and  which 
name  to  this  day  it  bears. 

Here  another  attempt  was  made  to  locate  the  gov 
ernment  of  Castilla  del  Oro.  Disembarking,  Nicuesa 

14  The  name  familiar  to  cartographers  often  assumed  in  those  days  peculiar 
orthography  on  the  maps.  Thus  Fernando  Colon  writes  this  name  nobre;  Ri- 
bero,  nfib  ;  Agne$e,nombrededio;  VazDourado,  nobrededios;  Ramusio,  Nome 
dedio;  Hondius,  in  Purchas,  Nom  de  Dios;  Mercator,  Dampier,  Ogilby,  the 
author  of  Wcst-IiHlischc  Spieyhet,  Jefferys,  and  their  successors,  contrary  to 
their  frequent  custom,  all  write  the  words  correctly.  This  place,  as  we  shall 
hereafter  see,  was  for  a  long  time  famous  as  the  chief  post  on  the  northern  coast 
of  Tierra  Firme  through  which  passed  the  merchandise  from  Spain  and  the  gold 
from  Peru.  Says  Benzoni,  Hi»t.  Momlo  Nvovo,  79 :  'Questa'Citta  sta  situata 
nel  mare  di  Tramontana.  Sogliono  adunque  communemen  te  ogn'anno  an  dare 
di  Spagnaal  Nome  di  Dio,  da  quattordici,  6  quindici  naui,  fra  piccole,  e  grande, 
e  la  maggior  portera  mille,  c  ottocento  saline ;  cariche  di  robbe  diuerse. '  Dam- 
pier  about  a  century  later  found  the  spot  where  the  city  had  stood  overgrown 
with  trees.  Its  abandonment  was  owing  to  poisoned  air,  the  same  unwhole 
some  climate  that  broke  up  all  the  early  settlements  on  this  coast,  the  last 
being  always  regarded  as  the  worst. 


308  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

took  formal  possession,  erected  a  fortress,  and  began 
again  his  necessary  though  suicidal  policy  of  forag 
ing.  The  natives  retired.  The  malarious  atmosphere 
wrapped  the  strangers  in  disease  and  death.  The 
caravel  was  sent  back  to  Veragua,  and  Alonso  Nunez 
and  the  remnant  of  the  colony  brought  away.  The 
vessel  was  then  sent  to  Espanola  for  supplies,  but 
neither  ship  nor  crew  were  ever  afterward  heard 
from.  Meanwhile  Nicuesa  and  the  remnant  of  his 
luckless  company  made  a  brave  stand,  but  all  of  no 
avail.  Long  since  fate  had  decreed  their  destruc 
tion.  It  was  not  possible  in  their  present  condition 
to  live.  Reptiles  as  food  became  a  luxury  to  them; 
the  infected  sunlight  dried  up  their  blood;  despair 
paralyzed  heart  and  brain;  and  to  so  dire  extremity 
were  they  finally  reduced  that  they  were  scarcely  able 
to  mount  guard  or  bury  their  dead.15 

15 The  original  authorities  for  this  chapter  are:  Real  C6dula,  etc.,  in  Na- 
varrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  in.  116;  Memorial  presentado  cil  Rey  por  Jfodric/o  de 
Colmenares,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viar/es,  in.  387;  Las  Casas,  Hi«t.  Jnd.,  ii. 
61;  Oviedo,  ii.  465-78;  Noticias  biot/rdjicas  del  capitan  Alonso Hojeda,  in  Na- 
varrete,  Col.  de  Viagcs,  in.  163;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ltd.,  69;  Peter  Martyr,  dec. 
ii.  2;  Herrera,  dec.  i.  lib.  vii.  cap.  vii.  Reference,  mostly  unimportant,  to 
the  doings  of  Ojeda  and  Nicuesamay  be  found  in  Ramusio,  Viagyi,  iii.  18-22; 
Roberts*  Nar.  Voy.,  xviii.-xix. ;  Dalton's  Conq.  Mex.  and  Peru,  37-38;  AJontci- 
lius,  Nieuive  Weereld,  62-65;  Aforelet,  Voy.  dans  I'Amerique  Cent.,  ii.  300-1; 
Laharpe,Abrcfje,  ix.  160-84;  Oyilby'sAm.,  66-67,  397;  March  y  Labores,  Ma 
rina  Espanola,  i.  391-402 ;  Juan  and  Ulloa,  Voy.,  i.  94;  Acotsta,  Compend.  Hist. 
Nueva  Granada,  26-36;  Remesal,  Hi^t.  Chyapa,  163;  Andagoya,  Nar. ,  4—5; 
NouvelleAn.  des  Voy.,  cxlviii.  7-10;  Dufey,  Resume  /list.  Am.,  i.  66-71,  371- 
75;  Helps'  Span.  Conq.,  i.  29^-334;  Gordon's  Hist.  Am.,  ii.  62-72;  Holmes1 
Annals  Am.,  i.  29-30;  Lardner's  /fist.  Discov.,  ii.  37-40;  Gonzalez  JJdvila, 
TeatroEcles.,  ii.  57;  Quintana,  Vidas,  '  Vasco  Nunez, '  1-10,  and  '  Pizarro, '  42- 
43;  Robinson* s  Acct.  Discov.  in  West,  171-95;  8.  Am.  and  Mex.,  i.  12-14; 
Sn owde n's  A m. ,  70-1;  Robertson's  Hist.  Am.,  i.  191-95;  Irving' 's  Col.,  iii.  66- 
131;  Russell's  Hist.  Am.,  i.  43-8;  Drake's  Voy.,  155-58;  London  Geog.  fioc., 
Jour.,  xxiii.  179;  Du  Perrier,  Gen.  Hist.  Voy.,  110-13;  Pizarro  y  Or 'ell an  a, 
Varones  Ilmtres,  53-61;  Benzoni,  Hist.  Mondo  Nvovo,  36-47;  Morelli,  Fasti 
Novi  Orbis,  14;  Bastldas,  Informacion,  in  Packeco and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 
ii.  439;  Dccadas,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  viii.  14;  Mesa  y  Leom- 
part,  Hist.  Am.,  i.  85-86;  Touron,  Hist.  Gen.  Am.,  i.  275-87;  Lattement, 
Gewhichte,  i.  22. 

In  my  l)ibliographical  notices  thus  far  I  have  had  occasion  to  make  men 
tion  more  particularly  of  original  documents  referring  to  individual  episodes. 
I  will  now  say  a  few  words  concerning  the  early  chroniclers,  Las  Casas,  Oviedo, 
Peter  Martyr,  and  Gomara,  and  of  the  later  and  more  general  writer,  Her 
rera.  On  these,  the  comer-stones  of  early  Spanish  American  annals,  the 
fabrics  of  all  who  follow  them  must  forever  rest. 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  LAS  CASAS.  309 

The  lives  of  Las  Casas  and  Oviedo  constitute  in  themselves  no  small  por 
tions  of  their  respective  histories.  Both  came  to  the  New  World,  and  each 
took  an  active  and  prominent  part  in  many  of  the  matters  of  which  he  wrote. 
They  were  nearly  of  an  age ;  the  former  being  born  at  Seville  in  1474,  and 
the  latter  at  Madrid  in  1478;  but  Oviedo  did  not  come  to  America  until  1514, 
being  with  Pedrarias  Davila  when  he  went  to  govern  Darien,  while  Las  Casas 
took  up  his  residence  under  Ovando  at  Espafiola  in  1502.  Las  Casas  was  an 
ecclesiastic  whose  life  was  devoted  to  befriending  the  Indians,  and  he  did  not 
leave  America  for  the  last  time  until  1547,  after  half  a  century  of  most  hu 
mane  service ;  Oviedo  was  a  cavalier  who  sought  to  better  his  broken  fortunes 
by  obtaining  through  his  influence  at  court  the  office  of  vcedor  de  las  fundl- 
ciones  del  oro  de  la  Tierra  Firme,  supervisor  of  gold-melting  for  Tierra  Firme, 
which  office  he  held  throughout  his  connection  with  the  affairs  of  the  conti 
nental  Indies,  until  1532.  Both  were  influential  men  at  court,  Las  Casas 
being  quite  intimate  with  young  Charles,  while  Oviedo  had  been  mozo  de 
cdmara,  or  page  to  Prince  Juan.  Both  made  frequent  trips  between  Spain 
and  America ;  Oviedo  crossed  the  Atlantic  twelve  times,  Las  Casas  even  more. 

Las  Casas  was  as  able  an  annalist  as  he  was  reformer.  His  greatest  work, 
nistorla  de  las  fndias,  was  begun  in  his  fifty-third  year,  and  completed  in 
15G1,  five  years  before  his  death.  It  was  extensively  copied  and  used  in 
manuscript,  but  was  not  printed  until  1875-70.  Though  consisting  of  fiA^e 
volumes,  it  comprises  but  three  decades,  or  books,  and  brings  the  history  of 
the  New  World  down  only  to  1520.  It  was  the  author's  original  intention  to 
have  continued  his  work  through  six  decades,  which  would  have  brought  it 
down  to  1550,  and  hence  have  included  his  important  experiences  in  Guate 
mala,  Chiapas,  and  Mexico.  Next  to  the  general  history  of  the  Indies  stands 
the  Apoloyctica  Historia,  comprising  a  description  of  the  country  and  the  cus 
toms  of  the  people,  and  written  to  defend  the  natives  against  the  accusation 
that  they  lacked  system  in  their  societies,  not  having  reason  to  govern  them 
selves.  His  first  printed  work  was  issued  in  Mexico  in  1546 ;  it  was  entitled 
Cancionero  Spiritual,  and  was  dedicated  to  Bishop  Zumdrraga.  At  Seville,  in 
1552,  was  published,  in  one  volume  4to,  Brevisima  relation  de  la  destruction  de 
las  Indias  Occidentals,  and  other  tracts  of  a  similar  nature ;  such  as  his  Con 
troversy  with  Sepiilveda ;  his  Thirty  Propositions ;  Remedies  for  the  Reforma 
tion  of  Indies ;  Rules  for  Confessors ;  a  treatise  proving  the  sovereign  empire 
and  universal  authority  which  the  kings  of  Castile  and  Leon  have  over  the 
Indies,  etc.  This  collection  was  put  in  print  in  Latin,  French,  Italian,  Ger 
man,  and  Dutch,  some  of  the  translations  appearing  in  several  editions.  The 
Controversy  with  Sepiilveda  was  issued  separately.  Juan  Antonio  Llorente 
printed  at  Paris  in  1822  a  Coleccion  de  las  Obras  del  Obispo  de  C/tia/ta,  2  vols. 
Svo,  which  was  published  the  same  year  in  French,  under  title  of  (Euvres  de 
Don  BartJielemi  de  las  Casas.  The  collection  comprises  several  of  his  less  im 
portant  works ;  the  French  translation  is  remarkably  free,  the  author  being 
at  times  quite  lost  sight  of,  and  several  new  pieces  of  doubtful  origin  are 
added.  As  a  writer,  Las  Casas  is  honest,  earnest,  and  reliable,  except  where  , 
his  enthusiasm  gets  the  better  of  him.  His  learned  opponent  and  arch 
enemy,  Sepiilveda,  pronounces  him  most  subtle,  most  vigilant,  and  most 
fluent,  compared  with  whom  the  Ulysses  of  Homer  was  inert  and  stuttering. 


310  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

He  was  not  only  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  evil-doers,  but  by  his  persistent  and 
stinging  effrontery  he  often  exasperated  mild  and  benevolent  men.  But  what 
ever  his  enemies  may  say  of  him,  and  they  are  neither  few  nor  silent,  true  it 
is  that  of  all  the  men  who  came  to  the  Indies  he  almost  alone  leaves  the  fur 
nace  with  no  smell  of  fire  upon  him. 

Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Oviedo  y  Valdes  was  of  the  noble  family  of  Oviedo 
in  Asturias.  In  early  childhood,  before  entering  the  service  of  Prince  Juan, 
he  was  with  the  duke  of  Villa  Hermosa.  While  watching  the  fall  of  Granada 
he  met  Columbus,  and  afterward  witnessed  his  triumph  at  Barcelona.  After 
the  death  of  his  young  master  in  1497,  who  in  fact  was  of  his  own  age,  Oviedo 
went  to  Italy,  where  art  and  science  were  enlivened  by  war,  serving  under 
Frederico  of  Naples,  and  sometimes  jewel-keeper  to  Queen  Juana.  Married 
at  Madrid,  in  1502,  to  the  beautiful  Margarita  de  Vergara,  whom  he  lost  in 
childbirth  ten  months  after,  he  plunged  into  the  excitement  of  war,  serving 
as  secretary  to  C6rdoba  in  the  French  campaign.  Marrying  again,  he  hov 
ered  about  the  court  until,  in  his  thirty-sixth  year,  his  dwindling  fortunes 
sent  him  with  Pedrarias  to  Darien,  in  the  capacity  before  mentioned.  His 
doings  there  will  be  told  in  the  text  of  this  history ;  suffice  it  to  say  here  that 
most  of  his  time  there  was  spent  in  broils  with  the  governor,  beside  which 
he  had  to  endure  the  loss  of  his  wife  and  child,  imprisonment,  and  the  dan 
gerous  wound  of  an  assassin's  knife.  But,  obtaining  at  last  the  appointment 
of  Pedro  de  los  Rios  in  place  of  Pedrarias,  and  for  himself  the  governorship 
of  Cartagena,  which  office,  however,  he  never  exercised,  after  three  years' 
further  residence  in  Tierra  Firme,  this  time  in  Nicaragua,  he  returned  to 
Spain  in  1530,  spent  two  years  in  arranging  his  notes,  resigned  his  veeduria, 
and  received  the  appointment  of  Cronista  general  de  Indias.  In  the  autumn 
of  1532  he  went  to  Santo  Domingo,  and  although  appointed  the  following 
year  alcaide  of  the  fortress  of  Santo  Domingo,  the  remainder  of  his  life 
was  passed  chiefly  in  literary  work.  After  an  eventful  life  of  seventy- 
nine  years  he  died  at  Valladolid  in  1557,  while  engaged  in  the  prepara 
tion  for  the  press  of  the  unpublished  portion  of  his  history.  Throughout 
the  whole  of  his  career  Oviedo  seems  to  have  devoted  every  spare  moment 
to  writing.  Even  before  he  was  appointed  royal  chronicler  he  was  an  inde 
fatigable  collector  of  material.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  the  prominent 
persons  of  his  time,  and  few  expeditions  were  made  without  adding  to  his 
store.  Want  of  discrimination  in  the  use  of  authorities  is  more  prominent  in 
his  writings  than  want  of  authorities.  Of  twelve  literary  efforts  but  one, 
beside  those  relating  to  America,  found  its  way  into  print.  He  formed  the 
plan  of  writing  about  the  New  World  long  before  he  first  crossed  the  ocean, 
and  actually  began  his  history,  according  to  Jose  Amador  de  los  Rios,  before 
1519,  keeping  open  the  general  divisions  for  additions  to  the  day  of  his  death. 
After  his  return  from  the  second  voyage  to  Darien  he  wrote  at  the  request  of 
the  king,  and  chiefly  from  memory,  as  his  notes  were  at  Santo  Domingo,  De 
la  Natural  Hysteria  de  las  Indicts,  printed  at  Toledo  in  1526.  This  work  was 
republished  by  Barcia,  IRstoriadores  Primitives,  i. ,  translated  into  Italian  by 
Ramusio,  Viayyi,  iii.,  and  garbled  by  Purchas  in  His  Pilij  rimes,  iv.  5.  This,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  is  totally  distinct  from  the  Historia  General  y  Natural 
de  las  Indias,  Islas  y  Tierra-Firme  del  Mar  Oc6ano,  por  el  Capitan  Gonzalo 


GONZALO  FERNANDEZ  DE  OVIEDO  Y  VALDES.  311 

Fernandez  de  Oviedo  y  Valdes,  primer  cronista  del  Nuevo  Mundo,  and  which 
alone  admits  the  author  to  the  first  rank  as  a  historian.  The  General  History 
was  originally  divided  into  three  parts,  containing  in  all  fifty  books.  The  first 
part,  comprising  nineteen  books,  with  the  preface  and  ten  chapters  of  the  fiftieth 
book — not  20,  21,  or  22  books  as  different  bibliographers  state — was  published 
during  the  author's  life  at  Seville  in  1535,  under  the  title  Historia  General, 
etc.,  and  republished  at  Salamanca  in  1547  as  Hystoria  General.  This  rare 
issue  contains  in  several  places  a  few  columns  of  additional  matter  which 
have  not  escaped  my  attention.  An  Italian  version  of  the  same  parts  was 
published  by  Ramusio  in  his  Viaggi,  iii.;  the  first  ten  books  were  trans 
lated  into  French  and  published  as  Histoire  Naturelle,  etc.,  Paris,  1556;  the 
twentieth  book,  or  the  first  of  the  second  part,  was  published  separately  at 
Valladolid  in  1557  as  Libro  XX.,  etc.  Thirteen  chapters  of  Book  XLII.,  re 
lating  to  Nicaragua,  were  published  in  French  by  Ternaux-Compans,  Histoire 
du  Nicaragua,  in  his  second  series  of  Voyages,  iii.,  Paris,  1840.  Finally,  the 
fifty  books  complete  were  beautifully  and  accurately  printed  at  Madrid  in 
four  folio  volumes,  with  plates,  by  the  Real  Academia  de  la  Historia  in  1851— 
55.  The  editor,  Jose  Amador  de  los  Rios,  gives  in  an  introduction  the  best 
notice  of  the  life  and  writings  of  the  author  extant.  Oviedo  was  not  a  learned 
man  like  Peter  Martyr,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  a  further  insight  into  the  books 
of  the  day  would  have  made  him  any  wiser ;  yet  a  man  who  could  dictate 
the  natural  history  of  a  new  country  without  his  notes  cannot  be  called  illit 
erate.  He  knew  Latin  and  the  modern  languages ;  but  his  familiarity  with  . 
Latin  was  not  sufficient  to  prevent  an  unpleasant  parade  of  it.  Nor  did  he 
possess  the  genius  or  practical  sagacity  of  Las  Casas ;  yet  his  extraordinary 
opportunities  were  not  wholly  wasted,  nor  did  life  at  court,  political  quarrels, 
or  gold-gathering  at  any  time  wholly  stifle  his  ambition  to  achieve  the  useful 
in  letters.  Oviedo  was  a  fair  example  of  the  higher  type  of  Spaniard  of  that 
day ;  he  was  intelligent,  energetic,  brave ;  but  cold,  unscrupulous,  and  cruel. 
And  this  is  true,  without  going  full  length  with  Las  Casas  in  his  fiery  fanati 
cism  when  he  says: — "  Oviedo  should  regret  what  he  has  written  of  the  In 
dians  ;  he  has  borne  false  witness  against  them ;  and  has  calumniated  them  in 

every  way He  should  have  inscribed  on  his  title-page,    '  This  book  was 

written  by  a  conqueror,  robber,  and  murderer  of  the  Indians,  whole  popula 
tions  of  whom  he  consigned  to  the  mines,  where  they  perished  ' . . . .  His  work 
is  as  full  of  lies  as  of  pages."  To  which  sentiment  I  by  no  means  subscribe. 
Probably  no  kind  of  work,  however  thoroughly  and  conscientiously  done,  is 
more  open  to  criticism,  is  more  certain  to  be  criticised  on  every  side,  than  con 
temporaneous  history  from  facts  for  the  first  time  gathered,  and  from  many 
and  conflicting  witnesses.  Ternaux-Compans  says  well : — ' '  Oviedo  n'est  pas 
exempt  des  prejuges  de  son  temps  contre  les  Indiens,  mais  apres  tout,  ce  qu'il 
dit  se  rapproche  plus  de  la  ve"rite  que  les  peintures  faiitastiques  de  1'eveque 
de  Chiapa,  qui  veut  retrouver  1'age  d'or  memo  chez  les  nations  les  plus  furoces. " 
Both  of  these  authors,  Las  Casas  and  Oviedo,  wrote  in  the  heat  of  the  en 
gagement  of  the  abnormal  and  ill-understood  scenes  passing  under  their  im 
mediate  notice.  What  they  wrote  was  certainly  true  to  them ;  it  is  our  busi 
ness  to  analyze  and  sift,  and  make  their  records  true  to  us.  In  the  showy 
criticisms  of  these  and  a  kindred  class  of  authors  we  see  generally  something 


312  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

brought  in  about  style  and  arrangement.  The  latter  is  always  bad,  and  tho 
index  worse  than  none ;  but  critics  should  find  something  better  to  do  than 
find  fault  with  the  words  and  their  arrangement  of  these  old  fighting  chron 
iclers.  Of  course  their  style  is  bad,  abominable ;  but  who  cares  for  style  in 
them  ?  One  wants  only  the  facts.  Their  books  are  not  made  to  be  read,  but 
to  be  used.  Rios  seems  to  entertain  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  matter  when 
he  writes: — "Mas  ya  fuera  porque  procurase  dar  a  su  lectura  aquella  diver- 
sidad,  tantas  veces  por  61  apetecida,  ya  porque  la  misma  fatiga  6  irregularidad 
con  que  recibia  los  datos,  le  impidiese  someterlos  a  un  plan  maduro  e  inalter 
able  ;  es  lo  cierto  que  la  critica  de  nuestros  dias,  al  par  que  aprecia  y  agradece 
tan  interesantes  inquisiciones,  echa  de  menos  cierta  cohesion  y  armonia  en  la 
exposicion  de  las  costumbres  de  los  indios,  no  hallando  mayor  enlace  en  la 
narracion  de  los  descubrimientos  y  conquistas,  que  ni  se  refieren  siempre  en 
6rden  crono!6gico,  ni  guardan  entre  si  la  conveniente  relacion  para  que  pueda 
comprenderse  sin  dificultad  su  influencia  reciproca. " 

While  the  Protector  of  the  Indians  and  the  First  Chronicler  of  the  New 
World  were  thus  gathering  and  recording  historical  data  in  the  several  parts 
of  America,  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  Europe,  Pietro  Martire  d'An- 
ghiera,  or  latinized  Anglerius,  commonly  called  Peter  Martyr,  was  collecting 
similar  facts  in  Spain,  and  recording  them,  copiously  diluted  with  the  phi 
losophy  of  the  day,  in  the  form  of  ten-year  epochs,  constituting  in  the  end  a 
series  of  decades.  The  duchy  of  Milan  was  the  early  home  of  this  chron 
icler,  and  1457  the  year  of  his  birth.  His  family  was  of  noble  descent,  and 
originally  of  Anghiera.  Going  to  Rome  in  1477  to  finish  his  education,  he 
became  so  conspicuous  for  learning  and  eloquence  that  ten  years  later  the 
Spanish  ambassador  invited  him  to  try  his  fortune  at  the  court  of  the  Spanish 
sovereigns.  By  them  he  was  graciously  received,  especially  by  Isabella,  who 
wished  to  occupy  him  in  the  instruction  of  the  young  nobles  of  Castile.  The 
ardent  Italian  must  have  a  taste  of  war,  however,  before  settling  into  perma 
nent  sagedom ;  so  he  fought  before  Baza,  and  laid  not  down  the  sword  till  the 
city  of  the  Alhambra  fell.  Then  he  became  a  priest,  and  turned  toward  pur 
suits  more  in  keeping  with  his  natural  bent  and  erudition.  He  opened  various 
schools  of  learning,  which  youth  of  quality  made  it  the  fashion  to  attend. 
Having  risen  into  high  consideration  at  court,  in  1501  he  was  sent  by  the 
crown  on  missions  to  Venice  and  Cairo,  in  which  he  acquitted  himself  credit 
ably,  and  wrote  on  his  return  the  DeLegatione  Babylonicti,  an  account  of  Lower 
Egypt  in  three  books.  On  Ferdinand's  death  he  was  appointed  by  Jimenez 
ambassador  to  the  Sultan  Selim,  but  refused  the  honor  on  account  of  his 
age;  and  afterward  he  did  not  find  Charles  less  inclined  to  acknowledge 
his  merits.  During  the  three  years  following  his  return  from  Egypt  he 
was  appointed  prior  of  the  cathedral  of  Granada,  and  by  the  pope  apostolic 
prothonotary,  and  in  1518  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Council  of  the  Indies. 
His  life  was  one  of  rare  industry,  in  which  he  gathered  and  disseminated 
much  knowledge,  and  which  gained  him  the  respect  of  princes;  his  death 
occurred  in  152G,  in  the  G9th  year  of  his  age,  and  he  was  buried  in  his  cathe 
dral  at  Granada.  Peter  Martyr  is  the  author  of  at  least  two  great  works, 
viewed  historically.  They  are  written  in  Latin,  of  anything  but  Ciceronian 
ring,  for  patristic  is  to  the  patrician  Latin  as  the  '  Frenche  of  Stratford  atte 


PETER  MARTYR'S  WORKS.  313 

Bowe'  is  to  the  French  of  Paris.  Of  these  his  two  notable  works  the  chief 
is  De  Orbe  Novo,  an  account  of  the  New  World  and  its  wonders,  in  eight  de 
cades,  or  books.  The  first,  and  the  first  three,  of  these  decades  were  published 
at  different  times  during  the  author's  life,  but  the  eight  decades  complete  did 
not  appear  before  1530,  when  they  were  printed  at  Alcald  under  the  title  De 
Orbe  Novo  Pctri  Martyris  ab  Amjleria  Mediolanemis  Protonotarii  Ccesaris  sen 
ator^  decades.  Three  of  the  decades  translated  into  English  by  R.  Eden  were 
printed  in  1555,  and  reprinted  in  1577,  with  another  decade  added  by  R. 
Willes.  The  best  complete  edition  of  the  eight  decades,  in  their  original  Latin, 
next  appeared  in  Paris,  published  by  R.  Hakluyt,  1587.  Indeed,  beside  the 
edition  of  1530,  this  is  the  only  complete  original  edition  of  the  De  Orbe  Noro. 
In  1612  appeared  the  work  entire  in  English,  the  result  of  the  'Industrie 
and  painefull  Trauaile  of  M.  Lok  Gent.'  This  has  been  included  in  a  supple 
ment  to  Hakluyt^s  Voyages,  London,  1812.  Beside  these  important  editions, 
partial  translations,  extracts,  and  compilations  have  appeared  at  various 
times  and  in  various  languages.  In  1534,  at  Venice,  in  Italian,  were  pub 
lished,  in  three  several  parts,  summaries  of  the  history  of  the  Indies  taken 
from  Peter  Martyr,  Oviedo,  and  others.  The  other  of  the  two  works  alluded 
to  is  a  collection  of  Peter  Martyr's  letters,  in  Latin,  which  brim  with  notices 
of  contemporary  events,  and  run  from  1488  to  his  death.  Two  editions  of 
these  collected  letters  were  published,  the  first  at  Alcald  in  1530,  the  second 
at  Amsterdam,  by  the  Elzevirs,  in  1670.  The  title  runs  thus — Opus  Epi«to- 
larum  Petri  Martyris  Anglerii  Mediolanensis,  etc. ;  a  translation  of  the  letters 
has  never  been  published.  So  confused,  misdated,  and  interposed  are  the 
epistles  that  Hallam  expressed  his  disbelief  in  any  connection  whatever  be 
tween  actual  and  ostensible  dates  and  service.  But  the  De  Orbe  Novo  may 
be  regarded  equal  in  authority  to  the  relations  of  the  eye-witnesses  Las  Casas 
and  Oviedo.  Peter  Martyr  was  the  first  of  the  chroniclers  to  write  and  to 
publish  on  the  New  World,  his  decades  beginning  to  appear  about  the  time 
Oviedo  first  went  to  the  Indies.  Immediately  Columbus  set  foot  on  shore,  on 
his  return  from  the  first  voyage,  the  eloquent  and  philosophic  scholar  began 
to  question  him  and  those  who  came  with  him,  and  to  write,  and  he  never 
ceased  writing  until  death  stopped  him.  There  was  so  much  for  a  man  of  his 
mind  to  think  and  talk  about.  For  a  time  after  this  marvellous  discovery  the 
learned  and  intelligently  curious  lived  in  a  ferment  concerning  it.  It  was  to 
some  extent  the  revolutionizing  of  science  and  philosophy.  The  lines  of  tradi 
tion  were  snapped;  the  cosmos  had  lost  its  continuity.  Peter  Martyr,  a 
grave  man  of  broad  and  deep  capabilities;  well  situated  for  procuring  in 
formation,  meeting  daily,  many  of  them  at  his  own  table,  those  who  had  re 
turned  from  the  Indies — discoverers,  conquerors,  explorers,  sailors,  priests, 
and  cavaliers  — having  access  to  the  official  letters,  diaries,  charts,  and  rela 
tions  of  these  men,  his  account,  I  say,  should  be  as  reliable  and  as  valuable  \ 
as  that  of  one  who  had  actually  mingled  in  the  scenes  described.  In  some 
respects  it  should  be  more  so,  able  as  he  was  to  see  with  a  hundred  eyes 
instead  of  two,  and  to  determine  disputes  more  coolly  and  equitably.  It 
is  true  his  records  are  marred  by  the  haste  with  which  they  were  written, 
and  by  the  admitted  lack  of  correction  or  revision  by  the  author ;  order  and 
method  are  nowhere  present;  mistakes  and  contradictions  are  frequent.  But 


314  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

we  have  the  raw  material,  which  is  far  better  than  any  elaboration.  Las 
Casas  was  the  first  of  the  chroniclers  to  visit  the  Indies,  and  the  last  of  the 
three  thus  far  named  to  begin  to  write  and  publish  history,  which  was  in 
1552.  Oviedo  began  to  write  at  about  the  date  the  history  of  Las  Casas  ter 
minates.  It  was  four  years  after  the  death  of  Peter  Martyr  that  Oviedo  was 
appointed  official  chronicler  of  the  New  World.  The  general  relations  of  the 
three  historians  were  antagonistic;  from  which  their  writings  may  all  the 
better  be  brought  to  harmonize  with  truth.  Of  the  hundreds  who  have  made 
their  criticisms  on  the  writings  of  Peter  Martyr  I  will  mention  but  two. 
Says  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.,  i.  32:  "De  los  cuales  cerca  destas  primeras  cosas 
a  ninguno  se  debe  dar  mas  fe  que  a  Pedro  Martir ; "  and  Muiioz  remarks,  Hist. 
Nuevo  Mundo,  xiii. :  "Merece  indulgencia  por  el  candor  con  que  lo  confiesa 
todo,  por  su  ningun  afan  en  publicar  sus  borrones,  y  principalmente  porque  tal 
qual  es  la  obra  de  las  decadas  contiene  muchisimas  es  pecies  que  no  se  hallan 
en  otra  parte  alguna,  y  estas  escritas  con  la  conveniente  libertad  por  un  autor 
coetiineo,  grave,  culto,  bien  instruido  de  los  hechos,  y  de  probidad  conocida. " 
Of  much  less  importance  than  the  preceding  are  the  writings  of  Francisco 
I  Lopez  Gomara,  particularly  his  history  of  the  Indies,  which  is  an  imitation 
rather  than  a  genuine  original,  and  of  which  too  much  has  been  made,  not 
withstanding  Muiioz  pronounces  it  the  first  history  worthy  the  name.  Al 
though  Icazbalceta,  a  high  authority  on  the  subject,  gives  the  name  Gomara, 
or  G6mora,  with  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable  as  the  Peninsular  pronuncia 
tion,  with  the  remark  that  it  is  commonly  called  Gomara  in  Mexico,  I  have 
not  thought  best  to  depart  from  an  almost  universal  usage.  Bustamante 
goes  out  of  his  way  to  signify  an  accent  where  it  would  naturally  fall,  writing 
Gomara.  Born  in  Seville  in  1510,  of  an  illustrious  family — it  seems  excep 
tional  to  find  any  man  of  note  in  Spain  whose  family  was  not  illustrious — and 
educated  at  the  university  of  Alcald,  he  became  a  doctor  of  both  civil  and  ca 
nonical  law,  and  filled  for  a  time  the  chair  of  rhetoric.  From  the  military  life 
designed  for  him  by  his  parents  he  was  driven  by  literary  tastes  into  the  priest 
hood  ;  and  in  1540,  upon  the  return  of  Cortes  from  his  last  visit  to  Mexico,  he 
became  chaplain  and  secretary  to  the  marquis.  From  this  some  have  inferred 
and  erroneously  stated  that  he  spent  four  years  in  America  prior  to  publish 
ing  his  history.  At  Saragossa  in  1552-3  appeared  his  La  Historia  General  de 
las  Indias,  in  two  folio  parts,  the  first  general,  and  dealing  chiefly  with  Peru, 
the  other  devoted  to  Mexico.  The  book  was  popular;  and  in  1553  from 
Medina  del  Campo  issued  another  folio  edition ;  and  another  from  Saragossa 
the  year  following,  with  this  difference  as  to  the  last,  however,  that  its  second 
part  was  treated  as  a  separate  work  and  entitled  Cronica  de  la  nue.ua  Expana  con 
la  conquista  de  Mexico,  y  otras  cosas  notables:  heclias  por  el  Valoroso  Hernando 
Cortes,  while  the  first  part  appropriated  the  original  title  of  Historia  General, 
etc.  Then  appeared  an  edition  at  Antwerp,  1554,  and  one  in  which  the  date, 
1552,  is  evidently  spurious.  The  author  seems  to  have  handled  government 
affairs  too  roughly;  for  in  1553  we  find  the  book  suppressed  by  royal  decree, 
which,  however,  was  not  fully  enforced,  and  was  revoked  in  1729.  Barcia 
printed  a  mutilation  of  the  two  works  in  his  Hist.  Prim.,  ii.,  in  1749,  and  the 
two  were  again  published,  in  a  correct  form,  in  Biblioteca  de  Autores  Esjiaiioles, 
Kxii.,  Madrid,  1852.  A  somewhat  singular  case  occurred  in  Mexico  in  1826, 


GOMARA  AND  HERRERA.  315 

when  was  issued,  in  2  volumes  8vo,  fltstoria  de  las  Conquistts  de  Hernando 
Cortes,  escrita  en  Espanol  por  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomura,  traducida  til  Mexi- 
cnno  y  aprobada  por  verdadera  por  D.  Juan  Bautixta  de  San  Anton  Munon 
Chimalpain  Quuuhtlehuanitzin,  Lid  to  J\Iexicano.  PublUcala  para  instruction 
de  la  juventud  nacional,  con  varias  notas  y  adiciones,  Carlos  Maria  de  J3usta- 
mante,  which  being  interpreted,  at  best  is  confused.  It  says  that  the  work, 
written  in  Spanish  by  Gomara,  was  translated  into  the  Mexican  language, 
and  there  leaves  it.  On  turning  over  the  leaves  we  find  the  book  printed  in 
Spanish,  and  not  in  Nahuatl,  as  we  were  led  to  suppose.  Nor  does  a  lengthy 
preface  by  Bustamante  make  the  matter  clear  in  every  respect.  Turning 
to  other  sources,  and  by  comparing  all  information,  we  finally  learn  that 
Bustamante  and  others  once  believed  in  the  existence,  somewhere,  of  a 
history  of  Mexico,  by  the  learned  and  noble  native  Chimalpain.  Probably  it 
lay  hidden  in  some  one  of  the  libraries  or  government  offices  about  Mexico. 
Boturini  spoke  of  various  historical  manuscripts  written  by  Domingo  de  San 
Anton  Muiion  Chimalpain,  some  in  Castilian,  and  some  in  Nahuatl.  Note, 
in  passing,  the  difference  in  the  name,  here  Domingo,  and  in  the  title  Juan 
Bautista.  Clavigero,  Leon  Pinelo,  Beristain,  and  Antonio  de  Leon  y  Gama  also 
vaguely  mentioned  some  work  or  works  by  Chimalpain.  Bustamante  claimed, 
at  first,  to  have  found  the  Mexican  history  of  Chimalpain  in  manuscript, 
and  obtained  contributions  of  money  from  various  sources  to  enable  him  to 
print  a  translation  of  it,  with  notes.  But  before  the  translation  was  fairly 
issued  in  Spanish,  the  editor  was  obliged  to  confess  himself  mistaken  as  to 
its  being  an  original  work ;  it  was  only  Gomara  rendered  into  Mexican  by  the 
learned  Indian,  and  now  translated  back  again  into  Spanish  by  Bustamante,  the 
text  much  marred  by  the  double  transformation,  but  enriched  by  notes  from 
both  editors.  There  are  men  so  uncharitable  as  to  say  that  Don  Carlos  Maria 
Bustamante  never  found  Chimalpain's  translation,  because  Chimalpain  never 
made  one.  I  do  not  know.  Any  one  of  three  or  four  ways  was  possible.  Busta 
mante  may  have  found  the  alleged  translation  of  Chimalpain,  and  while  trans 
lating  into  Spanish  what  he  believed  an  original  work,  may  have  discovered  it 
to  be  Gomara ;  it  may  have  been  then  in  type  or  printed,  or  too  far  advanced 
to  stop ;  or  it  may  be  Bustamante,  having  received  the  money,  felt  bound  to  go 
on  with  the  work,  and  concluded  to  trust  to  his  own  and  Chimalpain's  notes  to 
satisfy  those  concerned  and  the  public ;  or  Bustamante  may  have  perpetrated 
a  deliberate  fraud.  This  last,  although  he  is  openly  accused  of  it  by  his 
countrymen  high  in  authority,  I  can  scarcely  believe  to  be  the  true  solution 
of  the  mystery,  and  rather  lean  to  the  first  possibility ;  but  I  must  say  that 
Bustamante  committed  a  serious  mistake  in  not  admitting  this  frankly,  if 
true.  Gomara's  history  was  translated  into  Italian,  and  published  at  Rome, 
one  edition,  4to,  in  1555,  and  one  in  1556;  and  at  Venice,  one  in  Svo,  1565, 
one  in  4to,  1566,  and  in  Svo  again,  in  1576.  In  French,  at  Paris,  six  editions 
in  Svo,  1569,  157S,  15SO,  1584,  15S7,  and  1597,  the  last  five  reprints  of  the  first, 
except  slight  augmentations  in  the  last  three.  London  furnished  an  English 
translation  by  Henry  Bynneman,  in  4to,  in  157S.  The  prologue  warns  all 
pel-sons  against  translating  the  book  into  Latin,  as  he  was  engaged  thereat 
himself;  but  his  Latin  version  never  appeared.  Gomara  wrote  well.  His 
style  is  better  than  that  of  any  predecessor ;  but  while  his  opportunities  were 


316  COLOXIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

great,  for  he  had  culture,  leisure,  and  access  to  the  knowledge  and  material 
of  Cortes,  it  is  painfully  apparent  that  his  desire  was  greater  to  please  the 
master  than  to  present  a  plain  unvarnished  tale. 

And  now,  after  a  century  of  writing  and  discussions,  comes  Antonio  de 
Herrera  y  Tordesillas  as  royal  historiographer  to  gather,  arrange,  and  em 
body  in  one  general  history  all  knowledge  available  at  that  time.  It  was  a 
work  needing  attention;  for  if  it  were  further  postponed  much  information 
then  obtainable  would  be  lost.  He  was  born  in  Cuellar  in  1 549,  and  although 
the  father  bore  the  name  of  Tordesillas  and  the  mother  of  Herrera,  for  the 
sake  of  euphony,  distinction,  or  other  unknown  vagary,  the  son  took  the 
name  of  his  mother,  a  thing  not  unusual  then  or  now  in  Spain.  At  an 
early  age  we  find  him  in  Italy  holding  the  position  of  secretary  to  Vespasiano 
Gonzaga,  viceroy  of  Naples,  upon  whose  death  Herrera  was  so  well  recom 
mended  to  Philip  II.  that,  in  1596,  he  was  made  chief  historiographer  for  the 
Indies.  Honored  also  with  the  title  of  historiographer  of  Castile  and  Leon, 
he  fulfilled  the  duties  of  both  offices  through  portions  of  the  reigns  of  the  three 
Philips,  II.,  III.,  and  IV.  He  was  likewise  nominated  for  the  first  vacant 
place  among  the  secretaries  of  state,  but  died  before  that  vacancy  occurred, 
in  the  76th  year  of  his  age.  As  an  historian  Herrera  has  made  a  respectable 
place  for  himself,  but  his  reputation  rests  principally,  though  not  wholly,  for 
he  wrote  much,  on  his  llistoria  General  de  los  Hechos  de  los  Castellanos  en  las 
Islas  i  Tierra  Firme  del  Mar  oceano  ecrlta  por  A  ntonio  de  Ilerrera  coronista  mayor 
de  sv  M:d  d  las  fndias  ysv  coronista  de  Casti/la,  4  vols.  folio,  Madrid,  1601-15. 
On  the  elaborately  engraved  title-page  of  the  first  volume  is  added,  En  quatro 
Decadas  desde  cl  Ano  de  1492  hasta  el  de  1531,  which  refers  only  to  the  first  two 
volumes,  as  the  whole  four  volumes  consist  of  8  decades,  comprising  general 
events  to  1554.  The  first  two  volumes  were  printed  in  1601,  and  reprinted  at 
Valladolid  in  1606 ;  the  second  two  volumes  appeared  in  1615.  The  work  was 
freely  translated;  the  first  decade  appearing  in  French,  at  Paris,  in  1659, 
and  with  the  second  decade  the  year  following,  the  remaining  decades  in 
1671.  A  most  vile  translation  into  English  was  made  by  John  Stevens  and 
published  in  London,  in  6  volumes,  the  first  twro  in  1725  and  the  last  four  in 
1726,  new  editions  of  which  appeared  in  1740  and  1743.  There  were  two 
reprints  in  Spanish ;  one  in  Antwerp,  in  1728,  by  Verdussen,  without  maps  and 
otherwise  faulty;  and  one  in  Madrid,  1728-30,  with  notes,  corrections,  and 
index  by  Barcia,  and  therefore  better  than  the  first  edition,  in  fact  the  best 
extant.  At  the  end  of  the  second  volume  of  the  first  edition,  and  as  a  prefix 
to  the  first  volume  of  the  Barcia  edition,  should  appear  the  Description  de  las 
fndias  Occidentales,  with  maps,  translations  of  which  were  made  in  Latin, 
Dutch,  and  French.  An  attempt  was  made  to  carry  on  Herrera's  history,  and 
it  was  continued  for  three  decades,  from  1555  to  1584,  by  Pedro  Fernandez  del 
Pulgar,  the  chronicler  who  succeeded  Solis,  but  it  was  not  deemed  of  suffi 
cient  importance  to  print.  The  original  manuscript  is  in  the  Royal  Library 
at  Madrid.  Herrera  was  quite  a  voluminous  writer,  being  author  of  a  general 
history  during  the  reign  of  Philip  II. ;  of  a  history  of  Scotland  and  England 
during  the  life  of  Mary  Stuart ;  of  Portugal,  and  the  conquest  of  the  Azores ; 
of  France  from  1585  to  1594,  and  of  moral  and  political  tracts,  and  historical, 
political,  and  ecclesiastical  translations.  But  though  all  his  works  were  highly 


COMMENTARY  ON  THE  EARLY  CHRONICLERS.  317 

prized  for  their  erudition,  none  attained  the  celebrity  of  his  History  of  the 
Indies.  Even  to-day  he  may  be  called  chief  among  historians  of  Spanish-/ 
American  affairs ;  not  for  his  style,  bald,  and  accurately  prolix ;  nor  for  his 
method,  slavishly  chronological,  and  miserably  failing  in  the  attempt  to  do 
several  things  at  once ;  but  because  of  his  massed  material.  His  position  as 
state  historiographer  gave  him,  of  course,  access  to  everything,  and  he  made 
use  of  his  opportunity  to  an  extent  then  exceptional.  At  a  later  period  in 
the  art  of  history-writing  his  work  must  have  been  regarded  as  crude  even 
for  early  times.  But  from  one  who  lived  when  piety  and  patriotism  were 
ranked  as  the  highest  virtues,  higher  than  truth,  integrity,  or  humanity,  the 
more  searching  philosophy  cannot  be  expected.  Beside  the  faults  of  style  and 
arrangement  there  are  evidences  everywhere  of  inexperience  and  incompetent 
assistance.  Now  that  we  have  before  us  many  of  the  sources  of  Herrera's 
material  we  can  see  that  his  notes  were  badly  extracted,  and  compiled  in  a 
bungling  manner;  so  much  so  that  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  errors,  from 
which  to  some  extent  the  most  carefully  executed  work  cannot  be  expected  to 
be  wholly  free,  there  are  many  and  serious  discrepancies  and  contradictions 
for  which  there  is  no  excuse,  the  cause  being  simply  carelessness.  Yet,  for  all 
that,  Herrera's  is  not  only  the  most  complete,  but  one  of  the  most  reliable  of 
the  New  World  chronicles,  and  for  this  the  writer  merits  the  gratitude  not 
alone  of  his  countrymen  but  of  the  world. 

Before  closing  this  note,  I  will  give  clearly  my  opinion  regarding  the  cred 
ibility  of  the  early  chroniclers,  including  in  that  category  for  the  present  pur 
pose  all  the  early  writers,  conquerors  as  well  as  historians,  such  as  Columbus 
and  Cortes,  Bernal  Diaz,  Solis,  Torquemada,  Boturini,  and  the  Anonymous 
Conqueror ;  for  I  have  been  assailed  by  those  who,  to  gain  cheap  notoriety  in 
refuting  them,  have  attributed  to  me  doctrines  which  I  have  nowhere  ex 
pressed  or  held.  They  who  cannot  build  for  themselves  seem  to  think  it 
gravely  incumbent  on  them  to  demolish  any  structure  another  may  rear,  and 
writh  one  scurrile  sweep  they  would  wipe  out  the  work  of  twenty  years.  They 
are  correct  enough  to  this  extent,  that,  if  ever  a  building  is  found  so  frail  as 
to  fall  under  their  attacks,  it  does  not  deserve  to  stand.  Hence  we  find  it 
the  fashion  in  certain  quarters,  under  cover  of  criticism,  to  repudiate  the  early 
writings,  in  so  far  at  least  as  they  interfere  with  cherished  theory  or  dogmatic 
opinion.  Spain  had  lately  emerged  from  the  Moorish  wars  with  great  glory, 
they  say,  and  Spaniards  in  the  New  World,  so  long  as  it  remained  with  them 
to  tell  the  story,  would  not  be  in  the  least  behind  their  brethren  at  home  in 
this  new  field  of  fiery  exploits.  Hence,  for  their  accounts,  naked  barbarians 
were  gorgeously  apparelled,  and  surrounded  by  stately  pageantry;  art,  sci 
ence,  and  literature  wholly  mythical  were  given  them,  and  cities  equal,  at 
least,  to  the  average  of  civilization  were  built.  Instance  the  Tenochtitlan, 
the  Tezcuco,  the  Tlacopan  of  Cortes  and  his  contemporaries,  which  must  have 
been  pure  fictions.  Else  where  are  the  vestiges  of  the  walls  and  gardens 
and  palaces  ?  There  are  no  ruins  of  splendid  cities,  they  continue  with  the 
effrontery  of  ignorance,  no  remains  of  aqueducts,  stone  carvings,  and  tumuli. 
There  are  some  fine  ruins  in  Central  America  and  Yucatan,  they  admit,  dis 
playing  no  mean  advancement  in  architectural  art;  but  they  must  have  been 


318  COLONIZATION  OF  TIERRA  FIRME. 

the  work  of  Egyptians,  or  Phoenicians,  or  some  other  foreigners,  because 
they  resemble  the  ruins  standing  among  those  nations,  and  because  no  abo 
riginal  people  capable  of  such  performance  exist  in  America  to-day.  There 
was  no  human  sacrifice  in  Mexico,  because  bigoted  ecclesiastics  in  those  days 
were  apt  to  invest  with  religious  significance  every  hieroglyph,  statue,  and 
consecrated  stone.  One,  more  virulent  than  the  rest,  himself  of  Indian  origin 
and  apparently  jealous  lest  other  aboriginals  should  outshine  his  Cherokee 
ancestry,  and  knowing  little  either  of  the  Mexicans  or  their  conquerors,  denies 
the  existence  of  a  Nahua  or  Maya  civilization  and  denounces  every  one  who 
differs  in  opinion  with  him,  on  the  ground  that  all  American  societies  of  which 
he  knew  aught  were  formed  on  one  skeleton,  a  most  earthy,  red,  and  ignoble 
one,  and  that  the  conquerors,  not  understanding  this  social  structure,  could 
not  correctly  describe  it,  and  therefore  their  statements  are  not  to  be  relied  on. 

I  can  only  say  that  I  have  studied  these  chronicles  some  score  of  years, 
that  I  have  studied  the  monumental  and  literary  remains  of  the  nations  con 
quered,  that,  apart  from  the  modern  writings  of  both  those  who  believe  and 
those  who  disbelieve,  I  have  instituted  comparisons  and  weighed  evidence 
with  no  more  desire  to  reach  one  conclusion  than  another,  except  always  to 
arrive  at  the  right  one ;  and  that  in  my  own  mind  I  am  well  enough  satisfied 
as  to  about  the  measure  of  truth  that  should  be  accorded  the  respective  writ 
ers  of  early  New  World  annals.  Others,  my  assistants  and  friends,  equally 
earnest  and  unbiassed,  equally  desirous  of  reaching  only  the  truth,  and  for 
whose  convictions  I  entertain  the  highest  respect,  have  devoted  many  years 
to  the  same  research  and  with  similar  results.  It  is  not  my  purpose,  nor  has 
it  ever  been,  to  appear  as  the  champion  of  the  sixteenth-century  chroniclers. 
It  is  not  my  province  to  champion  anything.  It  is  a  matter  of  profound  in 
difference  to  me  what  these  or  those  are  proven  to  be,  whether  angels  of  light 
or  devils  of  darkness ;  it  is  a  matter  of  lively  apprehension  with  me  that  I 
should  estimate  men  and  nations  at  their  value,  and  deduce  only  truth  from 
statements  fair  or  false.  While  I  entertain  a  distinct  conception  of  the  status 
of  the  Aztecs  and  Quiches  relatively  to  other  nations  of  the  globe,  I  have  no 
theory  concerning  the  origin  of  the  Americans,  or  the  origin  of  their  civiliza 
tion — except  that  it  seems  to  me  indigenous  rather  than  exotic ;  nor  should 
I  deem  it  wise  in  me  to  husband  a  doctrine  on  this  or  any  other  palpably 
unprovable  proposition. 

I  am  not  prepared  by  any  means  to  accept  as  truth  all  that  has  been  said 
by  priest  and  soldier.  No  one  is  readier  than  I  to  admit  their  frequent 
attempted  deceptions.  Navigators  the  world  over  have  been  notoriously  un 
true  in  regard  to  their  discoveries,  giving  strange  lands  strange  sights,  stock 
ing  barren  shores  with  boundless  wealth  in  pearls,  and  gems,  and  precious 
metals,  peopling  the  ocean  with  monsters,  and  placing  islands,  straits,  conti 
nents,  and  seas  wherever  the  gaping  savans  at  home  would  have  them.  Many 
of  these  stories  are  false  on  their  very  face,  being  contrary  to  nature  and  to 
reason.  Some  of  them  are  unintentional  falsehoods,  the  off-float  from  imagi 
nations  warped  by  education,  and  now  morbidly  excited  under  new  condi 
tions.  By  bodily  suffering  and  perils  the  mind  was  now  and  then  reduced 
to  the  border  of  insanity;  at  which  times  the  miracles,  the  visions,  and 
the  supernatural  interpositions  they  record  were  real  to  them.  But  tho 


4/- Ta 

WEIGHT  OF  EVIDENCE.  .119 


best  of  the  early  writers  wilfully  lied  in  some  things,  and  held  it  serving 
God  to  do  so. 

Although  the  temptation  and  tendency  was  to  exaggerate,  to  make  the 
New  World  conquest  equal  or  superior  to  any  Old  World  achievement ;  al 
though  religion  gave  priest  and  layman  the  license  to  lie,  and  the  sailors  and 
soldiers  of  those  times,  returned  from  foreign  parts,  were  no  more  celebrated 
for  telling  the  truth  than  those  of  our  own  day,  yet  in  the  main  and  as  a  whole 
the  writings  of  the  Spaniards  earliest  in  America  are  unquestionably  true. 
Most  of  the  several  phases  of  error  and  misstatement  are  easily  enough 
detected,  the  events  described  being  either  impossible  or  opposed  to  prepon 
derant  and  superior  evidence.  For  example,  when  Las  Casas,  who  was  con 
scientious  and  in  the  main  correct,  asserts  that  Manicaotex  opposed  Columbus 
at  the  head  of  100,000  warriors  in  Espafiola,  we  may  safely  put  it  down  as  ex 
aggeration  simply  from  our  general  knowledge,  gained  from  other  sources,  of 
the  aboriginal  population  of  these  islands  and  the  adjoining  continent.  Here 
was  a  multitude  of  witnesses,  European  and  American,  whose  verbal  or  written 
statements  were  usually  subordinate  to  substantial  facts,  unknown  to  each 
other,  and  giving  their  evidence  at  widely  different  times  and  places.  Often 
the  conquerors  fell  out  and  fought  each  other  to  the  death,  writing  to  Spain 
lengthy  epistles  of  vindication  and  vilification,  many  of  which  have  been  pre 
served  ;  so  that  where  one  extolled  himself  and  his  achievements,  there  were 
a  dozen  to  pull  him  down.  Thus  from  a  mass  of  contradictory  statements,  on 
either  side  of  which  the  less  penetrating  are  apt  to  linger,  to  the  patient  and 
laborious  investigator  unfold  the  clearest  truths.  He  who  habitually  prac 
tises  deceit  is  sure  somewhere  to  expose  himself ;  and  the  taking  of  evidence 
does  not  proceed  far  before  the  examiner  can  tell  the  witness  more  than 
he  himself  knows  or  remembers  of  the  scenes  through  which  he  has  passed. 
The  native  witnesses,  living  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  and  subsequently, 
were  likewise  naturally  inclined  unduly  to  magnify  the  glories  of  their  an 
cestors  and  of  their  nation ;  yet  to  verify  their  statements  they  point  to  the 
monuments  and  material  remains  then  and  now  existing,  to  manuscripts,  huge 
piles  of  which  it  was  the  infamous  boast  of  the  fanatical  conquerors  to  have 
burned,  but  of  which  enough  have  been  preserved  to  authenticate  all  the 
more  important  parts  of  their  stories ;  they  also  refer  to  tradition,  which  is 
worth  as  much,  and  no  more,  than  that  of  other  nations. 

Blank  assertions  similar  to  those  advanced  against  the  New  World  chron 
iclers  might  with  equal  reason  and  effect  be  brought  forward  to  overthrow 
the  early  records  of  any  nation.  Christ  and  Confucius  may  be  denied, 
Homer  and  Shakespeare,  but  that  does  not  prove  they  never  lived.  That 
Columbus  made  his  seamen  swear  that  no  doubt  Cuba  was  Zipangu,  does 
not  prove  that  there  was  in  those  days  no  Japan.  Because  Drake's  chaplain 
chose  to  tell  the  most  monstrous  and  wilful  falsehoods  respecting  the  climate, 
metals,  and  inhabitants  of  California ;  because  Cook,  Meares,  and  Vancouver 
sailed  by  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  superciliously  scourging  those  who 
had  spoken  of  it,  this  does  not  prove  the  non-existence  of  Marin  County, 
or  of  the  River  of  the  West.  In  such  ways  as  these  neither  the  truth 
of  the  one  statement  nor  the  falsity  of  the  other  is  established.  But,  as  I 
have  observed,  before  us  is  abundant  evidence,  palpable  and  incontestable, 


320  COLONIZATION  OP  TIERRA  FIRME. 

that  the  early  writings  on  America  are  for  the  most  part  true ;  and  if,  in  the 
following  pages,  it  does  not  clearly  appear  which  are  true  and  which  false, 
then  has  the  author  signally  failed  in  his  effort.  I  do  not  in  the  least 
fear  the  overthrow  of  the  general  veracity  of  these  writers  until  there  come 
against  them  enemies  more  powerful  with  more  powerful  weapons  than  any 
that  have  yet  appeared.  How  senselessly  speculative  their  reasonings !  Be 
cause  the  natives  of  the  present  day  cannot  tell  who  or  whence  were  the 
authors  of  the  carvings,  or  the  builders  of  the  structures  upon  whose  ruins 
they  have  gazed  since  childhood,  these  works  must  forsooth  have  been  done 
by  foreign  visitors.  Europeans  now  and  then  may  have  found  their  way  to 
America,  but  I  find  no  evidence  of  such  visits  before  the  time  of  Columbus 
except  by  the  Northmen ;  no  one  knows  of  such,  nor  can  know  until  more 
light  appears.  The  material  relics,  I  fancy,  will  always  prove  a  stumbling- 
block  to  those  who  would  reject  American  aboriginal  civilization. 

That  different  conquerors,  teachers,  and  travellers  of  various  creeds  and 
nationalities,  in  various  pursuits,  in  different  lands  and  at  various  times,  to 
gether  with  native  testimony,  hieroglyphic  writings,  and  traditions,  to  say 
nothing  of  carvings  in  stone  and  other  monumental  remains,  should  all  com 
bine,  with  satanic  inspiration,  to  perpetrate  upon  the  world  one  grand  and 
overwhelming  fraud  is  so  preposterously  ridiculous  that  the  marvel  is  how 
there  could  be  found,  outside  the  walls  of  a  lunatic  asylum,  a  single  indi 
vidual  with  cool  impudence  enough  to  ask  men  to  believe  it.  And  yet  there 
are  several  such,  and  they  find  believers.  So  charmed  by  the  sound  of  their 
own  voice  are  these  captious  cavillers,  that  they  apparently  do  not  deem  it  pos 
sible  for  such  things  to  exist  in  this  enlightened  age  as  pedantic  ignorance 
and  literary  fanaticism,  of  which  they  are  bright  examples.  They  do  not  seem 
to  know  that  the  petty  and  puerile  theories  which  they  would  pass  upon  the 
simple  as  startling  conceptions,  original  with  themselves,  are  'as  old  as  the 
knowledge  of  the  continent.  They  do  not  consider  that  before  taking  the 
first  step  toward  proving  origin,  migration,  or  kinship  by  analogy,  they  must 
first  dispose  of  the  universal  relationship  of  man,  the  oneness  of  human  nature, 
human  needs,  and  human  aspirations,  and  then  show  how  men  first  came 
upon  this  earth,  and  which  was  land  and  which  water  then  and  since.  But 
those  who  thus  array  themselves  against  American  aboriginal  civilization  and 
the  early  Spanish  writers  on  the  New  World  do  not  pretend  to  offer  counter 
evidence,  or  to  refute  with  reason ;  they  rely  chiefly  on  flat  contradiction.  I 
have  yet  to  find  among  them  all  any  approach  to  reasonable  propositions  or 
logical  argument.  They  have  nothing  on  which  to  base  argument,  neither 
fact  nor  plausible  supposition.  Their  hypotheses  are  as  chimerical  as  their 
deductions  are  false.  They  would  have  the  world  exercise  a  far  more  irra 
tional  credulity  in  accepting  their  hollow  negations,  than  in  believing  every 
word  of  the  most  mendacious  chronicler.  And  when  they  come  to  deny  the 
presence  of  a  native  civilization  upon  the  Mexican  table-land,  they  betray 
lamentable  ignorance  both  of  the  facts  of  history  and  of  the  nature  of  civ 
ilization. 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

SETTLEMENT  OF  SANTA  MARIA  DE  LA  ANTIGUA  DEL  DARIEN. 

1510-1511. 

FRANCISCO  PIZARRO  ABANDONS  SAN  SEBASTIAN — MEETS  ENCISO  AT  CARTA 
GENA —  HE  AND  HIS  CREW  LOOK  LIKE  PIRATES — THEY  ARE  TAKEN 
BACK  TO  SAN  SEBASTIAN — VASCO  NUNEZ  DE  BALBOA — BOARDS  Excise's 
SHIP  IN  A  CASK — ARRIVES  AT  SAN  SEBASTIAN — THE  SPANIARDS  CROSS 
TO  DARIEN — THE  RIVER  AND  THE  NAME  —  CEMACO,  CACIQUE  OF  DA 
RIEN,  DEFEATED — FOUNDING  OF  THE  METROPOLITAN  CITY  —  PRESTO, 
CHANGE  !  THE  HOMBRE  DEL  CASCO  UP,  THE  BACHILLER  DOWN — VASCO 
NUNEZ,  ALCALDE — NATURE  OF  THE  OFFICE  —  REGIDOR  —  COLMENARES, 
IN  SEARCH  OF  NICUESA,  ARRIVES  AT  ANTIGUA  —  HE  FINDS  HIM  IN  A 
PITIABLE  PLIGHT  —  ANTIGUA  MAKES  OVERTURES  TO  NICUESA  —  THEN 
REJECTS  HIM — AND  FINALLY  DRIVES  HIM  FORTH  TO  DIE — SAD  END 
OF  NICUESA. 

WHEN  Alonso  de  Ojeda  left  San  Sebastian  for 
Espafiola,  he  stipulated  with  Francisco  Pizarro,  who 
for  the  time  was  commissioned  governor,  that  should 
neither  he  himself  return,  nor  the  bachiller  Enciso 
arrive  within  fifty  days,  the  colonists  might  abandon 
the  post  and  seek  safety  or  adventure  in  other  parts. 

And  now  the  fifty  days  had  passed;  wearily  and 
hungrily  they  had  come  and  gone,  with  misery  an 
ever  present  guest;  and  no  one  having  come,  they  dis 
mantled  the  fortress,  placed  on  board  the  two  small 
brigantines  left  them  the  gold  they  had  secured — 
trust  Francisco  Pizarro  for  scenting  gold,  and  getting 
it — and  made  ready  to  embark  for  Santo  Domingo. 
But  though  only  seventy  remained,  the  vessels  could 
not  carry  them  all ;  and  it  was  agreed  that  they  should 
wait  awhile,  until  death  reduced  their  number  to  the 
capacity  of  the  boats. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    21  (321) 


322  SETTLEMENT  OF  DARIEN. 

Nor  had  they  long  to  wait;  nor  would  their  grim 
attendant  let  them  put  to  sea  without  him.  He  had 
been  so  long  domiciled  with  them,  and  had  become 
so  useful  in  settling  disputes,  adjusting  accounts,  and 
the  like,  that  he  was  one  of  them,  and  one,  indeed, 
with  all  the  companies  which  attempted  colonization 
on  these  pestilential  shores.  As  they  coasted  east 
ward  in  search  of  food  before  steering  across  for 
Espafiola,  a  squall  struck  the  vessels,  overturning  one 
of  them  and  sending  all  on  board  to  swift  destruction. 
Entering  with  the  other  the  harbor  of  Cartagena, 
Pizarro  found  there  the  tardy  Enciso  hunting  his 
colony. 

Now  the  bachiller,  beside  possessing  great  learn 
ing,  was  a  man  of  experience,  all  the  way  from  Spain; 
a  man  of  keen  intelligence  and  practical  sagacity,  his 
wits  sharpened  by  the  narrow-minded  legal  bigotry 
of  a  sixteenth -century  Spanish  lawyer.  He  must 
be  of  exceedingly  ready  wit  who  could  deceive  the 
bachiller.  It  was  scarcely  to  be  expected  a  man  of 
his  kidney  should  credit  the  stories  of  Ojeda's  visit 
to  Santo  Domingo,  of  the  deputy  governorship,  and 
of  the  late  disaster;  though  honest  Pizarro  on  this 
occasion  told  only  the  truth,  and  his  companions 
vouched  for  it  with  all  the  feeble  force  of  their  high- 
keyed  husky  voices.  If  Ojeda  had  gone  to  Santo 
Domingo  more  than  fifty  or  seventy  days  before, 
would  not  the  bachiller  have  seen  him  there  ?  In 
deed,  to  a  less  erudite  judge  than  Enciso,  a  band  of 
robbers  on  the  high  seas,  with  an  abundance  of  gold 
and  no  bread,  would  call  up  suspicions  rather  of  foul 
play  than  honest  adventure.  And  back  they  must 
go.  The  functions  of  high  judge  should  begin  here 
and  now.  Was  not  this  Nueva  Andalucia  ?  With 
the  horrors  of  San  Sebastian  still  fresh  in  their 
minds,  the  thought  of  returning  there  was  repugnant 
in  the  extreme,  and  the  poor  wretches  begged  the 
lawyer  to  let  them  go  to  Espafiola,  or  join  Nicuesa. 
No.  Enciso  had  staked  his  whole  earthly  posses- 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  ENCISO. 


sions  on  the  delightful  prospect  of  domination,  and 
these  should  not  escape  him.  They  were  just  the 
clay  for  his  fashioning;  men  for  whom  the  law  was 
made.  Whipping  out  his  commission,  which  at  once 
deposed  Pizarro,  the  bachiller  drove  them  back  into 
their  boat,  and  all  embarked  for  San  Sebastian.  But 
scarcely  had  they  turned  the  Punta  de  Caribana,1 
when  the  bachiller's  well-stored  ship  struck  upon 
rocks  and  broke  in  pieces,  those  on  board  barely 
escaping  with  their  lives.  Thus  the  worthy  bachiller 
was  beggared;  the  savings  from  life-long  pettifog- 
gings  were  swept  away  within  the  hour.  Still  his 
original  stock  in  trade,  egotism  and  arrogance,  was 
left  unimpaired. 


Making  their  way  along  the  shore  to  San  Sebas 
tian,  the  Spaniards  found  their  fort  demolished  and 
their  houses,  some  thirty  in  number,  burned.  In  a 
feeble  way  they  began  to  forage  again,  but  even  En- 
ciso  saw  that  it  was  useless.  The  absence  of  food, 
the  poisoned  arrows,  and  the  poisoned  air  were  too 
much  for  the  bravest  long  to  contend  with.  "  Let  us 
leave  this  accursed  spot,"  they  all  cried.  "  Whither 

1  So  named  by  the  early  settlers  of  Antigua,  probaVy  because  of  its  being 
on  the  other  side  of  the  gulf  from  them,  toward  the  Carib  country.  It  is 
now  known  as  Punta  Arenas.  Some  maps  make  two  points,  and  give  one 
of  the  names  to  each. 


324  SETTLEMENT  OF  DARIEK 

would  you  go?"  demanded  the  lawyer.  One  of  them 
said: — "  Once  when  I  coasted  this  gulf  with  Rodrigo 
de  Bastidas,  along  the  western  shore  we  found  the 
country  fertile  and  rich  in  gold.  Provisions  were 
abundant;  and  the  natives,  though  warlike,  used  no 
poisoned  arrows.  Through  this  land  of  which  I 
speak  flows  a  river  called  by  the  natives  Darien." 

All  eyes  were  turned  upon  the  speaker.  It  was 
the  hombre  del  casco,  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  a  fine 
specimen  of  the  Spanish  cavalier,  at  that  time  about 
thirty-five  years  of  age.  He  was  taller  than  Ojeda, 
though  perhaps  not  stronger;  there  was  not  about 
him  the  assurance  of  breeding  and  position  that  Ni- 
cuesa  bore;  nor  were  there  present  in  his  features 
those  marks  of  greed  and  brutality  plainly  discernible 
in  the  face  of  Francisco  Pizarro,  who  stood  not  far 
from  him.  Strong  and  comely  in  every  part,  appar 
ently,  of  body  and  mind,  one  to  be  observed  with 
intuitive  respect  in  a  society  of  this  kind,  one  to  be 
approached  with  ease,  but  with  due  care;  frank  and 
manly,  with  a  firm  and  winning  eye  and  manner, 
yet  there  was  about  him  noticeable  something  be 
tween  shyness  and  reticence.  Indeed,  the  standing 
of  this  person,  since  his  sudden  and  altogether  in 
formal  appearing  as  one  of  the  present  company  had 
been  somewhat  dubious,  and  he  seemed  to  regard  it 
good  taste  to  hold  himself  rather  in  the  background. 
For  all  this  there  was  that  innate  superiority  about 
him  over  every  one  present,  not  excepting  the  erudite 
judge  or  the  subsequently  cunning  conqueror  of  Peru, 
that  could  not  always  remain  concealed,  particularly 
amid  constantly  recurring  vital  issues. 

Of  the  invariable  poor  but  noble  family,  a  native 
of  Jerez  de  los  Caballeros,  Vasco  Nunez  was  reared 
in  the  service  of  Pedro  Puertocarrero,  the  deaf 
lord  of  Moguer.  Drawn  with  the  crowd  to  the 
New  World,  upon  the  abrupt  termination  of  the 
voyage  of  Bastidas,  he  obtained  a  repartimiento  of 
Indians,  and  applied  himself  to  agriculture  at  Salva- 


VASCO  NUStEZ  DE  BALBOA.  325 

tierra,  a  town  of  Espanola.  Becoming  embarrassed 
by  debts,  and  disgusted  with  the  plodding  life  of  a 
farmer,  he  determined  to  try  fortune  in  the  new 
colony  of  Aloriso  de  Ojeda.  But  how  to  escape  his 
creditors  was  the  question.  Debtors  were  prohibited 
by  edict  from  leaving  the  island.  The  town  of  Santo 
Domingo  at  this  time  swarmed  with  insolvent  adven 
turers  anxious  to  engage  in  new  adventure,  and  the 
strictest  watch  was  kept  on  them  by  the  authorities. 
An  armed  escort  accompanied  every  departure  until 
well  out  at  sea,  to  bring  back  discovered  stowaways. 
For  all  this  Vasco  Nunez  determined  to  sail  with 
Enciso.  Now  mark  the  budding  of  genius !  Taking 
a  large  cask,  such  as  was  used  in  shipping  stores,  he 
ensconced  himself  therein,  and  caused  it  to  be  headed 
up,  placed  upon  a  wagon,  and  driven  from  his  farm 
to  the  landing,  where  it  was  placed  with  the  other 
stores,  and  finally  carried  on  board  the  ship.  The 
vessel  put  to  sea;  the  tender  returned  to  port;  to 
the  creditors  was  left  the  farm  of  Vasco  Nunez,  while 
the  late  owner  was  forever  safe  beyond  their  reach.2 

When,  like  Aphrodite  from  her  circling  shell,  the 
serio-comic  face  of  the  bankrupt  farmer  appeared 
emerging  from  the  provision  cask,  the  bachiller  was 
disposed  to  treat  the  matter  magisterially,  and  threat 
ened  to  land  the  refugee  from  justice  on  the  first 
deserted  island.  But  as  the  learned  judge  could  not 
be  held  accountable  as  a  party  to  the  fraud,  and  as 
he  thereby  gained  a  valuable  recruit,  his  judicial 
sensitiveness  was  finally  mollified,  and  he  assigned 
to  the  stowaway  the  ordinary  duties  of  a  soldier. 
Nevertheless  the  mildly  murderous  threat  of  the 
lawyer  was  not  lost  upon  the  farmer. 

Into  the  hearts  of  the  desponding  colonists  at  San 
Sebastian  the  words  of  Vasco  Nunez  infused  new 
life.  No  time  was  lost  in  making  ready;  and  cross 
ing  the  gulf,  they  found  the  country  and  river  as  he 

20viedo,  ii.  426,  says  that,  with  the  assistance  of  one  Hurtado,  Vasco 
Nuaez  was  hidden  in  a  ship's  sail. 


326  SETTLEMENT  OF  DARIEN. 

had  said.  Near  this  river  of  Darien,3  for  so  the 
Atrato  and  country  thereabout  was  then  called,  stood 
the  village  of  the  cacique,  Cemaco,  a  brave  and 
upright  ruler. 

Enciso,  who  is  no  less  valiant  than  wise  and  con 
scientious,  determines  to  make  this  place  judicially 
his  own.  Cemaco,  who  believes  himself  the  legal 
owner,  objects.  Whereupon  is  invoked  that  admir 
able  provision,  the  ultimate  appeal;  and  the  man 
of  the  long  robe,  a^d  the  man  of  no  robe  at  all, 
each  after  his  iashion,  prepare  for  war.  Sending 
his  women  and  children  up  the  river,  Cemaco  posts 
himself  with  five  hundred  warriors  before  the  vil 
lage.  Enciso,  in  whose  person  are  united  the  com 
bined  essences  of  Christendom,  civil,  ecclesiastical, 
and  military,  concentrates  all  his  forces,  human  and 
divine,  to  hurl  upon  the  presumptuous  savage.  First, 
as  is  his  wont  in  legal  battles,  to  every  soldier  he 
administers  the  oath  that  he  will  not  flinch  before 
the  enemy;  then  he  invokes  the  powers  above,  vows 
to  the  virgin  that  this  heathen  town  shall  be  hers  in 
name  if  she  will  make  it  his  in  substance;  vows,  if 
she  will  give  it  him,  that  with  Cemaco's  gold  he  will 
build  on  Cemaco's  land  a  church,  and  dedicate  the 
sacred  edifice  to  her  adored  image,  Antigua  of  Seville. 
Moreover,  he  will  make  a  pilgrimage  to  her  holy 
shrine.  Virgen  santisima !  Achilles  to  Athene  could 

3  '  Der  Name  Darien  (Dariena,  oder  Tarend)  scheint  zuniichst  mit  dem 
indianischen  Namen  des  grossen  Flusscs  Atrato,  welcher  sich  in  den  Golf 
von  Uraba  ausgiesst,  seinen  Aiifang  genommen  zu  haben.  Der  erste  Eroberer, 
der  in  diesen  Golf  eiiisegelte,  war  Bastidas  1501.  Ob  er  schou  den  Fluss 
Darien  gesehen  nnd  den  Namen  nach  Europa  gebracht  hat,  ist  ungewiss. 
Gewiss  ist  es,  das  der  Name  des  Flusses  Darien  bereits  in  den  Dokumenteu 
imd  Theilungspakten  zwischen  Nicucsa  und  Ojeda  in  Jahre  1509  genannt 
wird.'  Kold,  Die  Belden  tiltestcn  Gemral-lcarten  von  Amerika,  116.  On  Peter 
Martyr's  map,  India  beyond  the  Ganr/es,  1510,  is  tariene;  on  the  globe  of 
Orontius,  1531,  the  gulf  is  called  Sinus  vraba,  the  river  vrabe,  and  the 
Isthmus  furna  dariena.  Salvat  do  Piles trina,  Munich  Atlas,  no.  iv.,  1515, 
places  on  the  west  side  of  the  gulf  of  Uraba  the  word  darlem.  Maiollo, 
Munich  Atlas,  no.  v.,  1519,  calls  the  place  daryen ;  Fernando  Colon,  1527, 
writes  darien •;  Diego  de  Ribero,  1529,  darie ;  Munich  Atlas,  no.  vi.,  1532-40, 
dariem;  Vaz  Dourado,  1571,  daricm:  Robert  Thorne,  in  HakluyVs  Voy.  Do- 
rion;  Mercator'a  Atlax,  1569;  West-Indische  Spieyhel,  1624;  Ogilbu's  3/ap  of 
America,  1671;  Dampier,  1699,  and  subsequent  cartographers  give  the  present 
form. 


BATTLE  OF  ANTIGUA.  327 

not  promise  more;  and  with  these  preparations  the 
battle  begins.  The  half-starved  Spaniards  fight  like 
fiends.  Cemaco  for  a  time  maintains  his  position 
with  firmness;  but  the  awe-inspiring  appearance  of 
the  strangers,  their  ship,  their  shining  armor,  their 
beards,  the  whiteness  of  their  skin,  the  wonderful 
sharpness  of  their  weapons,  and  the  solemn  thunder 
and  smoke  of  their  fire-arms  soon  scatter  to  the  forest 
his  terror-smitten  people.  To  the  unbounded  joy  of 
the  conquerors  the  town  is  found  rich  in  gold  and 
cotton,  and  the  adjacent  fields  afford  abundance  of 
provisions. 

This  is  something  like  reward  for  toilsome  mis 
sionary  labors.  Along  the  river  banks,  secreted  in 
caves,  are  found  golden  ornaments  to  the  value  of  ten 
thousand  castellanos.4  The  virgin's  share  and  the 
king's  share  are  set  aside,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
spoils  divided  among  the  band.  Thus  Cemaco's  vil 
lage  becomes  the  seat  of  government  in  Tierra  Firnie ; 
and  to  it,  as  the  lawyer  promised  the  virgin,  is  given 
the  name  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua  del  Darien.5 

In  good  truth  fortune  had  at  length  smiled  upon 
the  colonists.  Captives  taken  in  the  sldrmishes  which 
followed  the  pitched  battle  were  made  to  gather  gold 
and  work  in  the  fields.  The  bachiller  began  a  rigor- 

O  O 

ous  rule  with  a  full  sense  of  the  responsibilities  resting 
upon  him  as  representative  of  the  crown  of  Spain,  the 
holy  see  of  Rome,  and  of  civilization  and  salvation 
generally,  not  to  mention  his  own  modest  merits, 
which  appeared  to  him  by  no  means  diminished  after 
his  recent  successes.  Though  small  in  number,  this 

4  Ogilby,  Am.,  66,  entertains  a  dim  conception  of  the  fact  when  he  says, 
'Aiicisus  pursuing,  found  in  a  Thicket  of  Canes,  or  Reeds  a  great  Treasure 
of  Gold.' 

u '  De  que  hoy  no  quedan  ni  vestigios,'  says  Acosta.  Nor  do  I  find  laid 
down  on  any  map  in  my  possession  the  town  of  Santa  Maria,  or  Antigua,  or 
Darien,  by  which  names  this  place  has  been  severally  designated.  Puerto 
Hermoso,  placed  by  Colon  at  the  south-western  extremity  of  the  gulf  of 
Urabii,  p:  hcrmosso,  and  also  by  Ribero,  p°  Awo.so,  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  anchorage  of  Enciso  and  the  harbor  of  Antigua.  Oviedo,  i.  4,  in  endeav 
oring  to  fasten  upon  the  place  the  name  La  Guardia,  confuses  himself  beyond 
extrication.  '  En  la  cibdad  del  Darien  (que  tambien  se  llamo  antes  la  Guardia) 
6  despues  santa  Maria  del  Antigua.' 


328  SETTLEMENT  OF  DARIEN. 

colony  should  be  mighty  in  law.  Poor  Ojeda!  How 
happy  he  might  have  been  if  his  heavenly  mistress 
had  not  jilted  him  for  this  mummified  bundle  of 
quiddities. 

Settling  themselves  in  Cemaco's  houses,  the  Span 
iards  began  to  look  about.  First  in  order  after  his 
lawless  raid,  in  the  eyes  of  Enciso,  was  law.  The 
bachiller,  as  we  have  ere  this  surmised,  was  one  of 
those  super -wise  and  self-opinioned  men  who  to 
achieve  a  fall  have  only  to  attain  a  height.  Very 
little  law  was  here  needed,  very  little  government; 
but  Enciso  was  a  lawyer  and  a  ruler,  and  little  of  it 
would  not  suffice  him.  His  first  edict  was  the  pro 
hibition  of  private  traffic  with  the  natives.  This 
measure,  though  strictly  legal,  could  scarcely  be  called 
politic.  The  hundred  or  so  ragged  piratical  wretches 
cast  on  this  rich  and  feebly  defended  shore  wanted 
few  decrees;  and  the  fewer  laws  their  ruler  made  for 
them  the  fewer  would  be  broken.  But,  necessary  or 
not,  the  alcalde  mayor  must  issue  orders,  else  he  is 
no  alcalde  mayor.  Hence  other  regulations  followed, 
equally  unpopular,  until  the  colonists  began  to  con 
sider  how  best  they  might  make  a  plug  which  should 
stop  this  great  running  to  waste  of  law.  Though 
convinced  that  Enciso  was  planning  to  get  the  gold 
as  well  as  the  government  all  into  his  own  hands, 
and  employ  the  colonists  as  tools  wherewith  to  mine, 
and  hold  the  savages  in  check,  so  inbred  is  Spanish 
loyalty,  that  even  the  reckless  members  of  this  crude 
commonwealth  hesitated  before  committing  any  overt 
act  which  might  forever  outlaw  them  from  their 
country.  Better  employ  his  own  weapon  against  the 
bachiller,  for  law  is  safer  than  hemp  for  hanging  even 
lawyers. 

There  was  about  Vasco  Nunez  a  plain  directness 
of  thought  and  purpose  the  very  opposite  of  those 
engendered  of  the  law's  entanglements.  Ever  since 
his  fortunate  suggestion  to  cross  from  San  Sebastian 
to  Darien  he  had  been  regarded  as  the  savior  of  the 


VASCO  NUftEZ  ASSUMES  COMMAND.  S2D 

colony;  and  now  he  thought  he  saw  open  a  way  of 
deliverance  from  their  present  trouble,  and  so  he  told 
them.  "  The  gulf  of  Uraba,"  said  he,  "  separates 
Nueva  Andalucia  from  Castilla  del  Oro.  While  on 
the  eastern  side  we  belonged  to  the  government  of 
Alonso  de  Ojeda;  now  that  we  are  on  the  western, 
we  are  subject  only  to  Diego  de  Nicuesa."  Before 
this  simple  logic  the  bachiller  was  dumfoundered.  Of 
what  value  was  legal  lore  that  could  be  so  easily  over 
turned  by  an  illiterate  adventurer?  In  vain  he  feebly 
argued  that  wherever  was  Ojeda's  colony,  Ojeda's 
deputy  was  master.  The  people  were  against  him; 
and  the  opinion  of  the  people  concerning  him  was 
expressed  by  Vasco  Nunez  when  some  time  afterward 
he  wrote  the  king  regarding  persons  of  that  cloth  in 
infant  settlements:  "  Most  powerful  sire,"  he  said, 
"there  is  one  great  favor  that  I  pray  your  royal  high 
ness  to  do  me,  since  it  is  of  great  importance  to  your 
service.  It  is  for  your  royal  highness  to  issue  an 
order  that  no  bachiller  of  laws,  or  of  anything  unless 
it  be  of  medicine,  shall  come  to  these  parts  of  Tierra 
Firme,  under  a  heavy  penalty  that  your  highness 
shall  fix;  because  no  bachiller  ever  comes  hither  who 
is  not  a  devil,  and  they  all  live  like  devils,  and  not  '' 
only  are  they  themselves  bad,  but  they  make  others 
bad,  having  always  contrivances  to  bring  about  litiga 
tions  and  villainies.  This  is  very  important  to  your 
highness'  service  in  this  a  new  country."6 

6  Carta  dirlgida  al  Rcy  por  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  desde  Santa  Maria  del 
Daricn,  20  de  Enero  de  1513,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  358.  That  Enciso 
has  been  properly  represented  as  a  vain  and  shallow  man  is  proved  by  a  refer 
ence  to  his  book,  Suma  de  Geographia,  1,  wherein  he  does  not  hesitate  to  patronize 
the  boy-emperor  '  whose  youth  had  not  permitted  him  to  read  much  of  geog 
raphy.  '  '  Por  tanto  yo  Martin  f eriiandez  de  enciso  alguazil  mayor  dela  tierra 
firme  delas  Indias  ocidentales  llamada  castilla  dl  oro.  Desseando  hazer  algun 
seruicio  a  vuestra.  s.  c.  c.  in.  que  le  fuesse  agradable  y  no  menos  prouechoso, 
cosiderando  que  la  poca  edad  de  vuestra  real  alteza  no  ha  dado  lugar  a  que 
pudiesseleer  los  libros  que  dela  geographia  hablan.'  And  that  he  was  as 
beastly  in  his  bigotry  and  cruelty  as  his  less  learned  companions  we  may 
know  from  what  he  himself  wrote  the  king,  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col. Doc., 
i.  449,  about  the  caciques  who  kept  men  dressed  as  women,  and  used  as  such, 
'  and  when  I  took  Darien,  we  seized  and  burned  them,  and  when  the  women 
saw  them  burning  they  manifested  joy.'  Compare  Ovicdo,  ii.  425-27,  472-76 ; 
and  iii.  7;  Ilerrcra,  dec.  i.  lib.  vj.ii.  cap.  v.-vii.;  and  lib.  ix.  cap.  1;  or,  if  one 


330  SETTLEMENT  OF  DARIEN. 

So  the  lawyer  was  deposed,  and  the  cavalier  ele 
vated.  Enciso  gracelessly  yielded  his  dear  authority; 
and  after  much  wrangling  among  the  ill-assorted  fra 
ternity,  a  municipality  was  decided  upon,  and  two 
alcaldes7  were  chosen,  Yasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  and 
Martin  Zamudio.  The  office  of  regidor8  fell  among 
others  to  one  Valdivia.  Subsequently  additional  offi 
cials  were  chosen. 

Government  without  law,  however,  proved  no  less 
ineffectual  than  law  without  government.  Disaffec- 
tions  and  altercations  continued.  In  the  administra 
tion  of  justice,  Balboa  was  accused  of  favoring  his 
friends  and  frowning  upon  his  enemies.  Some  re 
pented  having  crossed  the  gulf;  some  desired  the 
restoration  of  Enciso;  some  suggested  that  as  they 
were  now  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Nicuesa,  it  was 
his  right  to  rule,  or  to  name  their  ruler. 

While  these  strifes  were  raging,  the  inhabitants  of 
Antigua  were  startled  one  day  by  the  report  of  a  gun 
coming  from  the  direction  of  San  Sebastian.  Think 
ing  perhaps  Ojeda  had  returned,  or  sent  supplies, 
they  built  fires  on  the  adjacent  heights  in  order  to  at 
tract  attention.  Presently  two  ships  approached,  and 

will  have  it  in  Dutch,  Ezquebel,Aankomst,  30-8,  in  Gottfried,  Reysen,  i. ;  Acosta, 
Compen  d.  Hist.  Nueva  Granada,  33-8;  Drake's  Voy.,  157-58;  Normeun?6  Hist. 
CaL,  10;  Pattern's  Hist.  IT.  S.,  11;  Ogilby's  Am.,  399;  March  y  Labores, 
Marina  Espanola,  i.  413-23;  Benzoni,  Hist.  Hondo  Nvovo,  41-5;  Harper's 
Mat/.,  xviii.  468;  BidwdVs  Panama,  27-28;  and  Heylyn's  Cosmoy.,  1087. 

*  As  I  have  before  observed,  there  were  alcaldes  of  various  denominations, 
duties,  and  jurisdictions.  In  new  discoveries,  when  the  chief  of  the  expedi 
tion  had  not  contracted  with  the  king  for  the  appointing  of  authorities,  the 
settlers  met  and  elected  one  or  more  alcaldes  and  regidores.  The  alcalde,  in 
the  absence  of  the  governor  or  military  chief,  presided  over  the  municipal 
council,  composed  of  regidores  who  governed  the  municipality,  or  rcgimiento, 
as  it  was  then  called.  The  alcalde  was  also  the  executive  power,  exercising 
the  functions  of  judge,  with  original  jurisdiction  in  all  matters  civil  and  crim 
inal,  those  relating  to  the  natives  excepted.  In  the  absence  of  the  adelantado 
he  was  therefore  chief  in  authority,  and  when  the  governor  was  present,  the 
alcalde  was  second.  Alcaldes  in  new  settlements,  and  in  early  times,  were 
different  from  those  created  later.  Their  duties  covered  the  emergency.  In 
the  present  instance,  had  Enciso  continued  to  exercise  the  office  of  alcalde 
mayor,  regidores  might  still  have  been  elected  to  attend  to  the  affairs  of  the 
municipality,  in  which  case  no  alcaldes  would  have  been  elected,  for  Enciso 
himself  would  have  presided. 

b  Regidores,  or  members  of  the  municipal  council,  were  elected  by  the 
residents  of  a  ward  or  district.  Cities  were  entitled  to  twelve,  towns  to  six, 
and  villages  or  small  settlements  were  limited  to  three  or  even  less. 


COLMENARES  COMES.  331 

anchored  before  the  town.  They  proved  to  be  vessels 
belonging  to  Nicuesa,  freighted  at  Espafiola  with 
supplies  for  the  colony  of  Castilla  del  Oro,  and 
commanded  by  Rodrigo  Enriquez  de  Colmenares. 
Thrown  by  stress  of  weather  upon  the  coast  of  Santa 
Marta,9  he  had  there  lost  a  number  of  his  men;  after 
which  he  entered  the  gulf  of  Uraba,  hoping  to  find 
information  of  Nicuesa. 

A  quick  observer  and  a  faithful  officer,  Colmenares 
soon  understood  the  position  of  affairs,  and  took 
prompt  measures  to  secure  to  his  governor  such  ad 
vantages  as  might  accrue  from  profitless  contentions. 
By  a  judicious  distribution  of  articles  greatly  needed 
by  the  colonists,  attended  by  wise  counsels,  he  gained 
their  confidence,  and  partly  healed  their  feuds;  so 
that  before  sailing  he  prevailed  on  them  to  send  two 
ambassadors  to  treat  with  Nicuesa  concerning  the 
affairs  of  their  settlement.  The  two  envoys  chosen 
were  Diego  de  Albites,  and  an  aspiring  lawyer,  hith 
erto  overshadowed  by  the  august  presence  of  Enciso, 
called  the  bachiller  Diego  del  Corral,  and  they  were 
directed  to  accompany  the  ships  of  Colmenares  in  the 
brigantine  belonging  to  the  settlement  of  Antigua. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  November,  1510,  when 
Colmenares  entered  the  gulf  of  Urabd.  Unable  to 
gather  any  tidings  of  Nicuesa,  he  continued  his  voy 
age  westward,  searching  the  inlets  along  the  coast. 
He  would  nevertheless  have  passed  Nombre  de  Dios 
had  he  not  seen  some  of  Nicuesa's  men  in  their 
boat,  at  one  of  the  islands,  seeking  food.  The 
wildest  joy  greeted  the  new  arrival.  It  was  to  the 
colony  of  Castilla  del  Oro  as  a  reprieve  from  death. 
Gazing  sadly  on  the  sallow  faces  and  emaciated 
forms  before  them,  the  miserable  wreck  of  Nicuesa's 
gallant  company  now  reduced  to  sixty  souls,  listen 
ing  to  their  tales  of  wretchedness,  tears  of  honest 
sympathy  fell  from  the  eyes  of  the  hardy  sailors. 

9  The  name  of  a  Spanish  settlement  midway  between  Cape  de  la  Vela  and 
Cartagena,  and  sometimes  applied  to  the  territory  in  that  vicinity. 


332  SETTLEMENT  OF  DARIEN. 

With  difficulty  could  be  recognized  in  the  leader  of 
the  hapless  troop  the  once  gay  and  courtly  Nicuesa. 
Colmenares  gave  the  sufferers  food  and  comforted 
them.  He  told  Nicuesa  of  Ojeda's  failure,  of  the 
settlement  at  Antigua,  and  how  Enciso  and  his  com 
pany,  having  found  a  spot  rich  in  gold  and  well  pro 
visioned,  had  fallen  to  quarrelling  among  themselves 
about  the  government,  and  had  finally  sent  messen 
gers  to  him,  the  rightful  ruler,  for  the  healing  of 
their  disputes. 

To  Nicuesa  these  words  were  as  fresh  oil  in 
an  expiring  lamp.  But  in  his  enfeebled  state,  the 
sudden  change  from  blank  despair  to  brilliant  hope 
played  havoc  with  his  discretion.  After  brief  thanks 
giving  for  deliverance,  his  mind  became  excited  by 
dreams  of  boundless  wealth  and  empire.  He  ordered 
a  feast,  at  which  he  presided  with  insensate  levity. 
Toward  the  ambassadors  from  the  gulf  he  assumed  a 
haughty  arrogance,  claiming  supreme  authority  rela 
tive  to  all  matters  at  Antigua,  and  stoutly  swearing 
that  the  gold  taken  from  his  subjects  of  Darien  should 
be  disgorged. 

Colmenares  had  marked  the  effect  of  Nicuesa's 
altered  temper  on  his  followers.  He  saw  that  dis 
affection  was  rife,  and  that  the  governor  held  control 
by  a  feeble  thread.  Showing  Nicuesa  the  madness  of 
his  course,  he  explained  the  importance  of  attaching 
the  remnant  of  Ojeda's  colony  to  his  own,  and  pointed 
out  their  strength  and  his  weakness;  he  received  in 
reply  only  insolent  rebukes. 

Meanwhile  the  ambassadors  Albites  and  Corral, 
men  whose  wits  were  about  them,  were  not  pleased 
with  this  foretaste  of  Nicuesa's  rule;  nor  did  inter 
course  with  Nicuesa's  men  tend  in  any  wise  to  dimin 
ish  their  unfavorable  impressions.  One  night  they 
visited  Lope  de  Olano,  who  for  his  sins  was  chained 
to  a  rock  and  made  to  grind  corn.  "  Behold  my  con 
dition,"  he  exclaimed.  "  I  have  ever  served  my  gov 
ernor  faithfully.  I  saved  him  from  perishing,  when  I 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  NICUESA.  333 

had  but  to  delay  his  rescue  to  become  myself  the 
governor.  This  is  my  reward.  You  men  of  An 
tigua  may  draw  your  own  conclusions."  By  others 
the  ambassadors  were  informed  that  the  chief  officers 
of  the  new  government  were  already  selected :  Vasco 
Nunez  was  to  be  stripped  of  all  authority,  and  Za- 
mudio,  as  a  relative  of  Olano,  could  scarcely  hope 
to  fare  better.  Those  who  had  trafficked  with  the 
natives  were  to  be  severely  punished.  It  was  enough. 
Stealing  away,  they  hastened  back  to  Antigua.  "A 
pretty  mess  you  have  made  of  it,  with  your  infernal 
bickerings,"  they  said  to  the  assembled  confederates. 
"  Nicuesa  will  give  you  more  of  law  than  Enciso,  and 
more  of  arbitrary  rule  than  Vasco  Nunez  and  Zamu- 
dio  ten  times  over."  A  few  days  after  a  messenger, 
one  Juan  de  Caicedo,  arrived  from  Nicuesa,  and  in 
formed  them,  for  their  further  comfort,  that  the  gov 
ernor  was  detained  at  one  of  the  islands  capturing 
natives,  but  would  be  with  them  shortly.  Perceiving 
that  his  tidings  were  not  hailed  with  transports  of 
joy,  and  being  himself  embittered  against  Nicuesa,  as 
were  indeed  almost  all  his  followers,  Caicedo  swung 
round  upon  his  bearings  and  laughed  at  them.  "Silly 
senores!  free  and  rich,  you  call  in  a  cormorant  to 
swallow  your  substance  and  yourselves."  And  now, 
as  usual  when  folly  comes  home,  curses  flowed  freely 
on  themselves  and  others.  The  prospect  of  losing 
their  gold  touched  them.  What  should  they  do  ? 

Once  more  Vasco  Nunez  offers  a  pertinent  sugges 
tion.  "  You  were  dissatisfied  with  Enciso,  and  ques 
tioned  many  of  my  acts.  Now  you  fear  a  governor 
possessing  all  the  bad  qualities  of  your  former  rulers, 
with,  perhaps,  few  of  their  redeeming  traits.  If 
calling  Nicuesa  was  an  error,  is  not  receiving  him  a 
greater  one  ?"  Struck  by  the  suggestion,  the  colonists 
drop  their  differences  and  unite  as  one  man  against 
Nicuesa,  each  taking  a  solemn  oath  never  to  serve 
under  him.  Sentries  are  then  stationed  to  give  notice 
of  his  approach,  and  measures  taken  to  prevent  his 


334  SETTLEMENT  OF  DARIEN. 

landing.  After  eight  days  pleasantly  passed  kid 
napping  among  the  islands,  the  ill-fated  governor 
enters  the  harbor  and  comes  to  anchor,  little  dream 
ing  of  the  reception  that  awaits  him.  On  shore  be 
fore  the  town  he  observes  a  company  of  armed  men, 
assembled,  as  he  supposes,  to  give  him  welcome.  As 
he  prepares  to  disembark,  the  public  procurator10  ad 
vances  and,  to  his  astonishment,  in  a  loud  voice  warns 
him  on  pain  of  death  not  to  place  foot  on  shore,  but 
instantly  to  abandon  these  parts  and  return  no  more. 

The  colony  at  Antigua  was  at  this  time  compara 
tively  strong  and  well-conditioned;  Nicuesa's  followers 
were  few,  weak,  and  disaffected.  For  him  to  enforce 
authority  was  not  possible.  His  mind  had  dwelt 
fondly  of  late  on  his  rising  fortunes,  and  this  hostile 
reception  was  a  terrible  disappointment,  for  it  was  the 
last  earthly  resource.  To  return  to  the  broken  camp 
at  N ombre  de  Dios  would  be  to  enter  again  the  jaws 
of  death ;  if  he  could  not  remain  here,  he  certainly 
could  not  depart. 

Recovering  in  a  measure,  as  from  a  heavy  blow, 
the  governor  requested  permission  to  land,  promising 
solemnly  to  enter  into  any  stipulations  concerning 
the  government  which  the  colonists  should  deem 
just.  His  proposals  were  drowned  by  the  shouts 
of  the  rabble;  and  he  was  warned,  as  he  valued  his 
life,  to  approach  no  nearer  the  shore.  Nicuesa  con 
tinued  his  expostulations  till  nightfall,  when  he 
retired  with  his  ship  a  little  farther  from  land.  Re 
turning  next  morning,  he  renewed  his  importunities. 
A  change  had  apparently  taken  place  in  the  minds 
of  the  people,  for  he  was  now  permitted  to  land 
with  his  page.  Balboa  received  the  governor  court 
eously,  conducted  him  to  his  house,  and  made  him 
a  guest  for  the  night.  The  affairs  of  the  govern- 

10  The  procurador  de,  la  ciudad,  called  afterward  sindico  procurador,  and 
later  still  sindico,  was  an  officer  of  the  municipal  council,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  see  the  city  ordinances  enforced,  bring  suit  for  and  defend  the  city  in  any 
suit,  performing  the  functions  of  city  attorney,  beside  having  a  seat  in  the 
common  council  of  the  city. 


SAD  FATE  OF  NICUESA.  335 

ment  were  discussed,  and  an  amicable  understanding 
was  arrived  at  by  the  two  leaders.  It  was  nothing 
less,  in  fact,  than  that  one  of  them  should  be  first, 
and  the  other  second,  in  Castilla  del  Oro.  On  the 
following  day  a  portion  of  the  crew  on  board  Ni- 
cuesa's  ship  was  permitted  to  land;  and  Vasco  Nunez 
now  endeavored  to  reconcile  his  comrades  to  the  rule 
of  the  governor.  It  was  too  late.  Sedition  is  more 
easily  raised  than  allayed.  Not  only  was  Zamudio 
jealous  of  his  colleague,  but  he  well  knew  that  under 
the  proposed  regime  the  odium  of  all  the  opposition 
would  fall  on  him.  Drawing  round  him  the  rougher 

o  o 

element,  he  reminded  the  colonists  of  their  oath,  and 
pictured  to  them  the  poverty  and  restraint  under 
the  proposed  government.  So  successful  was  he  in 
exciting  bad  blood,  that  Nicuesa  was  glad  to  escape 
insult  and  violence  by  retiring  to  his  ship.  Thus 
encouraged,  Zamudio  resolved  to  press  a  final  issue 
by  capturing  the  governor,  and  dictating  terms  to 
him.  The  next  day  accordingly  he  placed  his  men 
in  ambush  near  the  landing,  and  with  one  companion, 
Pedro  Macaz,  appeared  before  the  ship.  Hailing  the 
commander,  he  assured  him  that  all  was  well,  and 
that  he  now  might  safely  venture  on  shore.  Nicuesa 
fell  easily  into  the  trap.  Joining  the  conspirators, 
he  walked  unsuspiciously  with  them  toward  the  spot 
where  the  gang  lay  concealed.  When  near  it  Za 
mudio  changed  his  tone  to  one  of  harsh  insolence, 
"  Senor  Nicuesa,"  he  said,  "  why  do  you  persist  in 
remaining  here  contrary  to  our  wishes  ?  Your  pres 
ence  is  our  ruin.  We  can  neither  accept  you,  nor 
abandon  this  place.  You  must  depart  instantly,  or 
die.  Take  your  choice."  Meanwhile  his  minions 
sprang  forward.  Nicuesa  saw  it  all  at  a  glance.  He 
was  fleet  of  foot,  and  this  was  his  only  hope.  So  fling 
ing  off  dignity,  he  eluded  their  clutches,  dashed  off  at 
the  top  of  his  speed  along  the  shore,  and  outstripping 
his  pursuers,  turned  into  the  forest  to  hide. 

When  Vasco  Nunez  saw  the  desperate  plight  to 


336  SETTLEMENT  OF  DARIEN. 

which  Nicuesa  was  reduced,  all  the  generous  impulses 
of  his  nature  were  aroused.  He  hated  himself  for 
the  part  he  had  played,  and  cursed  the  sordid  ambi 
tion  which  thus  unjustly  humiliated  so  chivalrous  a 
gentleman.  More  in  earnest  than  ever,  he  sought  out 
Nicuesa  in  the  wood;  and  then  endeavored  to  excite 
the  sympathies  of  the  colonists,  and  even  to  intimi^ 
date  them;  but  all  was  of  no  avail.  Those  there 
were  who  well  knew  they  had  gone  too  far  ever  to  be 
forgiven. 

Satan  now  wholly  possessed  Zamudio.  No  fiend 
could  ever  invent  and  execute  a  more  dastardly  meas 
ure  than  was  now  proposed.  With  sixty  men  he 
entered  the  forest,  seized  Nicuesa,  and  made  him 
swear  instantly  to  sail  for  Spain,  touching  no  port  till 
he  should  reach  Cddiz.  Then,  as  if  in  mockery,  he 
took  from  him  his  only  serviceable  ship,  placed  him 
into  the  old  brigantine,  now  rotten  and  unsafe,  which 
had  been  in  use  at  Veragua,  and  sent  him  forth  with 
seventeen  men  and  a  few  devoted  members  of  his 
household.  It  was  in  March,  1511,  that  the  so  lately 
proud  and  gallant  Nicuesa  was  thus  driven  from 
Antigua,  and  neither  he  nor  any  of  that  ill-fated 
company  was  ever  afterward  heard  from  !n 

11  Benzoni  asserts  that  after  leaving  Antigua,  Nicuesa  followed  the  coast 
for  some  distance,  but  landing  one  day  for  water,  he  was  seized  by  cannibals, 
who  captured  the  vessel  and  devoured  the  men.  'E  cosi  Niquesa  molto 
clolente  so  lie  parti,  e  per  quella  costa  andaiido  salto  in  terra  per  piglior  acqua, 
c  su  da  'paesaiii  ucciso,  e  poi  mangiato  con  tutti  i  suoi  compagni,  e  questo 
su  la  fine  della  vita  di  Diego  di  Niquesa,  con  la  sua  armata  di  Veragua. '  Hist. 
Mondo  Nvovo,  i.  47.  A  story  was  current  for  a  time  that  they  had  been 
thrown  011  Cuba,  where  all  perished,  leaving  inscribed  upon  a  tree,  '  Here 
ended  the  unfortunate  Nicuesa.'  Las  Casas  and  Herrera,  however,  are  of 
opinion  that  his  vessel  foundered  at  sea.  'Algunos  imaginaron  que  aportb  a 
Cuba,  y  que  los  Indies  le  mataron,  porque  andando  ciertos  Castellanos  por  la 
isla  hallaroo  escrito  en  un  arbol :  Aqui  f enecio  el  desdichado  Nicuesa :  pero  esto 
se  tuvo  por  los  hombres  mas  verdaderos,  por  falso,  porque  los  primeros  que  en- 
traron  en  Cuba,  afermaron  nunca  aver  oydo  tal  nueva.  Lo  que  se  tuvo  por  mas 
cicrto,  es,  que  como  llenava  tan  mal  iiavio,  y  las  mares  de  aquellas  partes  son  ton 
bravas,  y  velienientes,  la  mesma  mar  lo  tragaria  facilmente,  o  que  pereceria  de 
habre,  y  de  sed.'  H err  era,  i.  viii.  viii.  But  his  fate  must  forever  remain  a 
mystery ;  and  he  one  among  the  many  whose  visionary  hopes  have  been  buried 
beneath  these  waters ;  one  among  the  many  who,  having  left  home  with  san 
guine  expectations,  sailed  over  these  seas  in  quest  of  gold  or  adventure,  never 
again  to  be  heard  from !  It  is  easy,  after  a  failure,  to  find  the  mistake.  Many 
of  Nicuesa's  misfortunes  sprang  not  from  any  fault,  and  yet  faults,  in  place  of 
nobler  qualities,  were  developed  by  his  misfortunes. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FACTIONS  AND  FOEAGINGS  IN  DAEIEN. 
1511-1513. 

THE  GARRISON  AT  NOMBRE  DE  DIGS — SUBTLE  DIPLOMACIES — VASCO  NUNEZ 
ASSUMES  COMMAND — Excise,  HIS  LIFE  AND  WRITINGS — THE  Towx 
AND  THE  JAIL  —  RIGHTS  or  SANCTUARY  — VALDIVIA'S  VOYAGE  —  ZA- 
MUDIO'S  MISSION — EXPEDITION  TO  COIBA — CARETA  GIVES  VASCO  NUNEZ 
HIS  DAUGHTER — PONCA  PUNISHED — JURA,  THE  SAVAGE  STATESMAN — 
VISIT  OF  THE  SPANIARDS  TO  COMAGRE — PANCIACO  TELLS  THEM  OF  A 
SOUTHERN  SEA — THE  STORY  OF  VALDIVIA,  WHO  is  SHIPWRECKED  AND 
EATEN  BY  CANNIBALS — VASCO  NUNEZ  UNDERTAKES  AN  IMPIOUS  PIL 
GRIMAGE  TO  THE  GOLDEN  TEMPLE  OF  DABAIBA — CONSPIRACY  FORMED 
BY  THE  NATIVES  TO  DESTROY  ANTIGUA — FULVIA  DIVULGES  THE  PLOT — 
DARIEN  QUIETED — VASCO  NUNEZ  RECEIVES  A  ROYAL  COMMISSION — 
SERIOUS  CHARGES — VASCO  NUNEZ  RESOLVES  TO  DISCOVER  THE  SOUTHERN 
SEA  BEFORE  HE  is  PREVENTED  BY  ARREST. 

THUS  far  the  first  decade  of  disaster  along  Tierra 
Firme;  thus  far  the  discovery  of  Rodrigo  de  Bas- 
tidas  in  1501;  the  ineffectual  attempt  of  Columbus  at 
Veragua  in  1502;  the  failure  of  the  impetuous  Ojeda, 
and  the  death  of  the  veteran  pilot,  Juan  de  la  Cosa; 
the  founding  of  Nombre  de  Dios  and  Antigua;  the 
destruction  of  the  superb  armament  of  Diego  de  Ni- 
cuesa,  and  the  sad  fate  of  its  commander.  Mean 
while  we  behold  evolved  from  the  factions  of  Antigua 
two  notable  characters,  Francisco  Pizarro  and  Vasco 
Nunez  de  Balboa.  We  will  now  further  observe 
society  in  Darien,  and  the  attempts  of  the  Spaniards 
to  govern  themselves  and  pacify  their  neighbors. 

When  Diego  de  Nicuesa  embarked  to  assume  com 
mand  at  Antigua,  he  left  in  the  fortress  of  Nombre 

O  ' 

de  Dios  a  small  garrison  under  Gonzalo  de  Badajoz, 
with  Alonso  Nunez  de  Madrid  as  alcalde.     Their  pro- 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    22  (337)  • 


338  FACTIONS  AND  FORAGINGS  IN  DARIEK 

visions  falling  low,  and  expected  relief  failing  them, 
like  ill-mannered  wolves  they  fell  to  fighting  over  the 
little  remaining  food,  and  but  for  the  opportune  arri 
val  of  Colmenares,  civilization  at  Nombre  de  Dios 
would  soon  have  found  a  miserable  ending.  To  the 
proposal  to  join  their  countrymen  at  Antigua,  they 
eagerly  assented,  and  embarked  without  delay  in  the 
two  brigantines  sent  for  the  purpose.  Lope  de  Olano 
was  released,  and  subsequently  rose  high  in  the  esteem 
of  Balboa.  Thus  the  settlement  of  Antigua,  after  the 
departure  of  the  hapless  Nicuesa,  comprised  all  that 
was  left  of  the  two  colonies  of  Nueva  Andalucia  and 
Castilla  del  Oro,  and  numbered  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men.1 

The  final  disappearance  of  the  two  commanders  by 
no  means  allayed  the  discords  of  the  colony.  Factions 
assumed  broader  dimensions  than  ever.  A  band  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  bears,  after  accomplishing  the 
duties  of  the  day,  would  sensibly  stretch  themselves 
under  the  welcome  covert;  but  intellectual  and  moral 
beasts  are,  by  reason  of  their  superiority,  doomed  to 
the  eternal  curse  of  government;  nor  does  it  make 
much  difference  as  to  the  quality  or  quantity  of  the 
herd;  fools  will  fight  for  domination  all  the  same. 

Zamudio,  followed  by  the  gang  that  had  driven 
out  Nicuesa,  claims  preeminence  as  a  reward  for  his 
villainies.  Enciso,  the  learned  and  disinterested  rep 
resentative  of  the  higher  orders  of  mastership,  earthly 
and  heavenly,  never  fails  to  keep  the  high  and  holy 
law  spread  before  these  misguided  men.  Vasco  Nunez 
keeps  his  own  counsel;  but  he  feels  within  himself 
that  neither  Zamudio  nor  Enciso  shall  rule  An 
tigua.  All  he  need  do  is  to  continue  as  hitherto  to 
turn  against  his  opponents  their  own  weapons.  The 
lawyer  he  vanquishes  with  law;  the  ruffian,  by  giv 
ing  him  a  rope  wherewith  to  hang  himself.  In  the 
present  instance,  like  a  skilful  tactician,  he  separates 
his  antagonists  and  opposes  one  to  the  other.  Call- 

1  Oviedo,  ii.  477,  is  obviously  wrong  in  saying  over  six  hundred. 


DEEP  DIPLOMACIES.  339 

ing  Zamudio  aside,  he  makes  evident  to  him  the 
necessity,  if  he  would  continue  a  municipal  govern 
ment,  of  withholding  all  power  from  the  bachiller. 
Having  no  intention  of  relinquishing  the  sweets  of 
office,  for  which  he  has  risked  so  much,  Zaniudio  lends 
a  willing  ear.  The  lawyer  must  be  quieted,  but  law 
fully.  High-handed  measures  may  be  employed,  but 
only  exceptionally.  The  law  is  too  useful  a  weapon 
to  be  flung  aside  by  intelligent  knaves.  So  the  two 
alcaldes  put  their  heads  together  and  frame  charges 
to  fit  the  occasion.  Enciso  is  accused  of  wilful  usur 
pation  of  authority,  of  assuming  the  duties  and  exer 
cising  the  functions  of  alcalde  mayor  without  license 
from  the  king — grave  charges,  truly,  emanating  from 
so  scrupulous  a  society.  The  lawyer's  skill  at  plead 
ing  avails  him  nothing.  He  is  convicted,  his  prop 
erty  confiscated,  and  himself  cast  into  prison.2  He  is 
not  long  kept  in  confinement,  however,  but  is  set  free 
on  giving  a  promise  immediately  to  leave  the  coun 
try.3  Thus  one  of  the  two  ambitious  Caesars  is  out 
of  the  way;  but  how  dispose  of  the  other?  Again 

2 '  II  Baccelliero  non  potena  mostrare  le  Reali  sue  prouisioni  per  bauerle 
per  dute  nella  naue,  che  si  mppe  nel  Golfo  d'Vraua.'  Benzoni,  Hist.  Mondo 
Nvovo,  i.  47.  There  were  those  who  told  Peter  Martyr  that  Enciso  was  thus 
punished  by  providence  for  having  advised  the  expulsion  of  Nicuesa. 

3  Martin  Fernandez  de  Enciso  iirst  came  to  the  Indies  with  Bastidas.  After 
practising  law  for  a  time  successfully  at  Santo  Domingo,  he  was  tempted  to 
this  expedition,  as  we  have  seen,  by  Ojeda,  upon  the  promise  of  the  office  of 
alcalde  mayor.  Though  a  pettifogger  in  his  profession,  he  was  nevertheless 
possessed  of  worth  and  ability  in  other  directions.  In  Darien,  while  in  the 
main  well  meaning,  he  was  unable  to  cope  successfully  with  shrewder  intel 
lects  sharpened  by  New  World  experiences.  After  his  return  to  Spain  he 
published  a  work,  entitled  Suma  de  yeograhia  q  trata  de  todas  las  partidas  & 
prouincias  del  mundo:  en  especial  de  las  indias.  y  trata  largamete  del  arte  del 
mare  cur:  Juntamete  con  la  esphera  en  romace:  con  el  regimieto  del  Sol  &  del 
norte:  nueuamente  hecha.  As  the  title  indicates,  the  book  purports  to  be  a 
compendium  of  universal  geography,  treating  of  all  parts  of  the  world,  but 
including  the  little  that  was  then  known  of  the  Indies.  That  part  relating 
to  the  New  World  was  made  up  in  a  great  measure  from  his  own  observations. 
And  yet  it  resembles  too  nearly  the  usual  summaries  of  the  period  to  be  of 
much  value.  The  first  third  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  the  science  of  geog 
raphy,  with  astronomical  tables  and  a  resum<§  of  early  Spanish  history.  Then 
the  physical  features  of  Spain,  and  Europe  generally,  are  given,  and  finally  a 
rambling  account  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  America.  It  was  printed  at  Seville  by  a 
German,  Jakob  Cromberger,  in  1519.  Other  editions  appeared  in  1530  and  1 540. 
My  edition  is  dated  1530,  the  part  relating  to  America  occupying  the  last  eight 
folios  of  the  book.  Bibliographers  believe  this  the  first  book  relative  to  the  New 
World  printed  in  the  Spanish  language.  '  Livre  curieux,  parce  qu'il  est  le 


340  FACTIONS  AND  FORAGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

Vasco  Nunez  draws  Zaniudio  aside  and  expresses  a 
fear  that  the  enraged  bachiller,  once  in  Spain,  will 
stir  up  the  king  against  them,  and  enter  false  state 
ments  before  the  tribunal  of  the  Indies  regarding  the 
quality  of  justice  dispensed  by  the  alcaldes  of  An 
tigua.  "Would  it  not  be  well,"  continues  Balboa, 
"for  one  of  us  to  accompany  the  bachiller?  and  thus, 
while  misrepresentations  may  be  promptly  refuted, 
we  may  at  the  same  time  secure  our  government 
upon  a  more  substantial  basis."  Zamudio  sees  this 
necessity,  and  is  finally  induced  to  accept  the  commis 
sion.  Thus  Vasco  Nunez  is  left  to  reign  alone;  and 
every  effort  is  made  by  him  firmly  to  secure  his  gov 
ernment.  While  cementing  his  friends,  he  conciliates 
his  enemies;  above  all  he  strives  to  deal  justly  by 
everybody,  and  with  fair  success.  By  caring  for  their 

%/  t/  '  */  O 

comfort  and  exercising  strict  impartiality  in  the  di 
vision  of  spoils,  he  wins  the  hearts  of  the  fighting 
men.  Even  Oviedo,  who  was  not  friendly  to  Balboa, 
says:  "No  chieftain  who  ever- went  to  the  Indies 
equalled  him  in  these  respects."  And  yet,  beneath 
the  accumulating  honors  the  recipient  sits  not  wholly 
at  ease.  "No  one  need  hope  to  rule  this  land,"  writes 
Vasco  Nunez  to  the  king,  "and  sit  or  sleep;  for  if  he 
sleep,  he  will  never  wake.  Day  and  night  I  think 
only  of  your  Majesty's  interests.  In  every  battle  I 
lead  my  men,  and  with  truthful  example,  and  kind 
treatment  of  the  natives,  seek  to  bring  into  favor 
your  Majesty's  government  in  these  parts." 

premier  traite*  de  geographic  impr.  en  Espagne,  ou  1'on  trotive  des  details  sur 
1' Ame"  rique. '  Brunei,  Manuel du Libraire.  'Apparently  the  first  book  printed  in 
Spanish  relating  to  America.'  Rich,  Bibliotheca  Americana  Vetus.  '  L'ouvrage 
rare  et  tres  remarquable. '  Humboldt,  Examen  Critique,  iv.  306.  'A great  hydrog- 
rapher  and  explorer,  his  work  is  invaluable  for  the  early  geographical  history 
of  the  continent. '  Harrisse,  Bibliotheca  Americana  Vetustissima.  Navarrete  says: 
'  Escribi6  Enciso  un  papel  muy  curioso  sobre  si  los  conquistadores  espailolea 
podian  tener  y  poseer  indios  encomendados,  contra  los  frailes  dominicos  que 
decian  que  no,  y  se  opusieron  al  despacho  de  la  expedicion  de  Pedrarias  Da- 
vila,  so  pretexto  de  que  el  Rey  no  podia  enviar  a  hacer  tales  conquistas.' 
And  in  his  Epitome,  Pinelo  remarks :  '  Trata  en  su  Suma  Geografia  del  Arte 
de  Navegar,  de  la  Esfera,  y  de  las  quatro  partes  del  Mundo,  especialmente  de 
las  Indias,  i  es  el  primcro  que  imprimi6  Obra  Geografica  de  ellas. '  Indeed,  this 
last  was  said  in  1738,  and  subsequent  bibliographers  have  repeated  it. 


ENCISO  AND  THE  ALCALDES.  341 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  settlers  were  idle 
all  this  time,  or  that  the  natives,  or  their  gold,  were 
neglected.  The  town  had  grown  in  size  and  impor 
tance  since  the  driving  out  of  Cemaco.  Streets  had 
been  regularly  laid  out  round  a  plaza?  or  public  square, 
common  to  all  Spanish  towns,  and  a  church  and  re 
ligious  houses  established,  for  priests  had  come  hither 
with  the  rest. 

While  Enciso  made  ready  for  departure,  Bachiller 
Corral,  Captain  Badajoz,  and  others,  enemies  of  Bal 
boa,  improved  the  time  by  secretly  making  specifica 
tions  of  both  the  alcaldes'  errors,  and  by  instigating 
others  to  assist  in  criminating  the  rulers.  These 
charges  were  to  be  delivered  to  the  king  by  Enciso. 
Hearing  of  it,  the  alcaldes  seized  the  ringleaders  and 
confined  them  in  a  pen,5  the  municipal  jail,  situated  in 
the  middle  of  the  plaza.  But  the  prisoners  escaped 
from  the  cage  to  the  Franciscan  monastery,  and,  claim 
ing  the  protection  of  the  sanctuary,6  they  were  finally 
discharged. 

4  For  definition  see  chapter  xv.  note  1,  this  volume. 

5  It  was  the  cdrcel,  whether  jail  or  pen.     In  newly  settled  towns,  and  in 
some  country  villages  where  jails  were  not  built,  it  was  customary  to  con 
struct  a  small  enclosure  on  the  plaza  near  the  casa  consistorial,  or  municipal 
hall,  in  which  to  confine  prisoners  till  sent  to  the  capital  of  the  province, 
or  elsewhere,  for  trial.     Those  convicted  of  petty  municipal  offences  were 
likewise  incarcerated  in  this  pen.     Inside  were  stocks,  the  better  to  secure 
great  offenders. 

6  In  popular  parlance,  acogerse  d  santuario,  or  acogerse  d  sagrado,  or  lomar 
iglesia,  the  protection  afforded  criminals  who  sought  refuge  in  a  church  or  other 
sacred  asylum.     As  we  shall  often  meet  with  the  custom  in  this  history  I  will 
state  briefly  what  it  was.     It  is  well  known  that  from  the  earliest  times,  in  both 
heathen  and  Jewish  societies,  the  right  of  asylum,  or  right  of  sanctuary,  has  ex 
isted,  in  degrees  more  or  less  modified  by  time,  down  to  the  present  day.     In 
Spanish- America  it  was  in  vogue  as  late  as  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.    Origin 
ally  the  idea  implied  the  right  of  appeal  from  the  judgment  of  men  to  the 
justice  of  God.     The  Creator  himself,  it  is  said,  set  the  example  by  placing 
a  mai'k  on  Cain,  the  first  murderer,  that  none  might  kill  him ;  and  Moses  and 
Joshua,  under  divine  sanction,  established  cities  of  refuge,  whither  certain 
involuntary  offenders  might  flee  and  find  safety.     Later,  the  founders  of  cities 
offered  asylum  to  outlaws  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  population.     To 
this  custom  is  attributed  in  a  measure  the  existence,  or  at  least  the  importance, 
of  Athens,  Thebes,  and  other  cities.     Instead  of  making  the  whole  city  an 
asylum,  a  certain  locality  was  sometimes  assigned  for  that  purpose ;  thus  tra 
dition  says  that  one  of  the  first  acts  of  Romulus  preparatory  to  building  his 
city  was  to  set  apart  Palatine  Hill  as  a  place  of  refuge.     Sacred  groves  were 
asylums ;  also  temples  to  the  gods,  and  religious  houses.     Notably  the  groves 
of  the  Grecians,  and  the  Erechtheium  of  Athens,  the  temple  of  Artemis  at 
Ephesus,   and  that  of  Apollon  at   JSJiletus.     With  the  advent  of  Christi- 


342  FACTIONS  AND  FOKAGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

Valclivia,  the  regidor,  was  Balboa's  friend;  before 
leaving  the  Salvatierra  plantation  they  had  been 
warmly  intimate.  Supplies  were  needed,  and  Enciso 
and  Zamudio  required  passage  to  Spain.  Taking, 
therefore,  a  small  vessel,  and  placing  in  Valdivia's 
hands  a  large  amount  of  gold,7  Yasco  Nunez  sent  him 
to  Espanola,  with  instructions  to  buy  the  good  opinion 
of  Diego  Colon  the  governor,  and  Pasamonte8  the 
king's  treasurer,  and  bring  back  recruits.  The  re 
gidor  was  fairly  successful.  He  set  forth  the  wealth 
of  Tierra  Firme,  and  the  important  services  of  Vasco 
Nunez  in  glowing  colors,  and  obtained  from  the  gov 
ernor  a  commission  authorizing  Balboa  to  act  as  his 
lieutenant  in  those  parts.  He  begged  for  his  friend 

anity,  to  increase  their  influence,  the  clergy  secured  this  privilege  for  their 
churches.  In  the  time  of  Constantino  all  Christian  churches  afforded  refuge, 
and  Theodosius  II.  included  in  this  right  all  houses  belonging  to  the  church, 
with  their  courts  and  gardens.  In  France  and  Spain  not  only  the  church  and 
its  surroundings  afforded  protection,  but  all  chapels,  cloisters,  abbeys,  mon 
asteries,  cemeteries,  tombs,  crosses,  and  in  short  all  religious  monuments. 
Frequently  a  stone  bench,  called  the  stone  of  peace,  was  placed  for  refugees 
within  the  church  near  the  altar.  The  priests  assured  the  people  that  they 
would  be  visited  by  dire  calamities  if  they  violated  this  right.  Gradually, 
however,  the  practice  diminished.  Though  the  culprit  must  not  be  forcibly 
dragged  from  the  church,  he  might  be  enticed  thence,  or  starved  out,  or  smoked 
out.  Then  the  more  abhorred  criminals,  as  heretics  and  murderers,  were  de 
nied  protection;  and  the  number  of  places  was  reduced.  Clement  XIV.,  in 
1772,  limited  the  number  to  one  or  two  in  each  town,  though  no  one  sheltered 
by  the  roof  of  a  church  might  be  torn  thence  without  an  order  from  the 
ecclesiastical  judge.  The  right  of  churches  to  extend  protection  over  minor 
offenders  was  recognized  long  after  it  became  the  custom  for  the  clergy  to 
deliver  rank  offenders  for  punishment.  The  superstition  was  respected,  as 
we  have  seen,  in  the  wilds  of  the  New  World  by  the  distempered  colonists  of 
Darien.  Nor  was  England  free  from  it ;  to  this  day  there  are  places  in  France, 
and  in  Scotland,  Holyrood  abbey  and  palace,  where  a  debtor  may  not  be  ar 
rested.  For  a  good  treatise  on  right  of  sanctuary,  and  on  immunity  of  religious 
persons  and  places,  see  Vazquez,  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  288  et  seq. 

7  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  ii.  cap.  iv. ,  thinks  Valdivia  carried  away  300  pounds  of 
gold.  In  the  words  of  his  quaint  English  translator: — 'This  pound  of  eight 
ounces,  the  Spaiiyardes  call  Marcha,  whiche  in  weight  amounteth  to  fiftie 
pieces  of  golde  called  Castellani,  but  the  Castilians  call  a  pound  Pesum.  We 
conclude  therefore,  that  the  summe  hereof,  was  xv.  thousande  of  those  peeces 
of  gold  called  Castellani.  And  thus  is  it  apparent  by  this  accompt,  that  they 
receiued  of  the  barbarous  kings  a  thousande  and  fyue  hundred  poundes,  of 
eight  ounces  to  the  pounde:  all  the  whiche  they  founde  readie  wrought  in 
sundry  kindes  of  ouches,  as  cheynes,  braselets,  tabletes,  and  plates,  both  to 
hang  before  their  brestes,  and  also  at  their  eares,  and  nosethrils. 

8Quintana  thinks  the  amount  was  too  small,  or  that  it  never  reached  him; 
for  as  events  unfolded  Pasamonte  proved  himself  110  less  friendly  to  Enciso 
than  hostile  to  Vasco  Nunez.  It  seems  never  to  occur  to  a  Spaniard  that  a 
public  officer  could  refuse  a  bribe.  As  it  was,  Pasamonte  did  favor  Vasco 
Nunez. 


BATTLE  WITH  CEMACO.  343 

Pasamonte's  influence  with  the  king;  but  Enciso  was 
active  there  with  opposing  influence. 

Meanwhile  Balboa  was  haunted  by  thoughts  not 
of  the  happiest.  He  well  knew  how  precarious  was 
his  tenure  of  position.  Nicuesa's  wrongs  were  ever 
before  him.  Though  not  the  chief  criminal  in  that 
affair,  he  knew  he  was  criminal  enough.  Yet  before 
the  deed  was  done,  and  since,  he  had  striven  to  make 
amends.  "  Once,  twice,  three  times,"  writes  he  to  the 
king,  "  have  I  sent  aid  to  Nicuesa's  men,  and  saved 
them  when  dying  at  the  rate  of  five  and  six  a  day." 
Then,  too,  he  must  confess  having  treated  poor  Enciso 
somewhat  shamefully;  and  the  bachiller  was  stronger 
where  there  was  more  strength  in  the  law;  while  Za- 
mudio  was  not  the  same  before  the  king  as  before  his 
Antigua  ruffians.  There  remained  only  one  course. 
Action  was  the  word.  If  he  would  play  the  great 
man,  and  rule  others,  he  must  bestir  himself  to  some 
thing  nobler  than  political  strife  and  demagogy  at 
Antigua.  Gold  would  help  him;  he  thoroughly  ap 
preciated  the  weakness  of  officials  in  that  direction; 
but  a  notable  adventure,  a  great  discovery,  were  better. 
At  all  events,  upon  whatever  he  should  decide,  he  must 
act  immediately,  before  being  deprived  of  his  present 
modicum  of  authority. 

First  of  all,  he  would  begin  his  career  of  greatness 
by  assuming  to  be  great.  One  is  never  nearer  the 
truth  than  when  one  puts  on  humility  and  curses  one's 
self  for  an  ass.  Without  offensive  ostentation  he  as 
sumed  becoming  forms  of  dignity,  took  upon  himself 
the  title  of  governor,  appointed  officers,  and  drilled 
soldiers  in  the  tactics  of  Indian  warfare. 

Some  twenty  leagues  westerly  from  Antigua,  ad 
joining  the  lands  of  Cemaco,  was  an  Indian  province 
called  Coiba,  of  which  Careta9  was  chief.  The  gov- 

9  We  shall  see  everywhere,  from  Darien  to  Alaska,  Indian  towns  and 
provinces  frequently  called  by  the  name  of  the  ruling  chief.  For  instance, 
adventurers  and  geographers  who  knew  only  the  chief's  name,  called  his  vil 
lage  Careta 's  village,  or  Careta;  his  country,  Careta 's  country,  or  Careta. 


344  FACTIONS  AND  FORAGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

ernor,  being  informed  that  Careta  was  rich  in  gold 
and  maize,  despatched  thither  a  small  company  under 
Pizarro,  whom  he  had  made  captain.  They  were 
hardly  on  the  march  before  Cemaco  was  encountered, 
at  the  head  of  four  hundred  men,  all  fired,  like  their 
chief,  with  ever-living  rage.  Never  for  an  hour  since 
the  strangers  landed  to  seize  their  homes  had  the 
eyes  of  the  savages  been  removed  from  them.  It 
was  hopeless  to  fight,  naked  as  they  were;  yet  for 
what  had  they  to  live,  with  houses  and  lands  and 
all  their  property  taken  from  them?  The  mode  of 
warfare,  too,  was  against  the  natives;  they  did  not 
fight  here,  as  at  San  Sebastian,  with  poisoned  arrows 
shot  from  behind  rocks  and  trees,  but  engaged  in  hand- 
to-hand  conflict,  opposing  their  defenceless  bodies  to 
the  steel  weapons  of  the  Spaniards,  on  whose  coats 
of  mail  their  darts  and  clubs  fell  harmless.  A  fight 
ensued  nevertheless,  and  fiercely  it  was  waged.  It  is 
somewhat  difficult  to  believe  Herrera  when  he  says 
that  Pizarro  had  with  him  but  six  men,  who,  when 
the  four  hundred  closed  with  them,  eviscerated  one 
hundred  and  fifty  savages,  and  put  the  remainder  to 
flight.  Hastening  back  to  Antigua,  leaving  one  man 
wounded  on  the  field,  Pizarro  stood  before  the  gov 
ernor  exhausted  and  bleeding.  Balboa's  anger  at  the 
desertion  overpowered  for  a  moment  his  admiration 
for  the  desperate  courage  displayed  by  the  little  band, 
and  turning  to  Pizarro,  he  said  sharply,  "Go  instantly 
and  bring  me  Francisco  Hernan,  and,  as  you  value 
your  life,  never  again  leave  one  of  my  soldiers  alive 
upon  a  field  of  battle."  Pizarro  departed,  and  soon 
returned  with  his  disabled  comrade.  Balboa  immedi 
ately  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  hundred  men, 
and  started  in  pursuit  of  Cemaco,  determined  to  ex- 

Maiollo,  1519,  writes  on  his  map,  where  the  province  of  Careta  should  be,  aldca 
de  machin;  and  adjacent  north-west,  P.  scatozes.  Vaz  Dourado,  Munich  A  flat, 
nos.  x.  and  xi.,  1571,  labels  the  province  careta;  De  Laet,  1633,  gives  Careta; 
Jefferys,  1776,  Pta  Carata;  and  Kiepert,  1858,  Pto  Carreto.  Alcedo  mentions 
the  river  Careti.  '  De  la  Provincia  y  Gobierno  del  Darien  y  Reyno  de  Tierra- 
Firme :  nace  en  las  montanas  del  N.  y  sale  al  mar  en  la  Ensenada  de  Maa- 
dinga. ' 


EXPEDITION  AGAINST  CARETA.  345 

tirpate  the  tribe;  but,  after  ascending  the  river  for 
some  distance  and  finding  no  enemy,  he  abandoned 
pursuit.  Scarcely  had  he  returned,  when  the  two 
brigantines  sent  to  Nombre  de  Dios  for  the  remainder 
of  Nicuesa's  men  made  their  appearance  at  Antigua. 
They  brought  no  news  of  Nicuesa,  greatly  to  the  dis 
appointment  of  Balboa,  who  would  now  gladly  have 
fortified  himself  in  a  less  elevated  position,  and  placed 
Antigua  under  the  banner  of  the  lawful  governor  of 
the  territory. 

Fresh  accounts  of  the  wealth  of  Coiba,by  this  arrival, 
soon  dispelled  the  governor's  misgivings,  and  turned 
his  thoughts  in  other  directions. '  It  seems  that  as  the 
vessels  were  returning  from  JSTombre  de  Dios,  they 
touched  the  shore  of  Coiba;  and  while  there  were 
greeted  by  two  painted  savages  in  plain  Castilian. 
The  riddle  was  solved  when  the  men  told  them  they 
were  gentlemen  renegades,  escaped  from  Nicuesa's 
colony  for  fear  of  punishment  for  misdemeanor.  After 
long  and  dangerous  wanderings  in  the  wilderness,  they 
had  thrown  themselves,  half-dead,  upon  the  mercy  of 
Careta,  who  received  them  with  gentle  courtesy, 
bestowing  food  and  every  kindness,  which  they  were 
now  ready  to  requite  by  betraying  to  the  Spaniards 
the  cacique's  treasures,  for  he  was  very  rich. 

In  this  treachery  the  Spaniards  saw  nothing  but 
fair  missionary  work,  and  were  ready  for  the  adven 
ture  on  the  instant.  Owing  to  their  present  weak 
condition  Colmenares  advised  delay,  and  arranged  that 
one  of  the  miscreants  should  go  with  them  to  Antigua, 
while  the  other  remained  with  Careta  in  readiness  to 
betray  him  at  the  proper  time.  Nor  had  the  gov 
ernor  the  least  scruple  in  availing  himself  of  this  vil 
lainy.  With  one  hundred  and  thirty  men  he  marched 
on  Coiba,  directing  the  two  brigantines  to  meet  him 
there.  Acting  under  the  direction  of  the  fugitive 
whom  he  had  made  his  confidant  and  counsellor, 
Careta  went  out  to  meet  the  Spaniards,  brought  them 
to  his  village,  and  entertained  them  to  the  best  of  his 


346  FACTIONS  AND  FORAGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

ability.  Balboa  began  with  the  modest  request  for 
maize  to  fill  his  ships.  Careta  answered,  that  owing 
to  war  with  his  ever  hostile  neighbor,  Ponca,  he  had 
this  year  planted  nothing,  and  hence  had  no  surplus. 
Careta's  Spanish  friend  assured  his  countrymen  that 
this  was  false,  that  the  savage  had  abundance.  It  was 
enough.  A  heathen  had  lied  to  a  Christian.  Let  the 
nation  be  anathema! 

Bidding  the  chief  a  friendly  farewell,  with  thanks 
for  his  hospitality,  the  Spaniards  took  their  departure 
as  if  for  Antigua ;  but  about  midnight  they  returned, 
attacked  the  village  on  three  »sides,  slaughtered  the 
inhabitants,  burned  the  houses,  loaded  the  brigan- 
tines  with  booty,  and  carried  Careta  and  his  family 
prisoners  to  Antigua.  "Why  should  you  do  this?" 
asked  Careta.  "  How  have  I  wronged  you  ?  Take  my 
gold,  but  restore  me  to  my  country.  And  as  a  pledge 
of  my  good  faith,  there  is  my  daughter  who  shall 
remain  a  hostage  in  your  hands.  Take  her  and  let 
us  be  friends."  The  proposal  pleased  the  governor, 
not  less  from  the  advantage  of  the  alliance,  than 
from  the  influence  thrown  over  him  by  the  charms 
of  the  dusky  maiden,  for  she  was  very  beautiful,  and 
had  already  given  her  heart  to  the  Christian  chieftain. 
And  thus  according  to  the  usage  of  her  people  she 
became  his  wife,  though  not  wedded  after  the  Spanish 
fashion;  and  Vasco  Nuiiez  ever  cherished  her  with 
fond  affection. 

Before  dismissing  the  new  allies  with  presents  to 
their  homes,  care  was  taken  to  excite  their  admira 
tion  by  showing  them  the  arms  and  implements  of 
civilization,  and  unfolding  to  them  the  doctrines  of  the 
true  faith,  which  led  men  to  be  peaceable,  just,  and 
holy,  like  the  Spaniards. 

A  joint  expedition  against  Ponca,  in  which  Balboa 
participated  with  eighty  men,  overran  that  chieftain's 
domain  with  great  damage  to  him,  and  with  some  gain 
to  the  Spaniards  in  provisions  and  gold. 

Adjoining  Careta's  lands,  on  the  seaboard  to  the 


PANCIACO'S  STORY.  347 

west,  were  those  of  Comagre,10  whose  nation  numbered 
ten  thousand  souls,  and  mustered  three  thousand 
warriors.  Balboa  visited  him  peaceably,  upon  the 
arrangement  of  a  friendly  interview  by  a  native  jura, 
or  official,  a  deserter  from  Careta's  council,  who  had 
become  offended  with  his  master,  and  joined  Comagre. 
The  jura  was  a  statesman  in  a  rude  way,  and  a  diplo 
mat.  He  knew  of  the  Spaniards,  of  their  fearful 
doings,  and  of  their  alliance  with  Careta;  and  being 
an  honest,  well-meaning  savage  withal,  he  thought  to 
avert  disaster  by  interposing  friendly  relations. 

With  a  train  of  attendants,  Comagre  met  his  dis 
tinguished  guest,  and  with  much  ceremony  conducted 
him  to  the  palace,11  which  for  size,  durability,  arid 
rude  excellence,  far  exceeded  anything  the  Spaniards 
had  seen  in  the  New  World.  Among  the  numer 
ous  descendants  of  Comagre,  for  he  was  much  mar 
ried,  were  seven  sons,  remarkable  for  their  valor, 
and  nobleness  of  demeanor.  The  eldest,  Panciaco, 
united  with  a  haughty  bearing  exceptional  sagacity. 
He  saw  at  once  the  superiority  of  steel  weapons; 
he  saw  that  the  Spaniards  coveted  gold;  and  he 
thought  he  saw  an  easy  way  open  for  purchasing 
their  good- will.  Collecting  four  thousand  ounces  of 
the  metal  finely  wrought,  he  presented  it  with  seventy 
slaves  to  the  Spaniards,  and  watched  the  effect.  The 
king's  fifth  was  first  solemnly  set  aside.  Then  they 
began  to  divide  the  remainder  of  the  gold  among  them 
selves  ;  and  in  this  division  arose  a  dispute  which  made 
Panciaco's  lip  curl  in  scorn  as  he  watched  them  weighing 
the  stuff.  Louder  grew  their  altercations,  which  were 
followed  by  blows.  Overcome  at  length  by  disgust, 
Panciaco  darted  forward  and  struck  the  scales  a  violent 
blow  which  sent  their  precious  contents  flying.  "Why 
quarrel  for  such  a  trifle ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Is  it  for  this 

10  Map-makers  give — Vaz  Dourado,  comogra,  DC  Laet,  Comagre,  and  Pta  de 
Comagre,  '  which  according  to  Keipert,' says  Goldschmidt,  Cartography  Pac. 
Coaxt,  MS.  i.  67;  'as  near  as  I  can  determine,  is  now  P.  Mosquitos.' 

11  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  ii.  cap.  iii.,  says  this  building  measured  150  by  80 
paces.     See  Bancroft' 8  Native  Races,  i.  758. 


348  FACTIONS  AND  FORAGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

you  leave  your  country,  cross  seas,  endure  hardships, 
and  disturb  the  peace  of  nations?  Cease  your  vora 
cious  brawl  and  I  will  tell  where  you  may  obtain  your 
fill  of  gold.  Six  days'  march  across  yon  mountain 
will  bring  you  to  an  ocean  sea,  like  this  near  which 
we  dwell,  where  there  are  ships  as  large  as  yours,  and 
cities,  and  wealth  unbounded." 

Forgetting  in  the  matter  the  manner  of  the  dis 
course,  the  Spaniards  listened  with  eager  attention. 
"How  say  you?"  said  Yasco  Nunez.  "What  proof 
have  you  of  this?"  "Listen  to  me,"  replied  Panciaco. 
"You  Christians  seem  to  prize  this  metal  more  than 
body,  life,  or  soul;  more  than  love,  hate,  revenge. 
Some  mysterious  virtue  it  must  possess  to  charm  men 
so !  We  who  can  not  translate  its  subtle  power,  love 
better  friends,  and  sweet  revenge.  My  father  has 
an  ancient  enemy,  Tubanama,  who  lives  beyond  the 
mountains  fronting  the  other  sea.  From  time  im 
memorial  our  people  have  fought  his  people;  many 
have  been  killed  on  either  side,  and  many  enslaved. 
Could  we  for  once  bring  low  this  hated  Tubanama, 
no  sacrifice  would  be  too  dear.  Be  yours  the  gold; 
give  us  revenge.  The  path  is  difficult,  the  enemy 
fierce.  One  thousand  Spaniards  are  none  too  many 
successfully  to  cope  with  him.  Prepare  your  army. 
I  myself  will  accompany  you  with  all  the  warriors 
of  our  nation;  bind  me  fast;  keep  me  in  close  cus 
tody;  and  if  my  words  prove  false,  hang  me  to  the 
nearest  tree."12  Yasco  Nunez  pondered.  The  area 
of  his  destiny  seemed  suddenly  to  have  enlarged.  If 
this  the  young  man  had  said  were  true,  and  he  might 
tap  the  mystery,  and  bring  to  the  light  of  nations  this 
other  side  of  Tierra  Firme,  the  temporary  governor 
of  a  handful  of  heterogeneous  colonists  might  achieve 
everlasting  fame  as  one  of  the  world's  great  discov- 

12<Estas  palabras  celebres,'  says  Qnintana,  'conservadas  en  todas  las  mem- 
orias  del  tiempo,  y  repetidas  por  todos  los  historiadores,  fueron  el  primer 
anuncio  que  los  cspanoles  tuvieron  del  Pcrii.'  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  13.  To 
which  I  would  remark,  first,  that  it  is  not  certain  Panciaco  referred  to  Pern ; 
and  secondly,  that  vague  allusions  of  a  similar  kind  were  made  to  Columbus, 
which  historians  apply  to  Peru. 


HORRIBLE  FATE  OF  VALDIVIA.  349 

erers,  and  realize  the  dream  of  Columbus,  to  rule  the 
A/urea  Chersonesus  of  King  Solomon.  To  him  who 
can  execute  comes  opportunity.  "God  has  revealed 
the  secrets  of  this  land  to  me  only,"  he  piously  writes 
the  20th  of  January,  1513,  "and  for  this  I  never 
shall  cease  to  thank  him."  But  whence  were  to  come 
the  requisite  one  thousand  men?  After  closely  inter 
rogating  Comagre,  Careta,  and  other  chieftains  con 
cerning  the  tramontane  regions,  the  Spaniards  re 
turned  to  Darien;  but  not  before  giving  the  natives 
baptism,  which  surely  more  than  paid  them  for  all 
their  grain  and  gold.  There  they  found  Yaldivia  re 
turned  from  Santo  Domingo,  after  an  absence  of  six 
months,  with  a  small  store  of  provisions,  and  what 
was  of  the  highest  consequence  to  Yasco  Nunez  at 
this  juncture,  the  commission  from  Diego  Colon  as 
governor  of  Antigua. 

To  guard  against  the  scarcity  of  food  which  had 
thus  far  been  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  failure  in  every 
attempt  to  colonize  Tierra  Firme,  the  governor  had 
this  year  caused  to  be  planted  a  large  tract  adjacent  to 
Antigua,  the  labor  of  course  being  performed  by  cap 
tives.  "  Food  has  been  our  great  necessity  rather  than 
gold,"  said  Yasco  Nunez  in  a  letter  to  the  king.  But 
a  hurricane,  followed  by  inundation,  destroyed  the 
crop,  and  Yaldivia  was  again  sent  with  the  caravel  to 
Santo  Domingo  for  provisions.  In  a  letter  to  Diego 
Colon,  the  governor  set  forth  in  extravagant  terms 
his  further  knowledge  of  the  country,  dwelling  upon 
the  information  received  of  a  great  sea  to  the  south 
ward,  and  begging  assistance  in  raising  a  thousand 
men  for  its  discovery.  Gold  to  the  value  of  fifteen 
thousand  pesos13  was,  by  this  departure,  remitted  the 
king's  officers  as  the  royal  share  for  the  last  six 
months.  Large  sums  were  also  sent  by  private  per 
sons  to  their  friends  and  creditors  in  Espanola  and 
Spain.  But  all  to  no  end.  For  when  near  Jamaica, 

13  This  on  the  authority  of  Hen-era.     Gomara  places  the  king's  fifth  at 
20,000  ducats,  and  Bernal  Diaz  at  10,000  pesos  de  oro. 


350  FACTIONS  AND  FOE-AGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

the  vessel  was  struck  by  a  squall,  carried  westward, 
and  thrown  on  some  rocks  off  Yucatan.  Ship  and 
cargo  were  all  lost.  Twenty  men,  without  water,  or 
food,  or  sail,  or  oars,  in  an  open  boat,  escaped  with 
bare  life. 

And  now  comes  another  tale  of  wretchedness  which 
might  well  grace  the  annals  of  Acheron.  In  their 
helpless  condition  they  are  carried  by  the  currents  for 
thirteen  days ;  one  third  of  their  number  die  of  thirst, 
and  the  survivors  drift  to  a  yet  more  horrible  fate. 
Thrown  on  the  Maya  shore,  they  are  seized  by  sav 
ages,  placed  in  a  pen,  and  well  fed.  After  their  suffer 
ings  at  sea,  this  is  not  so  bad ;  but  one  day  Valdivia  and 
four  others  are  taken  to  the  temple  and  sacrificed, 
and  their  roasted  limbs  eaten  in  honor  of  the  gods; 
over  which  prospect  for  themselves  the  survivors  are 
uncomfortable,  and  nerved  by  desperation,  they  break 
cage  and  escape  to  the  forest,  where  they  wander  naked 
and  starving  until  life  is  a  burden.  Then  they  cast 
themselves  at  the  feet  of  Ahkin  Xooc,  cacique  of 
Jamancana,  neighbor  and  enemy  of  the  Maya  lord. 
He  and  his  successor,  Taxmar,  make  them  serve  as 
beasts  of  burden  until  two  only  are  left  alive,  Gonzalo 
Guerrero,  sailor,  and  Geronimo  de  Aguilar,  friar.  In 
an  interchange  of  captives,  the  sailor  becomes  the 
property  of  Nachan  Kan,  chief  of  Chetumal.  Bold 
and  buoyant-hearted,  he  rises  to  barbaric  distinction, 
becomes  a  great  general,  marries  a  princess,  and  in 
after  years,  when  opportunity  offers,  declines  return 
to  civilized  life.  The  friar  is  rescued  by  Cortes,  in 
1519,  in  which  connection  we  shall  again  meet  him.1* 

Cannibals  are  horrible  things ;  but  their  teeth  were 
hardly  so  sharp  as  Spanish  steel,  which,  in  following 
the  law  of  survival  common  to  the  animal  kingdom, 
was  sacrificing  freely  about  Antigua  at  this  time. 

14  The  strange  story  of  Aguilar  is  given  by  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  21-22; 
Torquemada,  i.  371 ;  Coyolludo,  Hist.  Yucathan,  24-9 ;  and  by  Herrera,  dec. 
ii.  lib.  vii.  cap.  v.  He  was  kept  seven  years  in  this  captivity. 


DABAIBA  AND  ITS  GOLDEN  TEMPLE.  351 

"  Thirty  caciques  have  already  been  slain  in  the  at 
tempted  pacification  of  this  country/'  writes  Vasco 
Nunez  to  Diego  Colon,  "and  now  that  I  am  obliged 
to  penetrate  still  further  in  search  of  food,  I  must 
kill  all  who  fall  into  my  hands;  otherwise  our  col 
ony  can  not  exist  while  waiting  relief."  In  pursu 
ance  of  this  humane  measure,  early  in  1512 — it  was 
toward  the  close  of  1511  that  Valdivia  had  sailed 
for  Espanola — the  governor  organized  an  expedition 
against  Dabaiba, 15  a  rich  province  some  thirty  leagues 
to  the  southward. 

Startling  stories  were  told  of  this  place.  At  a 
temple  lined  with  gold,  slaves  were'  sacrificed  for  the 
gratification  of  the  gods,  who  returned  in  miracles  the 
favors  of  their  worshippers;  so  that  Dabaiba  became 
as  Mecca  in  the  wilderness.  Of  course,  it  was  an 
outrage  against  heaven  that  the  heathen  gods  should 
have  so  much  gold  and  glory;  though  hunger  and 
avarice  lent  as  much  assistance,  perhaps,  as  piety,  in 
instigating  the  contemplated  raid. 

Selecting  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  Vasco  Nunez 
embarked  in  two  brigantines  for  the  mouths  of  the 
river.16  There  he  divided  his  force,  sending  one  third, 
under  Colmenares,  up  the  channel  San  Juan,  while 
with  the  remainder  he  ascended  the  Rio  de  las  Redes, 
the  more  direct  route  to  Dabaiba,  as  he  had  been 
informed.  But  the  eye  of  Cemaco,  in  restless 
hate,  was  still  upon  them.  Rousing  the  country,  he 
induced  the  caciques  along  the  river  to  retire,  and 
leave  wasted  fields  to  the  invaders,  a  measure  which 
defeated  the  expedition.  Nevertheless,  the  Spaniards 

16  The  name  is  variously  rendered  Dabaybe,  Dabai.be,  Davaivc,  Daibaba, 
Abibe,  Abibc.ja,  and  d'abaibc.  'Auch  der  Rio  Atrato  wurde  nicht  selten  Rio 
Dabcyba  genannt.  Das  '  D'  im  Anfang  dieses  Namens  ist  nur  cine  Abbreviatur 
von  'de,'  und  das  Wort  sollte  wohl  eigentlich:  d'Abaibc  geschrieben  werden.' 
Kohl,  Beidcn  altesten  karten,  125.  Maps  mark  the  region,  Colon  and  Ribero, 
dabaijbc,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  gulf,  and  De  Laet  gives  the  Mon 
tana*  de  Abibe. 

16  The  Atrato  discharges  through  several  channels,  one  of  which  was  called 
the  Rio  del  Darien ;  one  the  Rio  Grande  de  San  Juan ;  one  the  Rio  de  las 
Redes,  from  the  snares  or  nets  found  there  for  taking  wild  beasts ;  one  the  Rio 
Negro,  from  the  color  of  its  water.  Often  the  Spaniards  had  scoured  these 
parts  in  search  of  food  and  gold. 


352  FACTIONS  AND  FORAGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

secured,  a  short  distance  up  the  river,  two  canoe-loads 
of  plunder,  valued  at  seven  thousand  pesos,  but  on 
reaching  the  gulf  they  were  overturned  in  a  storm,  and 
the  boatmen  drowned.  Balboa  then  proceeded  to  the 
Rio  San  Juan  and  joined  Colmenares,  after  which  the 
entire  party  ascended  the  Negro  channel  for  six  leagues, 
and  captured  a  town  of  five  hundred  houses,  governed 
by  a  cacique  named  Abenamechey,  one  of  whose  arms 
a  Spaniard  cruelly  struck  off  after  he  had  been  made 
prisoner.  Leaving  there  half  the  men  in  charge  of 
Colmenares,  with  the  remainder  Balboa  continued  his 
ascent  of  the  stream,  until,  on  entering  a  small  branch, 
he  found  himself  within  the  domain  of  Abibeiba,  whose 
people  built  their  houses  in  the  branches  of  palm  trees, 
making  the  ascent  by  ladders  drawn  up  at  night  for 
safety.  A  supply  of  stones  was  kept  in  the  houses  for 
artillery  purposes.  When  they  saw  the  Spaniards 
coming,  the  people  ran  like  squirrels  for  their  houses, 
and  drawing  up  after  them  the  ladders,  fancied  them 
selves  in  security. 

Approaching  the  tree  in  which  lived  the  chief, 
Balboa  hailed  him  and  ordered  him  down.  "What 
brings  you  hither  to  molest  me?"  demanded  the  chief. 
"Go  your  way.  I  know  you  not  as  friends  or  foes. 
I  have  no  gold.  I  desire  only  to  be  left  in  peace." 
The  Spaniards  answered  by  applying  the  axe  to  the 
tree,  and  when  the  chief  saw  the  chips  fly,  while  his 
stone  showers  fell  harmless  upon  the  mail-coated  men 
below,  he  capitulated,  and  the  village  descended  to 
earth. 

After  further  foraging  and  fighting  with  varied 
success,  the  governor  returned  to  Antigua,  leaving 
Bartolome  Hurtado  with  thirty-one  men  in  possession 
of  the  country.  Of  these  more  than  half  fell  sick,  and 
Hurtado  incautiously  despatched  them  for  Antigua 
with  twenty-four  captives  in  charge.  They  had  not 
proceeded  more  than  three  leagues  before  Cemaco 
was  upon  them  with  one  hundred  warriors;  and  of 
the  Spaniards  only  two  escaped  to  carry  the  news  to 


A  CONSPIRACY  DIVULGED.  333 

Hurtado,  who  hastened  to  Antigua  with  the  further 

O 

intelligence  that  five  caciques,  namely,  Abibeiba  of  the 
high-tree  house,  Abernemechy  of  the  severed  arm, 
Dabaiba  of  the  golden  temple,  Abraiba  and  Cemaco 
of  Darien,  had  confederated  with  five  thousand  men 
to  exterminate  the  Spaniards.  The  rumor  was  lightly 
regarded  until  Vasco  Nunez  was  informed  by  one  of 
his  mistresses,  Fulvia  he  called  her,  that  her  brother 
had  notified  her  to  withdraw  from  the  town  on  a 
certain  night,  so  that  she  might  not  fall  in  the  mas 
sacre  intended.  Love  overruling  duty,  Fulvia  thus 
divulged  the  secret.  She  saved  the  settlement,  but 
she  lost  her  country. 

Poor  heart  of  woman  touched  with  love!  Vasco 
Nunez  induced  Fulvia  to  lure  thither  her  brother, 
who  thereupon  was  seized  and  forced  to  confess  the 
plot.  Furthermore,  he  told  Balboa  that  then  at  work 
in  his  fields  were  forty  men  long  pledged  to  assassinate 
him,  but  as  he  had  always  appeared  before  them  armed 
and  armored,  and  on  a  caparisoned  horse,  which  was 
their  greatest  terror,  they  had  feared  to  attack  him. 
The  rendezvous  of  the  conspirators  was  Tichiri,  not 
far  distant.  With  seventy  men,  by  a  circuitous  route, 
Balboa  marched  on  the  encampment,  while  Colmenares 
with  an  equal  force  ascended  the  river  in  canoes, 
guided  by  the  traitress  Fulvia's  traitorous  brother. 
Attacked  thus  unexpectedly  from  opposite  sides,  the 
confederates  were  thrown  into  confusion;  many  were 
killed  and  many  taken  prisoners.  The  chief  general 
was  honored  by  being  shot  to  death  with  arrows, 
while  the  others  were  hanged.  Cemaco  escaped.  So 
sudden  and  bold  and  severe  was  this  blow,  that,  while 
Antigua  existed,  the  savages  never  recovered  from  it, 
and  the  wooden  fortress  which  Balboa  immediately 
built  as  a  guard  against  future  surprise  was  scarcely 
necessary. 

The  natives  being  thus  pacified,  the  Spaniards  were 
at  liberty  to  evolve  fresh  projects.  Gold  and  grain 
in  the  vicinity  of  Antigua  were  well-nigh  exhausted, 

HIST.  GEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    23 


354  FACTIONS  AND  FORAGINGS  IN  DARIEN. 

and  new  fields  must  be  found.  The  time  for  Val- 
divia's  return  had  elapsed;  and  doubts  respecting  the 
integrity  of  the  regidor  were  entertained  by  Vasco 
Nunez,  with  fears  for  the  safety  of  his  treasure.  Un 
able  to  endure  the  suspense  he  resolved  on  visiting 
Spain  and  pleading  his  own  cause  before  the  king. 
But  the  colony  demurred.  Friends  declared  his  pres 
ence  necessary,  while  enemies  saw  danger  in  his  ab 
sence.  It  was  finally  arranged  that  Colmenares  and 
Caicedo,  both  worthy  men  who  had  been  faithful  to 
Nicuesa  as  long  as  Nicuesa  had  been  faithful  to  him 
self,  and  faithful  to  Vasco  Nunez,  should  take  the 
only  remaining  vessel  fit  for  service  and  embark  for 
Spain  in  the  general  interests  of  the  colony.  The 
reasoning  by  which  the  mistrustful  populace  arrived 
at  this  agreement  was,  that  if  Balboa  went  he  would 
secure  all  the  advantages  to  himself,  or  never  return ; 
while  Colmenares,  who  left  large  property  in  lands  and 
laborers,  and  Caicedo,  a  genuine  Spanish  wife  to  whom 
he  was  devotedly  attached,  would  be  sure  to  return. 

Again  the  governor  wrote  Pasarnonte  soliciting  his 
favor;  not  forgetting,  in  addition  to  the  king's  fifth, 
a  valuable  present  in  gold  for  the  king's  treasurer. 
The  commissioners  sailed  from  Darien  in  October, 
1512,  and  reached  Spain  the  May  following. 

Meanwhile  times  at  Antigua  ran  their  varying 
course.  At  first  nothing  of  interest  occurred;  and 
such  were  the  composite  elements  of  this  society  that 
inactivity  invariably  resulted  in  spontaneous  com 
bustion.  Again  it  centred  round  the  ruling  powers. 
"  Who  is  this  Vasco  Nunez  that  he  should  lord  it 
over  us?  a  renegade!  an  absconding  debtor!  he  of 

O  O 

the  cask!"  The  immediate  cause  of  the  outbreak 
was  the  investiture  of  Hurtado,  an  unpopular  person, 
with  authority;  and  the  more  specific  charges  were 
partiality  in  the  division  of  spoils,  and  the  unlawful 
assumption  of  powers  pertaining  to  a  royally  ap 
pointed  ruler. 


THE  GOVERNOR  WITHDRAWS.  355 

The  new  faction  was  led  by  one  Alonso  Perez  de 
la  Rua,  who  for  fancied  insult  pawed  the  earth  and 
bellowed  vengeance.  The  agitation  becoming  trouble 
some  Perez  was  arrested  and  placed  in  confinement. 
The  insurgents  rushed  to  arms  and  demanded  the 
release  of  their  leader,  and  this  being  denied  they 
prepared  to  rescue  him  by  force.  The  governor  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  adherents,  and  the  two 
parties  prepared  for  battle.  At  this  juncture  peace 
ful  measures  were  interposed  by  a  third  party,  con 
sisting  of  those  who  had  taken  no  active  part  in  the 
disputes,  and  embracing  many  respectable  colonists. 
Perez  was  released;  but  the  gna wings  of  hate  con 
tinuing  he  roused  his  party  and  made  prisoner  Hur- 
tado,  who  in  his  turn  was  given  liberty  at  the  hands 
of  the  conciliators. 

Chivalry  having  had  its  brief  day,  avarice  came  in  for 
a  share  of  public  attention.  Among  the  yet  undivided 
plunder  was  gold  obtained  in  the  late  Atrato  River 
raids,  equivalent  in  value  to  ten  thousand  castellanos. 
Of  this  the  disaffected  demanded  immediate  division. 

The  governor  well  knew  that  in  their  present  mood 
it  was  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  satisfy  them. 
Though  omniscient  justice  distributed  this  treasure, 
new  troubles  would  grow  out  of  it.  He  determined 
therefore  to  adopt  a  non-committal  policy,  retire  from 
the  scene,  and  freely  give  them  the  opportunity,  for 
which  they  were  so  ready,  to  shed  blood.  Quitting 
the  town  at  night,  ostensibly  on  a  hunting  tour,  he  re 
mained  away  for  several  days,  leaving  them  to  their 
destruction.  The  result  was  as  he  had  anticipated. 
Finding  themselves  free  the  rioters  elevated  to  the 
command  Perez  of  the  wounded  honor,  and  BachiHer 
Corral.  Then  breaking  into  the  public  plunder-house, 
they  brought  out  the  gold  and  placed  it  in  the  hands 
of  their  leaders  for  distribution.  Proof  that  the  division 
was  fair  lay  in  the  fact  that  every  one  was  dissatisfied. 
Each,  rating  his  own  services  superior  to  most  and 
inferior  to  none,  thought  he  received  too  little  and 


356  FACTIONS  AXD  FORAGIXGS  IX  DARIEN. 

another  too  much.  They  began  to  suspect  their  mis 
take.  A  dim  perception  of  the  infelicities  that  mix 
with  the  rapturous  sweets  of  governing  entered  their 
stolid  brains.  Balboa's  party  quickly  assumed  the 
ascendency,  and  thrusting  the  ringleaders  of  the  insur 
gents  into  prison  they  awaited  the  return  of  the  gov 
ernor. 

"Your  highness  must  know,"  writes  Vasco  Nunez 
of  this  affair  to  the  king,  January  20, 1513,  "that  some 
days  ago  little  differences  occurred  here,  because  the 
alcaldes,  filled  with  envy  and  falsehood,  attempted 
to  arrest  me.  Failing  in  this  they  brought  against 
me  false  accusations  and  false  witnesses.  Hereof  I 
complain  to  your  highness,  for  if  these  men  go  un 
punished,  no  governor  that  your  highness  may  here 
after  send  will  be  free  from  this  evil.  That  your 
highness  may  know  the  truth  in  the  matter,  and 
of  my  great  and  loyal  services  in  these  parts  of  the 
Indies  and  Tierra  Firme,  I  have  appointed  two  judges 
to  investigate  my  conduct,  and  report  to  your  majesty 
all  that  I  have  done.  I  hope,"  concludes  the  modest 
cavalier,  "that  your  majesty  will  read  all  this,  and 
reward  my  great  services  according  to  their  value." 

About  this  time  there  arrived  at  Antigua  two 
vessels,  in  command  of  Cristobal  Serrano,  sent  by 
Diego  Colon,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  and 
provisions  for  the  colony.  But  what  gave  Vasco 
Nunez  the  greatest  joy  was  a  royal  commission, 
signed  by  Pasamonte,  the  treasurer,  investing  him 
with  the  supreme  command  of  the  colony.  Thus 
established  in  authority,  and  being  of  a  generous 
temper,  the  governor  at  the  solicitations  of  their 
friends  readily  pardoned  the  rebels  and  set  them  at 
liberty. 

Another  communication,  however,  which  Vasco 
Nunez  received  by  this  arrival,  caused  him  no  little 
anxiety.  This  was  a  letter  from  Zamudio  informing 
him  of  his  failure  to  conciliate  the  royal  favor.  As 


BALBOA'S  RESOLVE.  357 

had  been  feared,  the  bachiller  Enciso,  burning  under 
a  sense  of  injuries,  had  denounced  the  alcaldes  before 
the  Council  of  the  Indies,  and  aroused  the  king's 
wrath  by  a  recital  of  Nicuesa's  banishment  and  prob 
able  death.  The  Council  had  decreed  that  Enciso 
should  be  indemnified,  and  that  Vasco  Nunez  should 
be  summoned  to  court  to  answer  graver  charges. 
Moreover,  Zaniudio  with  difficulty  escaped  the  arrest 
imposed  on  him  by  the  Council. 

This  was  as  wormwood  in  Balboa's  cup  of  joy. 
Yet  it  was  not  wholly  unexpected;  it  was  not  wholly 
unmerited.  There  was  one  redeeming  feature  about 
it;  the  intelligence  was  private.  He  was  still  master 
of  himself;  ay,  and  governor  of  the  colony.  Might 
not  some  signal  service  be  made  to  cover  his  trans 
gressions,  and  win  for  him  the  royal  favor?  There 
was  that  mysterious  sea  to  the  southward,  reported 
by  Panciaco.  The  very  thing,  were  men  and  means 
at  hand  for  its  achievement.  Means !  There  was  no 
time  to  talk  of  means;  the  next  arrival  would  bring  a 
warrant  for  his  arrest.  Do  it  without  means,  and  so 
gain  glory  the  more.  Where  was  the  true  Spanish 
cavalier  wiio  would  hesitate  in  such  an  emergency? 
Why,  the  very  danger  itself  was  a  fascination.  He 
would  do  it  or  die ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 
1513. 

DEPARTURE  OF  VASCO  NUNEZ  FROM  ANTIGUA — CARETA'S  WELCOME — DIFFI 
CULTIES  TO  BE  ENCOUNTERED — TREACHEROUS  CHARACTER  OF  THE  COUN 
TRY — HISTORICAL  BLOODHOUNDS — PONCA  RECONCILED — CAPTURE  OF 
QuAREQui — FIRST  VIEW  OF  THE  PACIFIC  FROM  THE  HEIGHTS  OF  QUARE- 
QUA — THE  SPANIARDS  DESCEND  TO  CHIAPES — TAKE  FORMAL  POSSESSION 
OF  THE  SOUTH  SEA — FORM  OF  TAKING  POSSESSION — THE  NAMES  SOUTH 
SEA  AND  PACIFIC  OCEAN — FURTHER  DISCOVERIES — PERILOUS  CANOE 
VOYAGE — GOLD  AND  PEARLS  IN  PROFUSION — TUMACO  PACIFIED — THE 
PEARL  ISLANDS — THE  RETURN — TEOCA'S  KINDNESS — PONCA  MURDERED 
— POCOROSA  PACIFIED — TUBANAMA  VANQUISHED — GOLD,  GOLD,  GOLD — 
PANCIACO'S  CONGRATULATIONS — ARRIVAL  AT  ANTIGUA 


REVOLVING  matters  in  his  mind,  plans  quickly  un 
folded.  Winning  for  the  project  a  few  staunch  friends, 
Vasco  Nunez  selected  with  great  care  one  hundred' 
and  ninety  men.1  More  could  have  been  taken,  but 
he  had  determined  on  a  rapid  march  of  discovery 
rather  than  pacification  and  occupation.  Hence  he 
preferred  only  tried  men,  those  inured  to  fatigue, 
men  resolute  and  reckless,  with  heart  and  head  hard, 
and  sinews  of  steel.  He  also  provided  from  among 
his  captives  and  the  neighboring  nations  one  thousand 
natives,  to  serve  as  warriors  and  beasts  of  burden. 
These  might  live  or  die,  as  it  should  happen :  no  great 
matter  what  became  of  them.  A  pack  of  bloodhounds 
completed  the  company. 

The  men  were  armed  with  crossbows,  swords,  arque 
buses  and  targets,  and  provisions  for  the  expedition 
were  placed  on  board  a  brigantine  and  ten  large 

1  Galvano  says  290,  which  for  him  is  quite  near  the  mark.  Oviedo  places 
the  number  at  800,  which  probably  was  intended  to  include  the  natives  after 
ward  added. 

(358) 


EMBARKATION  OF  THE  EXPEDITION.  359 

canoes.  Before  embarking,  the  hazardous  nature 
of  the  enterprise  was  made  known  to  the  soldiers. 
Wealth  and  glory  awaited  success;  the  reward  of 
failure,  death;  opportunity  was  then  offered  for  any 
one  to  withdraw  without  prejudice  or  injury. 

Sailing  with  his  little  armament  from  Antigua  on 
the  first  day  of  September,  1513,  Vasco  Nunez  de 
Balboa  followed  the  coast  of  Darien  north-westward  to 
Car  eta's  province,  where  the  expedition  disembarked 
on  the  fourth  day.  The  chieftain's  dusky  daughter, 
whom  the  governor  continued  to  regard  with  great 
affection,  was  still  a  bond  of  friendship  between  this 
nation  and  the  Spaniards.  Careta  added  to  their  stock 
of  provisions  and  furnished  them  with  guides;  and 
some  of  his  warriors  joined  the  expedition,  in  the  hope 
of  witnessing  the  downfall  of  their  enemies  beyond 
the  mountains.  The  boats  were  left  in  charge  of  a 
guard;  and  after  invoking  divine  favor  the  expedition 
was  ready  to  move. 

1  know  the  tendency  of  the  historian,  .warmed  by 
his  theme,  to  magnify  merit,  and  the  obstacles  it  over 
comes;  and  I  have  elsewhere  said  as  much.     While 
I  endeavor  to  confine  myself  to  the  plain  words  of  a 
simple  story,  those  who  have  sat  at  ease,  sipping  iced 
champagne,  during  a  delightful  ride  of  three  or  four 
hours  across  this  sometime  terrible  neck,  may  find  in 
this  chapter   expressions  appearing   strong.     But   I 
do  assure  the  reader  that  it  is  difficult  to  magnify  in 
the  present  instance.     Vasco  Nuflez  now  stood  on 
the  northern  coast,  opposite  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel, 
which,  breaking  the  shore  of  Panama  Bay,  narrows 
the  isthmus  of  Darien  to  a  width  of  fifty  miles.2     But 

2  The  Spaniards  must  have  had  quite  accurate  information  from  the  natives  as 
to  the  trend  of  the  southern  coast,  though  there  was  then  little  communication 
between  the  northern  and  southern  seaboards.     But,  without  such  knowledge, 
Balboa  naturally  would  have  undertaken  the  ascent  of  the  river  Atrato, 
which  flows  directly  from  the  south,  rather  than  have  sailed  some  distance  to 
the  north-west  before  attempting  to  cross.     The  direct  march  to  the  gulf 
of  San  Miguel,  from  which  course  a  deviation  would  have  almost  doubled  the 
distance,  is  another  evidence  of  his  having  obtained  the  most  reliable  informa 
tion  before  or  during  the  march. 


360  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

such  is  the  infamous  character  of  the  country,  that 
even  modern  efforts  to  penetrate  the  unexplored  in 
terior  from  either  side  have  met  disaster  and  ruin.3 

3Enciso,  Suma  de  Geographia,  57,  calls  the  country  'tierra  rasa  y  bueiia 
de  muchos  matenimientos  y  ca9as.'  'Experience  had  proved  that  moving 
a  body  of  men  sufficient  to  act  as  a  protecting  force  and  to  carry  the 
necessary  provisions  was  attended  with  great  risk  and  great  delay. '  Gisborne's 
Surrey  of  Darien,  in  London  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  xxvii.  193.  'Mr  Hopkins  was 
lately  prevented  by  the  Indians  from  ascending  the  Chepo  river  towards 
Mandinga,  or  San  Bias  Bay ;  and  Dr  Cullen  was  stopped  likewise  by  the  abo 
rigines  while  endeavoring  to  ascend  the  Paya  river. . . . Climate  and  natives  are 
at  present  the  only  serious  impediments  to  a  regular  survey. '  Fitz-Roy's  Isth. 
Cent.  Am.,  mLondonGeog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  xx.  1G1.  '  The  Panama  railroad,  amost 
stupendous  work,  considering  the  excessively  swampy  nature  of  the  country 
over  which  it  has  been  carried. '  Cullen's  Darien,  95.  For  obstacles  overcome  in 
surveying  and  constructing  the  Panama  railway,  see  Otis'  Isthmus  Panama, 
15-36.  The  climate  inclines  'to  the  wet  extreme,  for  two  thirds  of  the  year, 
the  Rains  beginning  in  April. '  Defence  of  the  Scots  Settlement  at  Darien,  64. 
On  the  Atrato  'the  trees  approach  to  the  very  edge  of  the  stream,  which  their 
branches  overhang.  The  trees  are  frequently  concealed  by  dense  masses  of 
vines  which  entirely  envelope  them,  and  in  certain  lights  present  plays  of  color 
comparable  only  to  those  of  the  richest  velvet.  .  .  .  But  like  the  plumes  and 
velvet  of  the  funeral  pageant,  they  serve  but  to  conceal  and  adorn  corrup 
tion.  Behind  them  stretches,  far  away,  the  pestiferous  swamp,  through  the 
dreary  wilds  of  which  even  the  birds  refuse  to  sport ;  and  whose  silence  is 
broken  only  by  the  sighing  of  the  breeze,  or  the  sullen  growl  of  the  roving 
tiger. '  Venomous  reptiles  often  fall  into  the  boats  from  the  branches  overhead ; 
wasps'  nests  are  frequent  and  troublesome ;  natural  levees  of  soft  mud  stretch 
along  the  banks.  Floods  are  common,  and  the  houses  are  built  on  stilts. 
Trauticine,  in  Franklin  Inst.,  Jour.,  xxvii.  220-4.  In  1853,  Carl  Scherzer,  a 
German  naturalist,  travelling  in  Costa  Rica  with  a  civil  engineer  and  a  force  of 
thirty-two  men,  attempted  to  make  a  survey  for  a  road  from  Angostura  to 
Limon  Bay ;  but  on  account  of  scarcity  of  provisions,  illness,  and  the  difficul 
ties  of  the  route,  they  failed  in  their  purpose;  and  after  having  penetrated 
to  within  eight  leagues  of  their  destination,  they  were  obliged  to  return, 
having  travelled  only  ten  leagues  in  two  weeks.  See  Wagner  and  Scherzer, 
Costa  Rica,  358-407.  In  December  of  the  same  year,  a  party  under  J. 
C.  Prevost,  of  H.  M.  S.  Virago,  set  out  with  fourteen  days'  provisions  from 
the  gulf  of  San  Miguel  for  Caledonia  Bay,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Isthmus. 
Their  route  was  essentially  that  of  Vasco  Nunez  on  his  return.  As  he  as 
cended  the  Sabana  River,  the  attention  of  Captain  Prevost  was  attracted  by 
the  debris  on  the  overhanging  branches,  which  marked  the  height  of  water 
attained  during  certain  seasons.  The  dense  foliage  was  enlivened  by  birds 
of  gay  plumage;  brilliant  flowers  carpeted  the  ground;  and  the  chattering 
monkeys,  which  they  shot  in  great  numbers,  furnished  the  guides  food. 
The  country  even  then  was  as  wild  as  when  traversed  by  Vasco  Nunez; 
the  natives,  however,  had  exchanged  their  wooden  weapons  for  fire-arms. 
Swamps  and  hills  alternate,  and  'dense  was  the  forest  we  had  cut  our  way 
through.'  The  flora  then  changed,  and  'instead  of  the  small  underwood,  we 
came  on  almost  impenetrable  thickets  of  the  prickly  palm  or  aloe,  rather 
more  than  six  feet  in  height,  through  which  we  with  great  difficulty  cut  our 
way.'  They  crossed  'deep  ravines,  whose  steep  and  slippery  sides  caused 
many  a  tumble. '  The  attempt  was  finally  abandoned.  Returning,  on  arriv 
ing  at  one  of  their  ranchos  or  encampments,  where  had  been  left  three  sailors 
to  guard  the  provisions,  they  found  the  men  murdered  and  the  camp  sacked. 
'So  toilsome  was  our  journey,'  says  Captain  Prevost,  'that  we  spent  fifteen 
days  in  performing  a  distance  of  little  more  than  twenty-six  miles,  having  to 
force  our  slow  and  laborious  path  through  forests  that  seemed  to  stretch  from 


QUALITY  OF  THE  BAND.  3G1 

Inaccessible  forests  filled  with  noxious  reptiles  and 
wild  beasts,  tangled  jungles  through  which  man  must 
cut  his  way  foot  by  foot;  rugged  mountains,  slippery 
slopes,  and  rocky  precipices,  over  and  round  which 
the  weary  traveller  threads  his  way  under  a  blooming 
tropical  canopy;  frequent  and  sudden  rains  and  inun 
dations;  treacherous  morasses,  and  the  malarious  ex 
halations  from  putrid  vegetation,  unite  with  warlike 
savages  to  render  this  spot  one  of 'the  most  difficult 
on  the  globe  to  explore.  Add  to  these  obstructions  " 
the  weight  of  heavy  armor  and  cumbrous  weapons, 
and  some  conception  may  be  formed  of  a  military 
march  through  an  equatorial  wilderness. 

No  wonder  Vasco  Nunez  scrutinized  his  company 
before  starting.  "I  beg  your  very  royal  Highness," 
he  had  written  before  this  to  the  king,  "to  give  me 
men  from  Espanola;  for  such  as  come  from  Castile 
are  for  my  purpose  worthless,  bringing  loss  not  only 
on  themselves  but  others."4  Born  amidst  the  clash 
of  arms  in  chivalrous  Spain,  broken  to  adversity  at 
Espaiiola,  and  man}7"  of  them  toughened  at  Santa 
Marta,  Veragua,  and  Antigua,  the  present  band 
mustered  the  survivors  of  daring  expeditions  whose 
bones  strewed  the  shores  of  Tierra  Firme. 

The  Spaniards  began  their  march  on  the  6th  of  Sep 
tember.  The  second  day  brought  them  to  the  lands 
of  Ponca,  who  having  been  warned  of  their  approach 
had  retired  from  the  path.5  But  other  thoughts  than 

the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  shores.  The  trees,  of  stupendous  size,  were  mat 
ted  with  creepers  and  parasitical  vines,  which  hung  in  festoons  from  tree  to 
tree,  forming  an  almost  impenetrable  net-work,  and  obliging  us  to  hew  open  a 
passage  with  our  axes  every  step  we  advanced.'  London  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour., 
xxiv.  249.  Nothing  could  more  aptly  illustrate  the  difficulties  surmounted 
by  the  Spaniards  than  this  narrative  of  failure,  by  a  British  officer  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  who  operated  under  conditions  far  more  favorable  than 
those  so  successfully  overcome  by  a  company  of  ill-accoutred  and  poorly  fed 
adventurers  more  than  three  hundred  years  before.  With  the  material  before 
me,  these  illustrations  could  be  greatly  multiplied ;  but  I  have  given  enough  to 
show  that  the  transit  of  the  Isthmus,  by  a  small  party  of  Europeans,  over  an 
unknown  or  unexplored  route,  is  even  to-day  esteemed  a  desperate  undertaking. 

*  Carta  dirigida  al  Rey  por  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  desae  Santa  Maria  del 
Darien,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  368. 

5  A  strategy  which  continues  through  the  centuries.  '  The  Indians,  although 
offering  no  direct  hostility,  abandoned  their  villages  at  our  approach.'  Gis- 
bor  tie's  Survey  of  Darieii,  London  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  xxvii.  193. 


362 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 


those  of  plunder  and  petty  warfare  now  filled  the 
mind  of  Vasco  Nunez;  and,  preferring  to  leave  no 
enemy  in  his  rear,  while  resting  in  the  cacique's  com 
fortable  quarters  he  made  overtures  of  friendship  to 
the  chief,  who  straightway  returned  from  his  hiding, 
and  gave  gold,  together  with  valuable  information 
concerning  the  southern  sea  and  the  route  thither  in 


return  for  beads,  mirrors,  hawk-bells,  and  axes.  For 
none  knew  better  than  the  courteous  governor  how 
to  kindle  friendship  in  the  savage  breast,  and  make  it 
profitable.  The  gold  which  Ponca  gave  consisted  of 
finely  wrought  ornaments  from  beyond  the  mountains, 
and  ten  pounds  of  the  metal  from  his  own  mines. 
He  described  a  certain  summit  from  which  this 


AN  HISTORICAL  DOG.  363 

southern  sea  might  easily  be  seen,  gave  information 
of  the  nations  to  be  encountered  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  furnished  them  with  guides  for  the  secret  passes. 

Roused  by  this  encouragement,  and  leaving  here 
the  sick  and  wayworn,  the  Spaniards  were  on  their 
southward  march  again  the  20th  of  September.  Be 
tween  the  several  provinces  were  no  beaten  paths, 
across  the  rivers  no  bridges ;  so  great  were  the  impedi 
ments  to  their  progress,  and  so  much  more  time  was 
consumed  than  had  been  anticipated,  that  food  began 
to  fail. 

Making  their  way  amid  these  difficulties,  they  came 
to  the  foot  of  the  high  mountains  where  terminated 
their  pacified  territory,  and  where  they  must  prepare 
to  dispute  the  way  with  native  sovereigns  of  the  soil. 
Ascending  the  mountains,  they  encountered  on  the 
24th  a  cacique  named  Porque,  lord  of  the  province  of 
Quarequa,  the  ruler  of  these  parts,  whose  arrogance, 
fed  by  his  successes,  had  kept  full  pace  with  them. 
At  the  head  of  a  thousand  warriors,  Porque  appeared 
before  Yasco  Nunez,  demanded  the  object  of  his  visit, 
and  threatened  to  kill  every  man  who  should  put  foot 
within  his  dominions.  The  Spaniards  nevertheless 
continued  slowly  to  advance,  keeping  well  together. 
Amazed  at  their  temerity,  and  indignant  at  the  seem 
ing  indifference  to  his  threat,  Porque  swept  down 
upon  them  with  flourish  of  weapons  and  terrific 
yells,  confident  of  easy  victory.  But  as  well  might 
he  have  spent  his  unleavened  force  against  the  eternal 
hills. 

Waiting  until  the  whole  swarm  was  well  within 

O 

reach,  Vasco  Nunez  gave  the  order  to  charge.  Shout 
ing  the  inspiriting  war-cry,  Santiago,  y  it  ellos!  the 
Spaniards  sprang  upon  them.  The  fire-arms  were  dis 
charged,  the  bloodhounds6  let  loose,  and  striking  the 

6  Among  the  dogs  which  accompanied  the  expedition  was  one,  the  property 
of  the  commander,  whose  pedigree  and  physical  and  metaphysical  traits  and 
mighty  deeds  are  minutely  recorded  by  contemporary  historians.  His  name 
was  Leoncico,  little  lion,  descendant  of  Becerrico,  of  the  Island  of  San  Juan. 
He  was  in  color  red  with  black  snout,  of  medium  size  and  extraordinary 
strength.  In  their  foragings  Leoncico  counted  as  one  man,  and  drew  captain's 


364  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

cruel  steel  into  the  naked  bodies  of  the  enemy,  he  was 
literally  hewn  in  pieces.  Vainly,  in  wild  confusion,  the 
savages  struggled  to  escape ;  the  flash  of  fire,  the  thun 
dering  noise,  the  sulphurous  smoke,  bereft  them  of 
their  senses,  making  easy  work  for  the  sharp  iron 
which  entered  unresisted  their  vitals,  until  six  hun 
dred  lay  dead  upon  the  ground,  Porque  among  the 
number.  Many  prisoners  were  taken;  the  survivors 
escaped  to  the  hills.  In  the  village  of  Quarequd  was 
found  much  needed  food,  and  some  gold.  So  toilsome 
had  been  the  march  that  eighteen  days  had  passed 
since  leaving  Careta's  town.  And  here  Yasco  Nunez 
rested  for  the  night,  nursing  his  wounded,  and 
cheering  the  sick  and  down-hearted.  The  guides 
whom  Ponca  had  furnished,  and  who  had  proved  of 
incalculable  service  to  the  explorers,  were  dismissed  to 
their  home  with  presents,  and  with  hearts  made  glad 
by  the  destruction  of  Porque.  So  rolls  round  the 
planet  inexorable  nature,  detested  death  giving  hourly 
joy  to  universal  life. 

The  25th7  of  September,  1513,  a  day  ever  mem 
orable  in  the  annals  of  the  Pacific  States,  dawned 
brightly  over  the  sierra  of  Quarequd.  The  village  in 
which  the  Spaniards  had  made  their  quarters  was  sit 
uated  on  an  elevated  plateau,  and  near  it  rose  the 
reputed  mountain  whose  summit  had  for  ages  gazed 

pay  and  share  of  spoils.  Upon  these  conditions  his  master  frequently  loaned 
him;  and  during  the  wars  of  Darien.  he  gained  for  Vasco  Nunez  more  than  one 
thousand  pesos  cle  oro.  He  was  considered  more  efficient  than  the  best  soldier, 
and  the  savages  stood  in  the  greatest  terror  of  him.  He  readily  discriminated 
between  wild  and  tame  Indians.  When  a  captive  was  missing  from  the  fields, 
and  Leoncico  was  told,  'He  is  gone;  seek  him!'  the  dog  tracked  the  poor  fugi 
tive,  and  did  not  harm  him  if  he  returned  quietly,  but  if  the  Indian  resisted, 
the  dog  would  destroy  him.  The  hero  of  many  a  conflict,  he  was  covered  with 
wounds ;  but  like  Caesar  he  escaped  the  wars  to  meet  his  death  by  treacherous 
hands.  He  was  poisoned.  See  Oviedo,  iii.  9-10. 

7  Again  a  general  difference  occurs  in  an  important  date,  and,  according  to 
my  custom,  I  am  governed  by  the  authorities  I  deem  most  reliable.  Oviedo 
follows  the  expedition  from  day  to  day,  noting  places  and  dates;  and  he 
says,  iii.  10 :  '  Y  un  martes,  veyiite  e  cinco  de  septiembre  de  aquel  ano  de  mill 
e  quinientos  y  tre£e,  a  las  diez  horas  del  dia,'  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
So  Gomara  also  writes,  I  fist.  Ind. ,  77 :  '  Vio  Valboa  ala  mar  del  Sur  alos  veynte 
y  cinco  del  Setiembre  del  afio  de  treze;'  and  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.,  iv.  109: 
'  Llegaron  a  la  cumbre  de  las  mas  altas  sierras  a  25  dias  de  Setiembre  de  dicho 


FIRST 'VIEW  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEA.  363 

on  the  mysterious  southern  sea.  At  an  early  hour 
Vasco  Nunez  was  astir,  to  prepare  with  thrilling 
anticipations  for  the  ascent.  But  sixty-seven,  out 
of  the  one  hundred  and  ninety  Spaniards  who  within 
the  month  had  embarked  upon  this  enterprise  at 
Antigua,  possessed  sufficient  strength  for  the  present 
effort.  Departing  from  the  town,  their  way  at  first 
lay  through  a  tangled  forest,  which  fringed  the  mount 
ain  base,  and  whose  dense  foliage  hid  from  view  the 
more  distant  objects.  As  they  mounted  upward  into 
a  cooler,  drier  atmosphere,  the  vegetation  became 
more  stunted,  yet  the  undergrowth  was  still  so  thick 
that  the  soldiers  had  to  cut  a  passage  with  their 
sabres.  Emerging  at  length  into  an  open  space  near 

ano  de  1513 ;'  and  Herrera,  i.  x.  i. :  'A  veynte  y  cinco  de  Setiembre,  deste  aiio, 
de  donde  la  mar  so  parecia. '  Careful  writers  following  these  first  authorities 
also  name  the  day  correctly,  as  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  i.  319,  who  says: 
'  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  vit  la  Mer  du  Sud,  le  25  septembre  1513,  du  haut 
de  la  Sierra  de  Quarequa;'  and  Acosta,  Compend.  Hist.  Nueva  Granada, 
50:  '  Esto  pas6  el  dia  25  de  setiembre  del  ano  de  1513  poco  antes  de  medio  dia 
y  forma  una  de  las  epocas  notables  en  el  descubrimiento  de  la  America;'  and 
Quintana,  Vidas  de  Espanoles  Celebres,  'Balboa, '20:  '25  de  setiembre;'  and 
Chevalier,  L'Isthme  de  Panama,  15:  'Le  vingt-cinquieme  jour,  le  25  septem 
bre;'  and  Campbell,  Hist.  Span.  Am.,  23:  'the  25th  of  Septembre;'  and 
Helps,  Span.  Conq.,  i.  361:  '25th  of  September;'  etc.  In  the  face  of  which, 
Irving,  Columbus,  iii.  198,  shows  gross  carelessness  when  he  writes  'the 
26th  of  September.'  To  support  him  he  has  Ramusio,  who,  Viaggi,  iii. 
29,  falls  into  a  mistake  of  Peter  Martyr's,  '  alii  ventisei  adunque  di  Settem- 
bre,'  and  DuPerier,  Gen.  Hist.  Voy.,  139,  and,  to  copy  his  error,  Dalton,  Conq. 
Mex.  and  Peru,  43,  and  a  host  of  others.  Not  quite  so  often  mentioned  as 
Columbus'  voyages  is  this  discovery  of  Vasco  Nunez,  though  nearly  so.  After 
Oviedo  and  Las  Casas  probably  Peter  Martyr  gives  the  best  original  account. 
Herrera  copied  from  all  before  him.  The  following  popular  accounts  are  most  of 
them  meagre'and  unreliable : — Nouvelles  A  n.  des  Voy. ,  cxlviii.  1 1-12 ;  Goodrich 's 
Manupon  the  Sea,  201-8 ;  Voyages,  New  Col. ,  i.  180-6 ;  World  Displayed,  i.  153-9; 
Monson's  Tracts,  in  Churchill 's  Voy. ,  iii.  372 ;  MarchyLabores,  Marina  Espanola, 
i.  413-59;  Dufey,  Resume  Hist.  Am.,  i.  75-86;  Gottfriedt,  Newe  Welt,  239-41; 
Juarros,  Gnat.,  122;  Montanus,  Nieuwe  Weereld,  66-72;  Ogilby's  Am.,  69- 
72;  Norman's  Hist.  Cal.,  10-11;  Patton's  Hist.  U.S.,  II;  Pirn's  Gate  of  Pacific, 
99;  Hazlitt'sGoldFields,3;  Roberts' Nar.  Fo?/.,xx.;  Isth. Panama, 5;  Humboldt, 
Essai  Pol.,  i.  17;  Lallement,  Geschichte,  i.  25;  BidwelVs  Panama,  23-7;  An- 
dagoya's  Nar.,  19;  Galvano's  Discov.,  123-4;  Cavanilles,  Hist.  Espana,  v. 
290-1;  Greenhow's  Mem.,  22;  Farnham's  Adv.,  119;  Fedix,  L'Orcgon,  67-8; 
Span.  Emp.  in  Am.,  23;  Burney's  Discov.  South  Sea,  i.  8-9;  Niles1  S.  Am.  and 
Mex.,  14-15;  Kerr's  Col.  Voy. ,  ii.  67-8 ;  Colton's  Jour.  Geog.,  no. 6,84;  DouglasJ 
Hist,  and  Pol.,  44;  Holmes'  Annals  Am.,  i.  32-3;  Inter-Oceanic  Canal  and 
Monroe  Doct.,  11;  Hesperian,  ii.  27-33;  Lardner's  Hist.  Discov.,  ii.  40-1; 
Harper's  Mag.,  xviii.  469-84;  Macgregor's  Prog.  Am.,  i.  10-11;  Mofras, 
L'Orcgon,  i.  88-9;  Ovalle,  Hist.  Rel.  Chile,  \i\Pinkertoris  Col.,  xiv.  142-4;  Mesa 
y  Leompart,  Hist.  Am.,  i.  88-94;  Mavor's  Am.  Hist.,  xxiv.  52-5;  Holinski, 
Cal.,  62-4;  Benzoni,  Hist.  Mondo  Nvovo,  47-8;  Morelli,  Fasti Novi  Orbis,  15; 
Rivera,  Hist.  Jalapa,  i.  20. 


366  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

the  summit,  a  bare  eminence  was  pointed  out  by  the 
guides,  whence  the  view  was  said  to  be  unobstructed, 
and  the  sea  distinctly  visible. 

Viewed  prosaically,  there  was  nothing  astounding 
in  ascending  a  hill  and  taking  a  look  at  the  ocean. 
It  had  been  often  done  elsewhere;  it  had  been  often 
done  here.  Nor  was  there  any  peculiar  difference 
between  sea  and  land  here  and  sea  and  land  elsewhere. 
But  there  was  that  to  the  minds  of  the  impetuous 
and  impressible  Spaniards,  there  is  that  to  our  own 
minds,  in  first  things  and  first  views  of  things,  our 
first  view,  our  country's  first  awakening,  that  stirs 
the  soul  and  sets  faster  beating  the  heart.  Reduced 
to  words,  the  sentiment  is  the  pleasure  the  mind 
derives  from  improving  surprises;  it  is  the  joy  of 
development,  the  ecstasy  of  evolution. 

If  such  be  commonly  the  case,  how  much  more 
reason  had  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  to  be  impassioned 
on  this  occasion.  Behind  him  was  ignominy,  perhaps 
chains  and  death;  before  him  was  glory,  immortal 
fame.  And  it  was  meet  in  him  that  this  ordinarily 
trivial  act  should  be  consummated  with  a  ceremony 
becoming  to  one  of  civilization's  great  achievements. 

Ordering  a  halt,  Vasco  Nunez  advanced  alone.  His 
should  be  the  first  European  eye  to  behold  what  there 
was  to  behold,  and  that  without  perad venture.  With 
throbbing  heart  he  mounted  the  topmost  eminence 
which  crowned  these  sea-dividing  hills.  Then,  as  in 
the  lifting  of  a  veil,  a  scene  of  primeval  splendor  burst 
on  his  enraptured  gaze,  such  as  might  fill  with  joy  an 
archangel  sent  to  explore  a  new  creation.  There  it 
lay,  that  boundless  unknown  sea,  spread  out  before 
him,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  in  calm,  majestic 
beauty,  glittering  like  liquid  crystal  in  the  morning 
sun.  Beneath  his  feet,  in  furrowed  prospect,  were 
terraces  of  living  green,  sportive  with  iridescent  light 
and  shade;  waving  plains  and  feathered  steeps  white- 
lined  with  flowing  waters,  here  dashing  boisterously 
down  the  hill- side,  yonder  winding  silent  through  the 


I 

SPEECH  OF  VASCO  NUNEZ.  367 

sighing  foliage  to  the  all-receiving  sea.  In  that  first 
illimitable  glance  time  stood  back,  the  mists  lifted, 
and  eternity  was  there.  What  wonder  if  to  this 
Spanish  cavalier,  in  that  moment  of  triumphant  joy, 
visions  of  the  mighty  future  appeared  pictured  on  the 
cerulean  heights,  visions  of  populous  cities,  of  fleets 
and  armies,  of  lands  teeming  with  wealth  and  in 
dustry.  And  to  Spain  should  all  these  blessings  and 
advantages  accrue;  to  Spain  through  him. 

Dropping  on  his  knees,  he  poured  forth  praise  and 
thanksgiving  to  the  author  of  that  glorious  creation 
for  the  honor  of  its  discovery.  The  soldiers  then 
pressed  forward,  gazed  enchanted  likewise,  and  like 
wise  assumed  the  attitude  of  prayer;  for  however 
devotedly  these  cavaliers  served  their  devil,  they  never 
ceased  praying  to  their  god. 

"  There,  my  friends,"  exclaimed  Balboa,  rising  and 
pointing ,  to  the  prospect  before  him,  "there  is  the 
realization  of  your  hopes,  the  reward  of  your  labors. 
You  are  the  first  Christians  to  look  upon  that  sea,  or 
to  tread  its  luxuriant  shores.  The  words  of  the  chiv 
alrous  Panciaco  concerning  the  Southern  Sea  are 
more  than  verified;  please  God  so  may  we  find  them 
regarding  the  riches  of  its  shore.  All  are  yours,  I 
say,  yours  the  glory  of  laying  this  celestial  realm  at 
your  sovereign's  feet;  yours  the  privilege  of  bringing 
to  the  only  vile  thing  in  it  the  cleansing  properties  of 
our  holy  faith.  Continue,  then,  true  to  me,  and  I 
promise  you  honor  and  wealth  to  your  fullest  desire." 
A  shout  of  approbation,  such  as  the  rabble  are  ever 
ready  with  before  success,  was  followed  by  pledges  of 
fidelity  and  fair  service,  to  be  broken  upon  the  first 
occasion.  And  if  we  may  believe  old  Peter  Martyr, 
who  enjoyed  this  triumph  of  progress  almost  as  much 
as  the  discoverers  themselves,  Hannibal  from  the 
summit  of  the  Alps,  pointing  to  his  soldiers  the  deli 
cious  fields  of  Italy,  displayed  no  grander  conception 
of  his  high  achievements,  past  and  future,  than  did 
Balboa  at  this  moment.  A  cross  was  erected,  round 


368  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIE1C  OCEAN. 

which  stones  were  heaped;  the  trees  were  blazoned 
vvith  the  sovereign's  name;  the  Te  Deum  laudamus, 
and  Te  Dominum  confitemur  were  solemnly  chanted 
by  the  company;  after  which  Balboa  in  a  loud  voice 
called  on  all  present  to  witness  that  he  then  and 
thereby,  for  and  in  the  name  of  the  sovereigns  of 
Spain,  took  possession  of  this  Southern  Sea,  with  all 
its  islands  and  firm  lands,  and  all  shores  washed  by 
its  waters.  The  notary  was  ordered  to  draw  up  a 
certificate  in  accordance,  to  which  each  present  affixed 
his  name.8 

Because  the  strangers  seemed  to  delight  in  it,  the 
savages  assisted  in  the  cross-raising  and  in  carrying 
stones,  though  they  saw  nothing  in  the  surroundings 
to  become  so  excited  about.  Meanwhile  the  Spaniards 

8  The  testimonial  with  the  sixty -seven  names  attached,  as  given  by 
Oviedo,  iii.  11-12,  is  as  follows: — 'Dire  aqui  quien  fueron  los  quo  se  hal- 
laron  en  este  descubrimieiito  con  el  capitan  Vasco  Nunez,  porque  i'ue"  servifio 
muy  seiialado,  y  es  passo  nray  notable  para  estas  historias,  pues  que  fueron 
los  chripstianos  que  primero  vieron  aquella  mar,  segund  daba  fee  de  ello  An 
dre's  de  Valderrabano,  que  alii  se  hallo,  escribano  real  e  natural  de  la  villa  de 
Sanct  Martin  de  Valdeiglesias,  el  qual  testimonio  yo  vi  e"  lei,  y  el  mismo 
escribano  me  lo  ensen6.  Y  despues  quando  murio  Vasco  Nunez,  murio  aqucste 
con  el,  y  tambien  vinieron  sus  escripturas  a  mi  poder  y  aquesta  decia  desta 
manera:'  Los  cavalleros  e  hidalgos  y  hombres  de  bien  que  se  hallaron  en  el 
descubrimiento  de  la  mar  del  Sur,  con  el  magnifico  y  muy  noble  senor  el 
capitan  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  gobernador  por  Sus  Alte^as  en  la  Tierra 
Firme,  son  los  siguientes :  '  Primeramente  el  senor  Vasco  Nunez,  y  el  fue  el 
que  primero  de  todos  vido  aquella  mar  6  la  enseii6  a  los  infrasctiptos.  An 
drei  de  Vera,  clerigo;  Fran9isco  Pi^arro;  Diego  Albitez;  Fabian  Perez; 
Bernardino  de  Morales ;  Diego  de  Texerina ;  Chripstobal  de  Valdebuso ;  Ber 
nardino  de  Cienfuegos;  Sebastian  de  Grijalba;  Frai^isco  de  Avila;  Johan  de 
Espinosa ;  Johan  de  Velasco ;  Benito  Buran ;  Andre's  de  Molina ;  Antonio  de 
Baracaldo ;  Pedro  de  Escobar ;  Chripstobal  Da9a ;  Francisco  Pesado ;  Alonso 
de  Guadalupe ;  Hernando  Munoz ;  Hernando  Hidalgo ;  Johan  Rubio  de  Mal- 
partida;  Alvaro  de  Bolaiios;  Alonso  Ruiz;  FraiiQisco  de  Lufena;  Martin 
Ruiz ;  Pasqual  Rubio  de  Malpartida ;  Fran9isco  Gonzalez  de  Guadalcama ; 
Fraii9isco  Martin ;  Pedro  Martin  de  Palos ;  Hernando  Diaz ;  Andres  Gar9ia 
de  Jaen ;  Luis  Gutierrez ;  Alonso  Sebastian ;  Johan  Vegines ;  Rodrigo  Velas 
quez  ;  Johan  Camacho ;  Diego  de  Montehermoso ;  Johan  Matheos ;  Maestre 
Alonso  de  Sanctiago ;  Gregorio  Ponce ;  Frai^isco  de  la  Tova ;  Miguel  Crespo ; 
Miguel  Sanchez;  Martin  Gar?ia;  Chripstobal  de  Robledo;  Chripstobal  de 
Leon,  platero;  Johan  Martinez;  Valdenebro;  Johan  de  Beas  Loro ;  Johan 
Ferrol;  Johan  Gutierrez  de  Toledo;  Johan  de  Portillo;  Johan  Garcia  de 
Jaen ;  Matheo  Locano ;  Johan  de  Meclellin ;  Alonso  Martin,  esturiano :  Johan 
Gai'9ia  Marinero  ;  Johan  Gallego  ;  Fraii9isco  de  Lentin,  si9iliano;  Johan  del 
Puerto ;  Frau9isco  de  Arias ;  Pedro  de  Orduna ;  Nuflo  de  Olano,  de  color 
negro;  Pedro  Fernandez  de  Aroche.'  Andres  de  Valderrdbano,  escribano  de 
Sus  Alte9as  en  la  su  corte  y  en  todos  sus  reynos  6  seiiorios,  estuve  pressente 
c  doy  f6e  dello,  e  digo  que  son  por  todos  sessenta  y  siete  hombres  estos  pri- 
meros  chripstianos  que  vieron  la  mar  del  Sur,  con  las  quales  yo  me  hall^  e 
cuento  por  uno  dellos ;  y  este  era  de  Sanct  Martin  de  Valdeiglesias. 


CHIAPES  AND  THE  SPANIARDS.  369 

wondered  how  far  the  water  extended,  what  nations 
inhabited  its  borders,  what  the  commerce  and  relig 
ion  of  those  nations,  and  what  would  be  the  effect 
of  the  discovery  on  Spain,  on  the  world,  on  their  own 
fortunes. 

Descending  the  mountains  on  its  seaward  side 
they  were  met  by  a  cacique,  called  like  his  province, 
Chiapes,  who  ordered  them  back  if  they  sought  not 
death.  The  policy  of  Vasco  Nunez  here  was  peace. 
Hostile  entanglements  at  this  juncture  he  knew 
would  sooner  or  later  result  in  the  destruction  of  his 
party.  It  must  be  a  peace,  however,  based  on  fear 
and  respect,  seldom  to  be  achieved  among  savages 
except  by  slaughter.  Overtures  of  friendship  were 
accordingly  instituted  by  a  sudden  and  vigorous  on 
slaught  with  fire-arms,  cross-bows,  and  bloodhounds, 
during  which  Chiapes  took  to  his  heels,  midst  thunder, 
smoke,  and  consternation ;  in  consequence  of  which  he 
was  all  the  more  happy  when  the  men  of  Quarequd 
sought  him  out,  and  told  him  that  these  supernatural 
visitors  who  held  the  elements  at  their  command 
were  easily  propitiated  with  gold.  Tremblingly  he 
appeared  and  laid  at  the  feet  of  Vasco  Nunez  five 
hundred  pounds  of  the  metal,  glad  that  the  favor  of 
the  gods  might  be  bought  so  cheaply.  The  Quarequa 
guides  were  now  dismissed  with  presents,  and  by  them 
orders  were  sent  the  Spaniards  resting  at  their  town 
to  follow  the  advance  party. 

The  object  of  Vasco  Nunez  was  to  approach  the 
verge  of  the  ocean  and  touch  the  water  he  had 
seen.  For  this  purpose  he  despatched,  in  different 
directions,  three  parties  of  twelve  men  each,  under 
Francisco  Pizarro,  Alonso  Martin  de  Bon  Benito, 
and  Juan  de  Escaray  to  search  an  opening  to  the 
seaside  through  the  dense  foliage  that  concealed  it. 
It  is  not  a  little  singular  that  two  days  should 
elapse,  and  that  the  explorers  suffered  severely 
for  want  of  water  before  any  one  could  find  the 
beach,  though  they  were  all  the  time  so  near  it. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    24 


370  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

Alonso  Martin's  party  came  first  to  an  inlet,  on  the 
shore  of  which  were  two  canoes,  the  open  bay  being 
still  hidden.  Desirous  of  being  first  in  something, 
however  small,  Martin  sprang  into  one  of  the  boats 
which  was  barely  floating  on  the  incoming  tide,  and 
cried  to  his  companions,  who  had  thrown  themselves 
down  under  the  cooling  leaves — "I  call  on  you  all  to 
witness  that  I  am  the  first  Spaniard  to  sail  upon  these 
waters."  "And  I  the  second,"  exclaimed  another, 
rushing  for  the  other  boat.9  Returning  to  Chiapes, 
Martin  reported  to  Vasco  Nunez,  who  immediately 
began  preparations  to  take  more  formal  possession  of 
the  Southern  Sea. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  St  Michael's  day,  Vasco 
Nunez  with  twenty-six  men  set  out  for  the  border 
of  the  sea,  accompanied  by  Chiapes  with  a  numerous 
train.  Arriving  there  they  found  the  tide  out,  and 
seated  themselves  upon  a  grassy  slope  beneath  the 
overhanging  foliage,  waiting  the  return  of  the  waters. 
Presently,  when  the  sand  was  covered  to  the  depth  of 
one  or  two  feet,  all  arose,  and  Vasco  Nunez,  armed 
and  armored  cap-a-pie,  drew  his  sword  and,  taking  from 
the  hand  of  an  attendant  a  banner,  on  one  side  of 
which  were  pictured  the  virgin  and  child  and  on  the 
other  the  arms  of  Castile  and  Leon,  marched  into  the 
water,  and  waving  aloft  his  banner  cried  in  a  loud 
voice:  "Long  live  the  high  and  powerful  monarchs 
Don  Fernando  and  Doiia  Juana,  sovereigns  of  Cas 
tile,  and  of  Leon,  and  of  Aragon,  in  whose  name,  and 
for  the  royal  crown  of  Castile,  I  take  and  seize  real 
and  corporeal  actual  possession  of  these  seas  and 
lands,  and  coasts  and  ports  and  islands  of  the  south, 
with  all  thereto  annexed ;  and  kingdoms  and  provinces 
which  belong  to  them,  or  which  may  hereafter  belong 

O  */  O 

to  them,  in  whatever  manner  and  by  whatever  right 
and  title  acquired,  now  existing  or  which  may  exist, 
ancient  and  modern,  in  times  past  and  present  and  to 

9  Hen-era  calls  the  second  Bias  de  Atienca,  but  that  name  is  not  in 
Oviedo's  list.  Irving  refers  to  Herrera,  but  fails  to  reproduce  him  correctly 
in  his  text.  Compare  Oviedo,  iii.  11-12;  Herrera,  i.  x.  iL 


TAKING  POSSESSION.  371 

come,  without  any  contradiction.  And  if  any  other 
prince  or  captain,  Christian  or  infidel,  of  whatever  law 
or  sect  or  condition  he  may  be,  pretends  any  right  to 
these  lands  and  seas,  I  am  ready  and  prepared  to  contra 
dict  him,  and  to  defend  them  in  the  names  of  the  present 
and  future  sovereigns  of  Castile,  who  are  the  lords  para 
mount  in  these  Indies,  islands  and  firm  land,  northern 
and  southern,  with  their  seas,  as  well  in  the  arctic  pole 
as  in  the  antarctic,  on  either  side  of  the  equinoctial 
line,  within  or  without  the  tropics  of  cancer  and  cap- 
ricorn,  according  to  what  more  completely  to  their 
majesties  and  their  successors  belongs  and  is  due,  for 
the  whole  and  any  part  thereof;  as  I  protest  in  writ 
ing  shall  or  may  be  more  fully  specified  and  alleged  on 
behalf  of  their  royal  patrimony;  now  and  in  all  time 
while  the  earth  revolves,  and  until  the  universal 
judgment  of  all  mankind."10  To  which  grandiloquent 

10  The  form  of  taking  possession,  or  the  declaration  of  proprietary  rights  to 
the  lands  seized  by  Europeans,  as  we  have  seen,  differs  with  different  discov 
erers,  and  with  the  same  discoverer  at  different  times.  Sometimes  mass  was 
said ;  sometimes  a  cross  was  erected ;  sometimes  prayer  was  offered,  of  which 
the  following  is  said  to  have  been  the  prescribed  form  used  by  Columbus, 
Vasco  Nuiiez,  Cortes,  and  Pizarro:  Domine  Deus  ajterne  et  omnipotens, 
sacro  tuo  verbo  coelum,  et  terrain,  et  mare  creasti ;  benedicatur  et  glorificetur 
nomen  tuum,  laudetur  tua  majestas,  quce  dignita  est  per  humilem  servum 
tuum,  ut  ejus  sacrum  nomen  agnoscatur,  et  prcedicetur  in  hac  altera  mundi 
parte.  But  always  this  seizure,  whether  by  Spanish,  English,  French,  or 
Dutch,  and  by  whatsoever  other  formalities  attended,  was  accompanied 
by  a  loud  proclamation,  before  God  and  man,  of  the  deed  then  and  there  con 
summated.  This  proclamation  was  made  with  drawn  sword,  by  the  commander 
of  the  party  taking  possession,  and  sometimes  attended  by  the  throwing  of 
earth  toward  the  four  cardinal  points,  as  was  common,  and  is  now  in  Spanish 
America,  in  giving  judicial  possession  in  granting  lands,  and  planting  the  royal 
standard.  All  present  were  called  upon  to  witness  the  act,  which  was  done 
for  and  in  the  name  of  the  sovereign  authority  recognized  by  the  party. 
Then  the  notary,  or,  if  none  were  present,  a  clerk,  or  a  person  or  persons  ap 
pointed  to  act  as  such,  took  down  in  writing  vdiat  had  been  done,  and  each 
member  of  the  party  signed  it.  Examples  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 
We  have  seen  what  Columbus  did  in  one  or  two  instances,  and  how  Vasco 
Nunez  conducted  himself  on  the  mountain  overlooking  Panamd  Bay.  That 
which  I  have  just  given  in  the  text  is  a  literal  translation  of  Balboa's 
address  to  the  four  corners  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  as  reported  by  Oviedo, 
iii.  11-12.  At  the  beginning  the  meaning  of  the  orator  is  clear  enough,  but 
toward  the  latter  part  he  lapses  into  verbiage.  It  is  likely  that  he  had  in  view, 
while  taking  possession  of  that  sea  or  so  much  of  it  as  his  sovereigns  should  at 
any  future  time  please  to  claim,  the  papal  bull  which  divided  the  heathen 
world  between  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  a  desire  to  avoid  all  words  and  acts 
which  might  prejudice  the  Spanish  claim.  A  lengthy  account  is  given  of  the 
taking  possession  of  the  province  of  Paque,  on  the  Pacific  shore  of  the  Isthmus, 
west  of  Panama,  in  1519,  by  Pedrarias  Davila.  The  party  was  standing  at 


372  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

harangue  there  came  no  reply;  no  armed  Poseidon 
appeared  to  dispute  possession ;  only  the  mighty  ocean 
dashed  from  its  face  the  blinding  glare  of  this  new 
doctrine,  heaved  its  bosom  in  long  glassy  swells, 
and  gently  growled  its  perplexity  to  the  sympathizing 
beach. 

The  followers  of  Vasco  Nunez,  however,  even  if  all 
did  not  comprehend  better  than  the  sea  what  their 

the  head  of  an  inlet,  two  notaries,  a  clergyman,  several  captains,  soldiers,  and 
seamen,  beside  the  commander,  being  present.  First,  Pedrarias  called  on  the 
notaries  and  all  present  to  witness  the  acts  he  was  about  to  perform.  Then 
he  took  in  his  right  hand  a  white  silk  flag,  on  which  was  represented  the 
image  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  holding  it  aloft  all  knelt;  the  trumpet  sounded, 
and  in  loud  tones  the  commander  offered  the  following  prayer :  '  Oh !  mother 
of  God,  quiet  the  sea,  and  render  us  worthy  of  being  and  of  moving  under  thy 
protection.  May  it  please  thee  that  under  it  we  may  discover  these  seas,  and 
lands  of  the  southern  sea,  and  convert  the  people  thereof  to  our  holy  Catholic 
faith.'  Following  the  prayer  was  a  long  speech  by  Pedrarias,  declaring  pos 
session  after  the  usual  form,  similar  to  that  employed  by  Vasco  Nunez,  inter 
spersed  with  divers  acts  in  consummation  of  what  he  said.  He  declared  the 
possession  previously  taken  renewed,  especially  the  'possession  vel  casi  of  all 
the  coast  of  the  new  land  and  of  the  southern  sea,  and  of  all  the  ports  and  in 
lets  and  coves  and  roadsteads ....  being  as  I  am,  in  the  name  of  their  high 
nesses  and  as  their  lieutenant-general  in  the  said  coast  of  the  said  southern  sea, 
from  the  stones  of  the  rivers  to  the  leaves  of  the  forests,  eating  the  grass  and 
drinking  the  waters,  and  razing,  devastating,  and  cutting  the  woods  of  the  said 
coast,  upon  the  said  site  and  province  of  Paque. '  As  a  token  of  possession  and 
seizure  thereof,  civilly,  naturally,  and  bodily,  he  continued:  'I  raise  this 
royal  standard  of  the  said  Queen  Dofia  Juana  and  King  Don  Carlos,  her  son, 
our  lords,  which  is  of  red  damask  having  thereon  painted  and  stamped  the 
royal  arms  of  their  highnesses  the  said  kings,  our  lords ;'  the  trumpeters  were 
then  ordered  to  sound ;  after  which,  in  concert  with  Pedrarias,  all  said,  '  Gas- 
tilla  del  Oro  and  Tierra  Firme,  and  new  land,  and  southern  sea,  and  coasts 
thereof,  and  island  and  islands,  and  all  land  and  provinces  that  may  be 
therein,  for  the  most  high  and  most  illustrious  Queen  Dona  Juana,  our  lady, 
and  the  King  Don  Carlos,  her  son,  our  lord ;  and  after  them  for  their  successors 
to  Castile. '  '  All  of  which  new  lands  and  southern  sea  and  coast  thereof  and 
the  whole  Tierra  Firme  and  kingdoms  of  Castilla  del  Oro,  and  all  thereunto 
annexed  and  appertaining,  and  all  that  has  been  or  may  be  hereafter  discov 
ered  therein,  is  and  must  be  of  the  royal  crown  of  Castile,  and  you  must  tes 
tify  how  I,  Pedrarias  Davila,  in  the  name  of  the  said  kings,  our  lords,  and  of 
their  successors  to  the  royal  crown  of  Castile,  cut  trees,  and  mow  the  grass  in 
said  land,  and  enter  the  water  of  the  said  southern  sea,  corporeally  and  stand 
ing  on  my  feet  therein,  and  stamp  the  new  land  and  waters  of  the  said 
southern  sea. '  Again  the  trumpets  were  sounded,  and  again  Pedrarias  reit 
erated  in  a  loud  voice  his  claims;  and  he  called  upon  the  notaries  to  witness  as 
further  proof  of  their  possession  that  four  ships  had  been  built  and  navigated 
on  the  southern  sea.  Another  flourish  of  trumpets,  and  by  way  of  dox- 
ology  three  times  repeated,  'Viva  la  muy  alta  6  muy  poderosa  reyna  dona 
Juana,'  etc.,  concluded  the  ceremony.  Tcstimonio  de  un  acto  de  poscxlon  quc 
tom6  d  Gobcrnador  Pedrarias  Ddvila,  in  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  ii. 
549-56.  Although  the  custom  was  imiversal  from  the  beginning,  Philip  II. 
deemed  best  to  decree,  in  1568,  that  all  captains  or  others  discovering  any 
island  or  mainland  should,  on  landing,  take  possession  in  the  king's  name. 
JRecop.  de  Indias,  ii.  7. 


THE  NAME  PACIFIC  OCEAN.  373 

leader  had  said,  swore  with  loud  acclamations  to 
defend  the  claim  of  the  sovereign  who  would  thereby 
have  so  much  more  land  to  bestow,  and  to  follow 
their  gallant  leader  to  the  riches  and  honor  he  had 
so  freely  promised  them.  Andres  de  Yalderrabano, 
the  notary  of  the  expedition,  was  then  called  upon 
to  draw  up  a  certificate  of  the  act  of  taking  possession, 
to  which  all  present  subscribed  their  names.  This 
being  the  day  of  St  Michael,11  the  archangel,  the 
gulf  before  them  was  called  El  golfo  de  San  Miguel, 
which  name  it  bears  to  this  day.  Tasting  the  water 
they  found  it  salt,  which  proved  it  a  true  ocean  sea 
that  they  had  found;  then  they  cut  crosses  on  the 
trees  in  honor  of  the  holy  trinity,  and  with  longings 
satisfied  and  hearts  singing  their  high  hopes,  the 
party  returned  to  Chiapes,  richer,  according  to  their 
pretensions,  by  one  Pacific  Ocean,12  ten  thousand 

11  Colon  gives  g.  de  san  migel;  Agnese,  G.  de  S.  miguell;  Vaz  Dourado,  Sad 
migell;  Mercator,  S.  Miguel;  Hondius,  un.DrakSsWorld  Encompassed, Michael; 
Ogilby's  Am.,  G.  S.  Miguel;  Jacob  Colom,  G.  del  S.  Miguel;  Jefferys,  G.  deSt. 
Miguel,  and  emptying  into  it  R.  Canty,  R.  Savanas,  R.  Congo. 

12  It  was  not  for  some  years  after  this  discovery  that  the  name  Pacific  was 
applied  to  any  part  of  the  ocean ;  and  for  a  long  time  after  parts  only  of  it  were 
so  termed,  this  part  of  it  retained  the  original  name  of  South  Sea,  so  called  be 
cause  it  lay  to  the  south  of  its  discoverer.     The  lettering  of  the  early  maps  is 
here  significant.     All  along  from  this  time  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  the  larger  part  of  the  Pacific  was  labeled  Oceanus  Indicus  Oriental-is, 
or  Mar  del  Sur,  the  Atlantic,  opposite  the  Isthmus,  being  called  Mar  del 
Norte.     Sometimes  the  reporters  called  the  South  Sea  La  Otra  Mar,  in  contra 
distinction  to  the  Mare  Oceanus  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  or  the  Oceanus  Occidentalis 
of  Ptolemy,  as   the  Atlantic  was  then  called.     Indeed,   the   Atlantic  was 
not  generally  known  by  that  name  for  some  time  yet.     Schoner,  in    1520, 
terms  it,  as  does  Ptolemy  in  1513,  Oceanus  Occidentalis;  Grynaous,  in  1532, 
Oceanus  Magnus;  Apianus,  appearing  in  the  Cosmography  of  1575,  although 
thought  to  have  been  drawn  in  1520,  Mar  Atlicum.     Robert  Thome,  1527, 
in  Hakluyt's  Voy.,  writes  Oceanus  Occiden.;  Bordone,  1528,  Mare  Occidentals; 
Ptolemy,  1530,  Occean  Occidentalis;  Ramusio,  1565,  Viaggi,  iii.  455,  off  Central 
America,  Mar  del  Nort,  and  in  the  great  ocean,  both  north  and  south,  Mar 
Ociano;  Mercator,  15G9,  north  of  the  tropic  of  cancer,  Oceanlus  Atlanticvs; 
Hondius,  1595,  Mar  del  Nort;   West-Indlsche  Spieghel,  1624,  Mar  del  Nort; 
De  Laet,  1633,  Mar  del  Norte;    Jacob  Colon,  1663,  Mar  del  Nort;    Ogilby, 
1671,  Oceanus  Atlanticum,  Mar  del  Norte,  and  Oceanus  ^Ethiopicus;  Dampier, 
1699,  the  North  or  Atlantick  Sea.      The  Portuguese  map  of  1518,  Munich 
Atlas,  iv.,  is  the  first  upon  which  I  have  seen  a  name  applied  to  the  Pacific; 
and  there  it  is  given,  as  I  have  elsewhere  remarked,  as  Mar  visto  j)f-los  Castel- 
hano*,  Sea  seen  by  the  Spaniards.     On  the  maps  of  Baptiste  Agnese,  Vallard 
do  Dieppe,  Diego  Homem,  and  others,  is  the  name  Mar  del  Sur,  but  the  let 
tering  is  small,  and  seems  applied  only  to  the  waters  between  Peru  and  Gua 
temala.     We  have  noticed  on  the  globe  of  Martin  Behaim,  1492,  a  nmltitude 
of  islands,  scattered  and  in  groups,  situated  between  the  coast  lines  of  western 


374  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

islands,  and  twenty-five  hundred  leagues  of  continental 
seaboard. 

The  grand  event  being  so  happily  consummated, 
the  Spaniards  thought  that,  before  returning  to 
Antigua,  they  might  indulge  in  a  little  plundering. 
Luckily  the  powerful  Chiapes  was  not  only  their 
friend,  but  he  could  furnish  them  a  goodly  list  of 
enemies  having  an  abundance  of  gold  and  pearls. 
Under  his  direction  they  crossed  a  large  river,  fell 
upon  a  chieftain  called  Cocura,  and  returned  to  Chi 
apes  with  six  hundred  and  fifty  pesos.  Then  they 
decided  to  explore  an  arm  of  the  gulf,  which  in 
volved  a  short  but  dangerous  canoe  voyage.  In 
vain  Chiapes  protested  against  the  project.  "Our 
God  will  protect  us,"  replied  the  devout  Yasco 
Nunez,  as  with  eighty  Spaniards,  and  a  dusky  band 
under  Chiapes,  he  stepped  into  the  canoes,  the 
17th  of  October.  Soon  they  found  themselves  in  a 
sea  so  tempestuous  that  they  were  glad  to  escape 
upon  an  island  whose  uncertain  soil  threatened  every 
moment  to  dissolve  beneath  their  feet.  There  they 
remained  up  to  their  waists  in  water  all  that  night. 
Fortunately  before  morning  the  waters  of  the  gulf 

Europe  and  eastern  Asia.  In  that  part  of  the  globe  where  the  north  Pacific 
Ocean  should  be  represented,  are  the  words  Oceanus  orientals  Indie.  On  the 
globe  of  Johann  Schoner,  1520,  the  two  continents  of  America  are  represented 
with  a  strait  dividing  them  at  the  Isthmus.  The  great  island  of  Zipangri,  or 
Japan,  lies  about  midway  between  North  America  and  Asia.  North  of  this 
island,  and  in  about  the  same  locality  as  on  the  globe  of  Behaim,  are  the 
words  Orientalis  Oceamis,  and  to  the  same  ocean  south  of  the  equator  the 
words  Oceanus  Orientalis  Indicus  are  applied.  Diego  Homem,  in  1558,  marks 
out  upon  his  map  a  large  body  of  water  to  the  north-west  of  Terra  de  Florida, 
and  west  of  Canada,  and  labels  it  Mare  leparamantium.  Neither  Maiollo  nor 
Vaz  Dourado  gives  a  name  to  either  ocean.  Colon  and  Ribero  call  the  South 
Sea  Mar  del  Svr.  In  Hakluytfs  Voy.  we  find  that  Robert  Thome,  in  1527, 
wrote  Mare  Australe.  Ptolemy,  in  1530,  places  near  the  Straits  of  Magellan 
Mare  pacificum.  Ramusio,  1565,  Viaggi,  iii.  455,  off  Central  America,  places 
Mar  del  Sur,  and  off  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  Mar  Oceano.  Mercator  places 
in  his  atlas  of  15G9  plainly,  near  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  El  Mar  Paciftco, 
and  in  the  great  sea  off  Central  America  Mar  del  Zur.  On  the  map  of 
Hondius,  about  1595,  in  Drake's  World  Encompassed,  the  general  term  Mare 
Paaftcrm  is  applied  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  words  being  in  large  letters  ex 
tending  across  the  ocean  opposite  Central  America,  while  under  it  in  smaller 
letters  is  Mar  del  Sur.  This  clearly  restricts  the  name  South  Sea  to  a  nar 
row  locality,  even  at  this  date.  In  Hondius'  Map,  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes, 
iv.  857,  the  south  Pacific  is  called  Mare  Pacificum,  and  the  central  Pacific 
Mar  del  Sur. 


PEARL  GATHERING.  375 

subsided,  else  the  discoverers  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 
never  would  have  returned  to  tell  their  tale.  Day 
break  presented  a  dismal  spectacle.  Some  of  the 
canoes  were  split,  others  embedded  in  the  sand;  and 
all  the  provisions  and  clothing  had  been  swept  away. 
But  to  such  hardships  these  men  were  inured.  Since 
leaving  Spain  they  had  lived  chiefly  on  maize  bread, 
wild  herbs,  fruit,  roots,  sometimes  fish,  seldom  meat. 
This  was  their  best  diet.  In  times  of  scarcity,  which 
were  frequent,  they  were  glad  to  get  reptiles,  insects, 
or  anything  that  would  sustain  life.  They  had  no 
salt;  and  their  only  drink  was  river  water,  frequently 
putrid  and  unwholesome.  Yet  while  life  lasted,  the 
brain  worked  inexhaustible  resources.  In  the  present 
emergency,  for  example,  when  both  sea  and  land 
proved  treacherous,  they  by  no  means  yielded  to  de 
spair.  Stripping  the  glutinous  bark  from  certain  young 
trees  which  they  found,  they  bruised  it  with  stones, 
added  to  it  fibrous  sea-plants  reduced  in  like  manner, 
and,  after  binding  their  broken  boats  firmly  with 
cords,  they  calked  the  seams  with  the  mixture. 
Again  they  committed  themselves  to  the  mercy  of 
the  sea,  and  after  two  days  of  hazardous  navigation, 
half  naked  and  half  starved,  they  ran  into  a  small 
creek  which  flowed  through  a  province  called  Chi- 
tarraga,  and  landed  about  midnight  near  an  Indian 
village  governed  by  a  cacique  named  Tumaco.13 

Carrying  the  village,  though  not  without  resistance, 
Vasco  Nunez,  as  usual,  sought  the  friendship  of  the 
fleeing  Tumaco,  who  was  induced  to  return,  bringing 
gold  valued  at  six  hundred  and  fourteen  pesos,  and  a 
basin  of  pearls,  two  hundred  and  forty  of  which  were 
of  extraordinary  size.  This  was  indeed  something 
worthy  of  an  oriental  India,  thought  the  Spaniards, 
as  their  hearts  danced  enraptured  over  the  beautiful 
baubles.  Tumaco  could  not  understand  what  power 

13  In  his  Novus  Orbis,  i.,  De  Laet  inserts  a  map  on  which  he  places  Tumaco 
to  the  north  of  Chiapes.  North  of  Tumaco  is  Quareca.  The  northern  cape 
of  G.  de  S.  Mifjuel  he  calls  P<«  de  Garachine.  Debouching  here  is  the  7?.  de 
Conyos.  See  Goldschmidt'1  s  Cartography  Pac.  Coast,  ISIS.  ii.  5. 


376  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

his  gift  possessed  that  it  shchild  so  charm  these 
heavenly  strangers.  To  him  the  ovster  which  he 

«  % 

could  eat  was  seemingly  worth  more  than  the  pearl 
which  he  could  not  eat;  for  in  roasting  the  bivalve 
he  had  spoilt  pearls  enough  to  make  him  rich  in  the 
eyes  of  any  potentate  in  Christendom.  When  once 
he  knew  that  pearls  were  wealth,  Tuniaco  became 
eager  to  show  the  Spaniards  how  much  he  had  at  his 
command,  and  set  his  men  to  fish;  and  hi  four  days 
they  returned  with  twelve  marks'  weight,  or  ninety- 
six  ounces  of  pearls.  Six  Spaniards  accompanied 
them  to  see  whence  came  the  gems,  and  they  showed 
the  natives  how  to  open  oysters  without  heat,  which 
discolored  the  pearl.  Likewise  gold  hereabout  was 
plentiful  and  lightly  esteemed. 

Yasco  Xunez  endeavored  to  gain  all  the  information 
possible  concerning  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  sea- 
coast.  He  was  told  by  Tumaco  that  the  ocean  and 
the  mainland  extended  southward  without  end;  that 
far  distant  in  that  direction  dwelt  a  great  nation  whose 
riches  were  immense,  who  navigated  the  ocean  in 
ships,  and  employed  beasts  of  burden.  In  order  the 
better  to  describe  these  animals,  Tuniaco  moulded  in 
clay  a  figure  of  the  llama,  which  seemed  to  the  eyes 
of  the  Spaniards  a  species  of  camel.  "And  this,"  says 
Herrera,  "was  the  second  intimation  Vasco  Xunez 
had  of  Peru,  and  of  its  wealth."  Xor  did  Francisco 
PizaiTO,  who  was  present,  fail  to  hold  these  things  in 
remembrance. 

Balboa  now  felt  his  mission  accomplished.  Had 
the  new  sea  and  its  border  been  made  for  him  it 
could  not  have  pleased  him  better.  Columbus  had 
found  a  new  continent;  he  had  found  a  new  sea;  and 
wealth  on  this  south  side  seemed  illimitable.  But  be 
fore  returning  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  supplement  his 
deed  of  possession  by  the  enactment  of  that  ceremonial 
on  the  shore  of  the  main  ocean,  for  his  exploits  had 
hitherto  been  confined  to  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel. 


THE  RETURN.  377 

Applying  to  Tumaco  for  the  requisite  means,  an 
immense  canoe  was  produced,  the  barge  of  state,  with 
oarsmen,  and  oars  inlaid  with  aljofar,  an  inferior  kind 
of  pearl;  and  Vasco  Nunez  called  on  the  notary  to 
write  it  down,  that  boats  on  this  Southern  Sea  were 
propelled  by  oars  inlaid  with  pearl,  so  that  his  sov 
ereigns  might  thereby  place  a  greater  value  on  it  and 
on  his  own  great  services. 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  on  the  29th  of  October, 
the  Spaniards  embarked  in  Tumaco's  barge,  and,  pro 
ceeding  to  the  shore  of  the  main  ocean,  landed  near  an 
island  called  by  the  natives  Crucraga,  but  to  which 
Vasoo  Nunez  gave  the  name  of  San  Simon.  Here 
with  banner  and  buckler,  with  drawn  sword  and  high- 
sounding  declamation,  and  amidst  the  lordly  waves 
which  had  rolled  their  unimpeded  course  from  far  be 
yond  the  ever  lifting  horizon,  the  vaunting  cavalier 
again  affirmed  ownership,  swearing  to  defend  he 
knew  not  what  against  he  knew  not  whom;  but 
" herein,"  according  to  Herrera,  "he  used  all  the  for 
malities  that  could  be  imagined,  for  he  was  brave, 
subtle,  diligent,  and  of  a  generous  temper,  a  com 
mander  fit  for  mighty  enterprises." 

As  they  were  about  to  depart,  the  men  of  Chitar- 
raga  directed  the  attention  of  Balboa  to  a  group  of 
small  low  islands  rising  from  the  sea  five  leagues 
distant.  A  powerful  chieftain  governed  there,  who, 
crossing  to  the  mainland,  made  fearful  havoc  among 
the  seaboard  villages ;  and  would  the  Spaniards  please 
go  and  kill  him,  for  at  the  largest  island,  Toe,  were 
the  most  beautiful  pearls  in  all  that  region.  The 
Spaniards  would  go  and  kill  him,  or  any  other  wealthy 
pearl-gatherer,  if  they  only  had  the  time,  and  a  favor 
able  sea,  but  Yasco  Nunez  would  not  permit  himself 
to  be  led  away  into  further  fascinations  on  this  visit. 
He  nevertheless  gave  names  to  the  islands,  calling  the 
largest  Isla  Rica,  and  the  group  Islas  de  las  Perlas,1* 

11  Colon  and  Ribero  mark  the  group  y:  de  perlas  and  y:.a  de  plas;  Vaz 
Dourado,  /:.  dc.  perollas;  West-Indische  Spieyhel,  I  Perles;  De  Laet,  1°*  de 
Perlaa;  Jacob  Colom,  /  de  Perlas;  Jefferys,  /  del  Rey  or  Perlas,  Toboya  I. 


378  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

or  Pearl  Islands,  assuring  Tumaco,  meanwhile,  that 
he  would  return  some  day  and  avenge  him  his  injuries. 

Once  more  back  at  Chitarraga,  Vasco  Nunez  made 
ready  his  departure  for  Antigua.  He  proposed  to 
cross  the  mountains  by  a  different  route  from  that  by 
which  he  came.  The  sick  and  disabled  he  would  leave 
with  Chiapes,  now  the  firm  friend  of  the  Spaniards, 
who  were  to  kill  his  enemies  and  not  him.  This 
chieftain  and  a  son  of  Tumaco  asked  permission  to  ac 
company  the  party  as  far  as  Teaochoan,  an  adjoining 
province.  Accordingly,  on  the  3d  of  November,  they 
embarked  in  canoes,  and  guided  by  the  young  cacique 
of  Chitarraga,  proceeded  to  the  upper  end  of  the  gulf 
and  entered  a  large  river,15  so  inconstant  as  to  over 
flow  its  banks  in  places,  narrowing  elsewhere  between 
rocky  confines,  and  rushing  forward  tumultuously 
under  the  overhanging  foliage  to  the  sea.  By  and 
by  the  youthful  chieftain  brought  the  boats  to  land. 
Disembarking,  the  Spaniards  pacified  the  province  in 
their  usual  way,  the  ruler,  Teoca,  chief  of  Teaochoan, 
being  glad  to  save  his  life  by  paying  one  hundred  and 
sixty  ounces  of  gold  and  two  hundred  large  pearls. 
Indeed,  so  effectually  had  Vasco  Nunez  succeeded,  by 
a  judicious  use  of  fire-arms  and  fair  words,  bloodhounds 
and  Christianity,  in  winning  the  affections  of  the 
South  Sea  savages,  that  in  taking  leave  of  Chiapes  and 
the  Chitarraga  youth  at  Teoca' s  town,  they  wept. 
It  was  indeed  affecting ;  and  soon  Teoca,  although  the 
last  to  be  robbed,  caught  himself  paying  the  strangers 
the  same  briny  tribute  of  his  esteem. 

After  three  days  of  rest  the  party  proceeded,  and 
reaching  the  base  of  the  mountains  they  began  to  scale 

Keipert  in  1858  calls  the  group  Archipielago  de  las  Perlas,  and  the  largest, 
that  which  Balboa  called  Isla  Rica,  7.  #.  Miguel;  others  of  the  group  he  calls 
/.  St.  Elmo,  I.  Galera,  I.  Pajaros,  /.  Chapera,  I.  Contradora,  I.  Pacheca,  I. 
Saboya,  I.  Bayontta,  I.  Pedro  Gonzales,  and  /.  S.  Jo*e.  '  Da  die  Hanpt-Insel 
mehrere  guten  Schutz  gewahrende  Ankerpliitze  hatte,  so  wurde  sie  bald  das 
Rendezvous  und  der  Ausgangs-Punkt  der  Flotten,  die  vom  Golfe  von  Panama 
zur  Entdeckuiig  des  Westens  (Nicaragua)  und  des  Siidens  (Peru)  ausliefen. 
Auch  war  ihre  Anho'he  stets  fur  alle  von  Panama  auslaufendeii  Flotten  ein 
Merkzeichen  zur  Orientirung. '  Kohl,  Beiden  altesten  karten,  164. 
15  Sabaiia.  See  note  3,  this  chapter. 


INFAMOUS  ACT  OF  BALBOA.  379 

them.  A  supply  of  dried  fish  and  maize,  with  men 
of  burden  and  guides,  had  been  secured,  and  they  were 
accompanied  by  Teoca's  son,  who  had  instructions  to 
attend  to  all  requirements  of  the  strangers,  and  not 
to  leave  them  without  the  permission  of  their  com 
mander.  It  was  well  for  the  company  that  they  had  a 
leader  thoughtful  and  efficient;  that  instead  of  zealous 
guides,  and  willing  men  to  bear  the  burdens,  there 
were  not  lurking  foes  or  treacherous  friends  with 
whom  to  deal — not  one  of  them  otherwise  would  have 
reached  Antigua.  For,  toiling  up  the  steep^  ascent 
under  a  burning  sun,  they  soon  found  themselves  with 
out  water,  the  springs  upon  which  they  had  depended 
having  failed.  One  by  one  the  men  yielded  their 
strength  and  threw  themselves  upon  the  ground,  vic 
tims  of  despair.  Teoca's  son  assisted  and  encouraged 
them,  and  finally  brought  them  all  in  safety  to  a  cool, 
sequestered  valley  where  were  life-restoring  waters. 

Was  it  their  way  of  giving  thanks  for  the  late 
escape  from  death,  now  to  plan  the  death  of  others? 
While  resting  in  the  refreshing  shade,  Balboa  asked 
his  guide  about  a  certain  Poncra,  a  hideous  despot, 
as  rich  as  he  was  repulsive,  of  whom  he  had  heard 
much.  "We  are  now  within  his  lands,"  the  young 
chief  replied.  "Over  the  brow  of  yonder  hill  is  sit 
uated  his  village."  Then  was  detailed  a  story  of  this 
man's  wickedness  which  sent  a  thrill  of  pleasing  horror 
to  the  heart  of  every  Spaniard  present.  Instantly  all 
was  excitement;  and  those  so  lately  the  readiest  to 
faint  were  now  the  readiest  to  fight.  Marching  for 
ward  they  entered  the  village  only  to  find  the  vulture 
flown.  Finely  wrought  gold  to  the  value  of  three 
thousand  pesos  was  found  there  to  reconcile  them  to 
his  absence.  Scouts  soon  discovered  his  retreat,  how 
ever,  and  partly  by  threats  and  partly  by  promises 
of  safety,  this  lump  of  deformity  was  induced  to  give 
himself  up  with  three  of  his  principal  men.  No  sooner 
was  it  known  that  the  hated  Poncra  was  prisoner  in 
the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  than  the  neighboring 


380  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

chieftains  flocked  in  and  begged  his  extermination. 
"Whence  came  your  gold?"  demanded  Balboa  of  the 
unhappy  man.  "I  know  not,"  replied  Poncra.  "My 
forefathers  left  it  me.  We  place  no  value  on  the 
un wrought  metal."  Although  torture  was  applied, 
nothing  further  could  be  elicited.  The  bystanders 
clamored  loudly  for  his  death,  charging  him  with 
infamous  crimes,  revolting  to  humanity.  In  an  evil 
moment  Yasco  Nunez  yielded.  The  bloodhounds 
were  let  loose,  and  loud  acclamations  rent  the  air 
as  the  quivering  flesh  was  torn  from  the  limbs 
of  the  *four  unfortunate  wretches,  and  they  were 
made,  as  Ogilby  says,  "a  Breakfast  to  the  Spanish 
Doggs."  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  gained  the  ap 
proval  of  the  crowd;  but  throughout  all  time,  wher 
ever  the  name  of  the  illustrious  discoverer  of  the 
Southern  Sea  is  spoken,  this  infamous  act  of  treachery 
shall  stain  it.  The  praises  of  the  savages,  however, 
were  profuse;  "and  there  he  remained  thirty  days," 
says  Gomara,  "receiving  and  ruling  like  a  king."  And 
very  prettily  Balboa  commemorates  his  outrage  by 
calling  the  place  Todos  Los  Santos. 

While  resting  here,  the  Spaniards  were  joined  by 
the  comrades  who  had  been  left  at  Chiapes.  Through 
out  all  this  region  the  strangers  were  treated  as  invin 
cible  and  superhuman.  Passing  through  the  domain 
of  a  chief  named  Bononiama,  they  were  not  only  re 
ceived  as  friends,  coming  as  they  did  from  Chiapes, 
but  were  presented  with  gold  to  the  value  of  two 
thousand  pesos,  and  the  chief  accompanied  them  to 
Poncra's  village,  that  he  might  behold  the  wonderful 
leader  of  these  wonderful  men.  Poncra's  successor 
came  forward  in  answer  to  overtures  of  peace;  and 
on  the  first  of  December  the  Spaniards  continued 
their  journey,  weighted  clown  with  spoils.  Five  days 
brought  them  to  a  small  depopulated  town  whose 
chief,  Buquebuca,  had  fled  because  he  had  not  the 
means,  he  said,  fitly  to  entertain  such  illustrious  vis 
itors.  He  was  permitted  to  purchase  their  favor  by 


BALBOA  AMONG  THE  CACIQUES.  381 

delivering  up  the  gold  in  his  possession,  including 
some  finely  wrought  plates. 

Following  a  path  northward  from  Buquebuca's  they 
were  hailed  from  a  cliff  near  by.  "Our  King  Chioriso 
sends  greeting,  O  mighty  men !  and  presents  this  offer 
ing,  begging  your  assistance  in  vanquishing  an  enemy 
too  powerful  for  him."  The  gift  was  certainly  per 
suasive,  being  no  less  than  thirty  large  gold  medals 
or  plates  worth  fourteen  thousand  pesos.  Balboa 
scarcely  knew  what  to  do,  nevertheless  he  graciously 
received  it,  and  sent  in  return  three  axes,  some  gilt 
beads,  and  several  pieces  of  leather  and  cloth,  making 
the  recipient  to  his  own  thinking  the  richest  potentate 
in  savagedom.  Balboa  furthermore  promised  to  assist 
him  at  some  future  time  in  his  wars.  The  country 
through  which  they  were  now  passing  was  excep 
tionally  rugged,  and  the  men  of  burden  were  quite 
exhausted  when  on  the  13th  of  December  they  arrived 
at  the  village  of  Pocorosa.  Several  of  the  soldiers  had 
also  fallen  seriously  ill  from  fatigue,  and  it  was  ac 
cordingly  decided  to  tarry  here  for  thirty  days.  The 
chief,  as  usual,  had  fled  at  their  approach,  but  was 
brought  back  to  purchase  friendship  of  the  Spaniards 
with  slaves  and  gold. 

Pocorosa  informed  the  Spaniards  that  not  far  from 
there16  lived  the  famous  Tubanama",  of  whom  Pan- 
ciaco  had  spoken  when  first  directing  the  attention  of 
the  Spaniards  to  the  South  Sea,  He  was  reputed  the 
richest  as  well  as  the  strongest  chieftain  of  these 
mountains,  and  was  the  terror  of  the  neighboring 
nations.  Balboa  felt  it  more  than  ever  his  duty  to 
overthrow  Tubanama,  kill  oome  of  his  men,  steal  a 
few  of  his  women,  and  relieve  him  of  his  gold.  But 
to  do  this  he  must  have  a  thousand  soldiers,  so  he 

10  It  is  impossible  from  the  rambling  narratives  which  constitute  the 
groundwork  of  Central  American  history  to  locate  with  certainty  these  two 
villages.  Thus  of  Pocorosa  Vasco  Nunez,  in  a  letter  to  the  king,  says,  'Estd 
un  cacique  que  se  dice  Comogre  y  otro  que  se  dice  Pocorosa,  estan  tan  cerca 
de  la  mar  el  uno  como  el  otra;'  and  of  Tubanama,  'Ha  se  de  hacer  otra  fuerza 
en  las  minas  de  Tubanama,  en  la  provincia  de  Comagre. '  Cartapor  Vasco  Nunez 
in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viay™,  iii.  366,  369. 


382  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

had  been  told.  Casting  his  eye  over  his  little  band 
of  bruised  and  wayworn  men,  he  thought  how  one 
mistake  might  swallow  all  his  past  successes,  and 
sighed;  then  he  slept  on  it,  and  when  after  a  few 
clays'  rest  the  question  was  adventured,  enough  were 
eager  for  the  raid.  The  result  was  that  seventy  Span 
iards,  and  a  squad  of  Pocorosa's  warriors,  after  a  rapid 
march,  fell  on  Tubanamd  about  midnight  and  brought 
him  away  prisoner,  Ogilby  says  with  eighty  concu 
bines.  The  men  of  Pocorosa,  and  chiefs  of  adjoining 
tribes,  began  to  revile  him,  and  begged  of  Vasco 
Nunez  his  immediate  death.  He  had  done  worse 
things  than  Poncra,  they  said,  and  had  beside  spoken 
ill  of  the  Spaniards,  threatening  to  drag  them  to 
death  by  the  hair  of  their  head  if  ever  they  came 
within  his  reach.  Vasco  Nunez  pondered.  For  some 
time  past  he  had  entertained  a  plan  of  establishing  in 
this  vicinity  a  military  post  for  the  protection  of  com 
merce  between  the  seas,  and  also  of  gold-mining. 
Was  it  better  to  kill  this  chief  as  an  enemy,  or  let 
him  live  as  a  friend,  and  assist  to  keep  the  others 
friendly  ?  He  chose  the  latter  course.  But  first  he 
must  temper  the  proposed  friendship  by  trial.  "  Infa 
mous  tyrant,"  he  thundered  at  the  trembling  prisoner, 
"now  shalt  thou  suffer  for  thine  abominations.  Thou 
shalt  be  made  to  feel  the  power  of  the  Christians, 
and  the  same  doom  which  thou  before  thy  naked 
slaves  didst  promise  them,  shall  now  be  meted  thee." 
He  then  motioned  the  attendants  as  if  to  remove  him 
for  execution.  The  unhappy  cacique  denied  the  accu 
sations  and  begged  for  his  life.  Balboa  apparently 
overcome  by  his  entreaties  slowly  relented,  and  finally 
ordered  the  captive  released.  The  overjoyed  chief 
tain  could  not  do  enough  for  his  deliverer.  He 
stripped  his  women  of  their  ornaments,  and,  collecting 
all  articles  within  his  reach  fabricated  of  the  coveted 
metal,  presented  the  Spaniards  with  thirty  marks  of 
gold,  and  his  subjects  soon  brought  in  sixty  marks 
more.  Enjoining  Tubanama  to  gather  gold,  and  ever 


ARRIVAL  AT  ANTIGUA.  303 

remain  true  to  the  Spaniards,  Balboa  returned  in 
triumph  to  Pocorosa's  town,  with  a  long  train  of 
enslaved  captives. 

About  this  time  Yasco  Nunez  fell  sick;  and  no 
wonder  when  we  consider  the  strain  on  mind  and  body 
during  the  past  four  months.  First  in  every  action, 
bearing  exposure  and  privation  in  common  with  the 
poorest  soldier,  with  the  responsibility  of  the  adven 
ture  resting  wholly  on  him,  he  was  a  fit  subject  for 
fever.  But  his  indomitable  spirit  never  forsook  him, 
and  causing  himself  to  be  carried  on  a  litter  he  still 
directed  movements,  as  they  resumed  their  march. 

Weary,  ragged,  but  exultant,  the  party  at  length 
reached  the  village  of  Comagre.  Panciaco  was  over 
joyed  to  see  them.  The  old  chief  was  dead,  and 
the  young  man  filled  his  father's  place.  He  could 
not  do  enough  for  Yasco  Nunez,  for  whom  his 
affection  seemed  to  grow  in  proportion  as  he  was  per 
mitted  to  do  him  service.  Panciaco  had  given  the 
strangers  gold  and  slaves;  he  had  entertained  them 
royally,  had  told  them  of  the  Southern  Sea  and  the 
way  to  reach  it,  all  his  words  proving  true.  Now  he 
was  permitted  to  entertain  and  nurse  the  emaciated 
Spaniards,  and  this  he  did  with  lavish  generosity, 
watching  Yasco  Nunez  through  his  sickness  with  the 
affection  of  a  brother.  He  was  permitted  to  give  them 
more  gold,  and  did  so.  The  Spaniards  graciously 
received  these  benefits;  and  in  return  for  obligations 
too  vast  for  requital,  the  generous  cavalier,  the  chiv 
alrous  discoverer  of  the  great  South  Sea,  in  imitation 
of  his  royal  master  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  gave 
his  friend  and  benefactor  baptism,  a  linen  shirt,  and 
some  worthless  trinkets!  And  his  parting  words 
were  "  Gather  and  send  me  more  gold,  Panciaco." 

It  was  the  14th  of  January  that  the  party  left 
Comagre.  A  short  and  easy  march  brought  them  to 
Poncra's  village,  where  fortune  wreathed  in  smiles 
still  attended  the  commander,  now  free  from  illness 
and  loaded  with  gold.  Yasco  Nunez  here  was  met 


384  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

by  four  Spaniards  from  Antigua  who  had  come  to 
report  the  arrival  of  two  vessels  from  Espanola  with 
provisions  and  reinforcements.  Leaving  the  greater 
part  of  his  company  to  follow  at  their  leisure,  Balboa 
with  twenty  men  pressed  forward,  and  after  a  hearty 
greeting  from  Careta  at  his  village,  embarked  in  the 
brigantine  which  there  awaited  him,  and  arrived  the 
19th  of  January,  1514. 

His  entry  into  the  settlement  was  a  triumph.  All 
the  people  came  to  welcome  him,  and  he  was  con 
ducted  to  the  public  square  midst  loud  acclaims.  And 
when  he  told  them  of  his  successes,  of  the  wealth- 
bound  sea,  and  the  treasures  he  had  obtained,  they 
were  wild  with  exultation.  Beside  gold,  to  the  value 
of  more  than  forty  thousand  pesos,17  the  Spaniards 
had  brought  eight  hundred  Indian  slaves,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  pearls,  cotton  cloth,  and  Indian  weapons. 
All  the  nations  on  the  route,  both  in  going  and  in 
coming,  had  been  subjugated  without  the  loss  of  a 
battle  and  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  Thus  termi 
nated  one  of  the  grandest  and  most  successful  achieve 
ments  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  New  World. 

The  remainder  of  the  company  soon  arrived,  and 
the  spoils  were  thereupon  distributed  in  equitable 
allotments,  wherein  also  those  participated  who  had 
remained  at  home.  Beside  the  royal  share,  two  hun 
dred  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  pearls  were 
set  apart  by  Yasco  Nuiiez  and  his  companions  as  a 
present  for  the  king,  and  one  of  their  number,  Pedro 
de  Arbolancha,  an  intelligent  man  and  trusty  friend 
of  the  governor,  was  chosen  as  envoy  to  proceed  im 
mediately  to  Spain  and  proclaim  this  important  dis 
covery.  By  him  Yasco  Nunez  sent  the  sovereign  a 
letter  detailing  his  brilliant  achievement,  and  reque^st- 
ing  the  royal  appointment  as  governor  of  the  region  by 

17  A  hundred  thousand  castellanos,  Gomara  says.  '  Passo  muchos  trabajos 
y  hambre,  traxo  sin  las  perlas,  mas  de  cien  mil  castellanos  de  buen  oro,  ,V 
esperan^a,  tornando  alia,  de  auer  la  mayor  riqueza,  que  nuca  los  nacidos  vieron, 
y  conesto  estaua  tan  vfano,  como  animoso. '  Hist.  Ind.  82. 


PROSPERITY  OF  THE  COLONY.  385 


him  discovered,  with  the  means  to  prosecute  farther 
adventures  on  that  coast.  "And  in  all  his  long  let 
ter,"  says  Peter  Martyr,  "  there  is  not  a  single  leaf 
written  which  does  not  contain  thanks  to  Almighty 
God  for  delivery  from  perils,  and  preservation  from 
many  imminent  dangers."  This  letter  was  dated  at 
Antigua  the  4th  of  March,  and  a  few  days  after 
Arbolancha  took  his  departure. 

Meanwhile  Balboa  was  unremitting  in  his  efforts 
to  advance  the  prosperity  of  the  growing  colony. 
Having  so  long  suffered  the  miseries  and  incon 
venience  of  a  meagre  supply  of  food,  particular  at 
tention  was  turned  to  agriculture.  Indian  corn  was 
produced  in  great  quantities,  and  seeds  of  various 
kinds  from  Spain  were  planted,  yielding  fruit  in 
abundance.  Society  became  more  settled  and  fac 
tions  were  at  rest;  for  who  could  stand  before  Yasco 
Nunez?  Memories  of  home  bloomed  anew.  Old- 
time  amusements  were  again  enjoyed;  national  holi 
days  were  regarded,  and  jousts  and  tournaments  were 
held,  if  not  with  as  rich  display  as  formerly,  yet  with 
heartiness  and  merrymaking.  Two  of  the  pacified 
caciques  became  discontented  and  rebelled,  but  were 
soon  quieted  by  a  few  men  under  Diego  Hurtado. 
Another  captain,  Andres  Garabito,  was  sent  to  ex 
plore  the  country  for  the  shortest  and  best  route 
between  the  seas.  Peace  everywhere  reigned;  and 
with  a  profusion  of  food  and  gold  already  in  store, 
with  high  anticipations  regarding  the  future;  with 
wealth,  and  dominion,  and  honor,  and  brilliant  hopes, 
and  multitudes  of  heathen  for  converts  and  slaves, 
ought  not  these  pious  pirates  to  have  been  supremely 
happy? 

HIST.  CEX.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    25 


CHAPTER  X. 

PEDRARIAS  DAVILA  ASSUMES  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  DARIEN. 

1514-1515. 

How  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  A  SOUTHERN  SEA  WAS  REGARDED  IN  SPAIN — THE 
ENEMIES  OF  VASCO  NUNEZ  AT  COURT — PEDRARIAS  DAVILA  APPOINTED 
GOVERNOR — DEPARTURE  FROM  SPAIN  AND  ARRIVAL  AT  ANTIGUA — ARBO- 
LANCHA  IN  SPAIN — PEDRARIAS  PERSECUTES  BALBOA — THE  KING'S  RE 
QUIREMENT  OF  THE  INDIANS — JUAN  DE  AYORA  SENT  TO  PLANT  A  LINE  OF 
FORTRESSES  BETWEEN  THE  Two  SEAS — WHICH  WORK  HE  LEAVES  FOR 
WHOLESALE  ROBBERY — BARTOLOME  HURTADO  SENT  TO  BRING  IN  THE 
PLUNDER — DISASTROUS  ATTEMPTS  TO  VIOLATE  THE  SEPULCHRES  OF 
CENU — EXPEDITION  OF  TELLO  DE  GUZMAN  TO  THE  SOUTH  SEA — THE  SITE 
OF  PANAMA  DISCOVERED — THE  GOLDEN  TEMPLE  OF  DABAIBA  ONCE 
MORE  —  GASPAR  DE  MORALES  AND  FRANCISCO  PIZARRO  VISIT  THE 
SOUTH  SEA. 

IN  Spain  the  tidings  of  Balboa's  discovery  created 
little  less  sensation  than  had  that  of  Columbus  twenty- 
two  years  before.  The  hypothesis  still  obtaining  that 
America  was  eastern  Asia,  to  what  new  manifestations 
was  not  this  Southern  Sea  to  lead?  Coupled  with 
the  belief  was  the  concurrent  testimony  of  all  the 
native  peoples,  that  along  its  shores  were  wealth  and 
industry,  gold,  pearls,  and  civilization,  hope-inspiring 
of  replenished  coffers  to  Ferdinand,  and  to  zealous 
churchmen  of  increase  of  souls.  At  last,  said  the  wise 
men,  the  opulent  kingdoms  of  the  eastern  Indies  which 
have  so  long  eluded  our  grasp  are  opened  to  us. 

Unfortunately  for  Vasco  Nunez,  success  came  late; 
for  prior  to  the  arrival  of  his  messenger  in  Spain  there 
had  been  laid  a  train  of  events  which  threatened  his 
ruin.  Fanned  to  a  yet  redder  reality  by  the  argu 
mentative  winds  of  the  Atlantic,  Enciso's  wrath  glowed 

(386) *" 


A  NEW  GOVERNOR.  387 

hot  as  he  pictured  to  the  king  in  only  too  truthful 
colors  the  quality  of  justice  administered  in  his  name 
to  his  subjects  of  Antigua.  And  the  bachiller  became 
really  happy  as  he  rolled  the  story  of  Nicuesa's  wrongs, 
a  sweet  morsel,  under  his  tongue,  to  the  utter  demoli 
tion  of  his  enemies.  Zamudio  and  Vasco  Nunez  were 
condemned,  as  we  have  seen,  and  the  king  determined 
to  send  out  a  new  governor  who  should  investigate 
and  punish. 

Out  of  the  many  applying  was  chosen  a  gentleman 
of  Arias  in  Segovia,  Pedro  Arias  de  Avila,  called  by 
Spanish  contemporaries  Pedrarias,  and  by  English  his 
torians  Davila.  He  was  large  of  frame,  pronounced 
in  mind  and  temper,  and  coarse-grained  throughout, 
the  grizzled  hair  surrounding  his  dark  features  like  the 
unsubstantial  lioiit  of  the  religion  that  environed  his 


swarthy  soul.  Whence  it  would  appear  that  he  was 
elderly  for  so  rude  a  mission,  which  was  true;  but 
being  an  officer  in  good  repute,  well  born  and  highly 
connected,1  an J.  with  no  lack  of  fire  and  stubbornness 
remaining,  his  age  was  not  reckoned  so  much  against 
him.  The  nicknames  El  Galan  and  El  Justador  were 
significant  of  a  gay  and  courtly  youth,  as  that  of  Furor 
Domini,  given  him  by  the  monks  of  the  New  World, 
was  of  a  virulent  old  age.  He  was  rich,  at  least  his 
friends  were,  so  that  money  was  at  his  command. 
Fonseca  favored  the  appointment — a  habit  the  bishop 
had  of  looking  kindly  on  those  whose  petitions  were 
backed  by  gold.  And  so  Ferdinand  made  him  gov 
ernor  and  captain-general  of  Castilla  del  Oro,  which 
was  now  ordered  to  be  called  Castilla  Aurifica,2 

Several  causes  united  to  favor  Pedrarias  at  this 

1  According  to  Oviedo,  iii.  4,  'hermano  de  Jolian  Arias  Davila,  que  despues 
flic  cl  primcro  condc  de  Punoenrostro.' 

2  Though  it  was  never  popularly  so  designated.      '  Gobernar  a  Castilla  del 
Oro  en  la  Tierre  Firme,'  write  the  chroniclers ;  but  in  his  instructions  the  king 
says,  Navarretc,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  343,  'e  agora  la  mandamos  llamar  Castilla 
A  ur'ifta. '    Oviedo,  iii.  4,  gives  Pedrariasa  broad  domain,  from  Cape  de  la  Vela  to 
Vcragua,  and  from  ocean  to  ocean;  '  senalandole  por  gobernacion  dcstlc  el  Cabo 
do  la  Vela  hasta  Veragua,  y  desde  cstos  limites,  que  son  en  la  costa  del  Xorte, 
corriendo  la  tierra  adcntro  ha9ia  la  partc  aiistral,  todo  aquello  que  oviesse  de 
mar  a  mar,  con  las  islas  que  en  ello  concurriessen. ' 


388  PEDRARIAS  AT  DARIEN. 

juncture.  The  arrival  at  court  of  Caicedo  and  Col- 
menares,  commissioned  by  the  settlers  of  Antigua  to 
report  the  rumors  concerning  a  sea  to  the  south,  and 
solicit  aid  for  an  expedition  in  that  direction,  renewed 
speculation  and  inspired  enthusiasm.3  The  envoys 
were  graciously  received,  and  presented  by  Bishop 
Fonseca  to  the  king,  who  listened  with  attention  to 
their  recitals.  "  They  often  sojourned  with  me,"  says 
old  Peter  Martyr,  "and  their  countenances  declare 
the  intemperateness  of  the  air  of  Darien ;  for  they  are 
yellow  like  those  afflicted  with  the  jaundice,"  or  as 
Oviedo  expresses  it,  "as  yellow  as  the  gold  they  went 
to  seek,"  "and  also  swollen,"  continues  the  former, 
"the  cause  whereof  they  ascribe  to  the  hunger  endured 
in  times  past."  The  air  of  mystery  enfolding  the 
region,  no  less  than  the  gold  displayed  by  persons 
coming  thence,  threw  over  the  enterprise  a  charm 
which  brought  to  the  standard  of  Pedrarias  hundreds 
of  eager  applicants.  Then  there  was  the  sudden 
breaking-up  of  the  Italian  expedition  under  Gonzalo 
de  Cordoba.  The  French  victory  at  Ravenna,  which 
threatened  King  Ferdinand's  Neapolitan  possessions, 
had  roused  the  chivalry  of  Spain,  and  when  the 
standard  of  the  Gran  Capitan  was  raised  at  Seville, 
thither  flocked  youthful  cavaliers  and  veteran  soldiers 
burning  to  enlist  under  the  banner  of  so  great  a 
leader  in  so  glorious  a  cause.  But  the  king,  envious 
of  the  popularity  of  his  general,  in  a  fit  of  jealousy 
countermanded  the  expedition,  thus  filling  the  streets 
of  Seville  with  purposeless  men,  many  of  whom  had 
sold  or  pawned  their  birthright  for  means  to  procure 
an  outfit,  and  who  now  preferred  any  adventure, 
however  desperate,  rather  than  return  in  humiliation 
to  their  homes.  Therefore  they  hailed  with  rapture 

3 '  Caicedo  and  Colmenares  reached  Spain  in  May,  1513 ;  the  date  of  Pedra 
rias'  appointment  is  July  27,  1513,  so  that  it  is  very  probable,  especially  since 
Enciso  and  his  complaints  reached  the  court  of  Spain  before  these  deputies, 
that  the  appointment  of  a  governor  was  settled  before  they  arrived.1  Helps' 
Span.  Con<j. ,  i.  373.  See  Titulo  de  Capitan  f/eneral  y  Gobernador  de  la  provincla 
del  Castilla  del  Oro  en  el  Darien,  expedido  por  el  Rey-Catolico  a  Pedrarias 
Ddvila,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  iii.  337. 


RETINUE  OF  PEDRARIAS.  389 

this  New  World  enterprise  where  gold  as  well  as 
glory  might  be  won.  Moreover,  the  success  of  Portu 
gal  in  India,  with  which  Spain's  in  the  west  compared 
unfavorably,  and  which  had  engendered  both  fear  and 
envy,  oiled  the  wheels  of  government  and  unlocked 
the  royal  strong-box,  so  that  the  ducats  of  Pedrarias 
were  increased  in  number  to  fifty  thousand,  "an  enor 
mous  sum  in  those  days,"  as  Quintana  observes,  "in 
the  expenditure  of  which  was  manifest  the  interest 
and  importance  attached  to  the  enterprise."4  Arms 
and  ammunition  were  drawn  from  the  royal  arsenal; 
and  in  place  of  the  heavy  iron  armor  which  had 
proved  oppressive  in  tropical  latitudes,  were  substi 
tuted  wooden  bucklers  and  coats  of  quilted  cotton, 
proof  sufficient  against  the  weapons  of  the  natives. 
The  fleet  numbered  about  nineteen  sail,  with  accom 
modations  for  twelve  hundred  men.  These  were  soon 
enrolled,  while  as  many  more  offering  themselves  had 
of  necessity  to  be  refused.  Subsequently,  by  per 
mission  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  the  number  was 
increased  to  fifteen  hundred.5 

Pedrarias  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Isabel 
de  Bobadilla,  an  estimable  lady,  niece  to  the  Mar 
chioness  de  Moya.6  The  other  members  of  his  family, 
consisting  of  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  were  left 
in  Spain.  Among  the  officers  were  several  nobles; 
and  his  followers  consisted,  as  was  usual  in  these  mad 

4  The  Licenciado  Zuazo,  in  a  letter  to  M.  De  Xevres,  Paclieco  and  Cardenas, 
Col.  Doc.,  i.  304-32,  places  the  cost  of  the  outfit  at  40,000  ducats;  Las  Casas, 
Hist.  Intl.,  iv.  138,  at  54,000  ducats ;  'y  lo  que  en  aquel  tiempo  se  hizo  y  suplio 
con  54,000  ducados  es  cierto  que  hoy  no  se  supliera  con  158,000  castellanos. ' 
Balboa  in  his  letter  to  the  king,  IGth  October,  1515,  implies  that  the  cost  was 
40,000  pesos  de  oro.  Navarrcte,  iii.  377. 

5Herrera,  i.  x.  vii.,  and  Pascual  de  Andagoya,  Relation  de  los  sucesos  de 
Pedrarias  Ddvila,  in  Navarrcte,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  393,  say  1,500  men  and 
nineteen  ships;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ltd.,  84,  seventeen  ships;  Galvano,  Discov.,  125, 
seven  ships.  Peter  Martyr,  iii.  v.,  places  the  number  of  ships  at  seventeen, 
with  1,200  men  assigned;  but  affirms  that  surreptitiously  or  otherwise  1,500 
sailed,  and  2,000  remained  behind  pensive  and  sighing  who  gladly  would  have 
gone  at  their  own  cost.  Oviedo,  who,  one  would  think,  should  know,  as  he 
was  of  the  number,  testifies  in  one  place,  iii.  22,  to  twenty-two,  '  naos  e  cara- 
belas,'  and  2,000  men,  and  in  another  place,  iv.  473,  to  seventeen  or  eighteen. 

'Icazbalceta,  in  Die.  Univ.,  i.  429,  says  that  she  was  cousin-germaii  to  the 
marchioness,  who  was  a  great  favorite  with  Queen  Isabella. 


390  PEDEARIAS  AT  DARIEK 

migrations,  of  persons  of  every  caste,  not  alone  the 
young  and  naturally  thoughtless,  but,  if  we  may  credit 
Peter  Martyr,  "no  small  number  of  covetous  old  men" 
were  of  the  company.  They  were  mostly  officials, 
cavaliers  and  ecclesiastics,  however,  for  governing, 
fighting,  and  soul-saving  alone  offered  attractions; 
and  very  few  artisans,  agriculturists,  or  colonists  of 
value  in  constructing  a  permanent  and  prosperous 
commonwealth.  Under  the  new  government  a  young 
man  from  the  schools  of  Salamanca,  called  the  Licen- 
ciado  Gaspar  de  Espinosa,  was  appointed  alcalde 
mayor;  Bachiller  Enciso,  alguacil  mayor;  Alonso  cle 
la  Puente,  treasurer;  Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Oviedo 
y  Valdds,  the  historian,  veedor  or  inspector;7  Diego 
Marquez,  contador,  and  Juan  de  Tabira,  factor.  The 
fighting  men  were,  first,  the  governor's  lieutenant, 
Juan  de  Ayora,  an  hidalgo  of  Cordova,  and  brother 
of  the  chronicler,  Gonzalo  de  Ayora.  Next,  captains 
of  hundreds,  Luis  Carrillo,  Francisco  Davila,  Antonio 
Tello  de  Guzman,  Diego  de  Bustamante,  Gonzalo  de 
Badajoz,  Diego  Albites,  Contreras,  Gamarra,  Villa- 
fane,  Atienza,  Meneses,  Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Llago, 
Francisco  Companon,  Francisco  Vazquez  Coronado 
de  Valdes,  Juan  de  Zorita,  Francisco  Hernandez, 
Gaspar  de  Morales,  cousin  of  the  governor,  and  a 
nephew  of  the  governor,  likewise  named  Pedrarias, 
captain  of  artillery,  and  others.  Several  of  these 
names  became  notable,  and  we  shall  meet  them  here 
after.  Chief  of  the  spiritual  army,  under  the  title  of 
Bishop  of  Darien,8  was  Juan  de  Quevedo,  the  first 
prelate  to  come  to  Tierra  Firme;  and  with  him  was 
a  company  of  Franciscan  friars.  Bernal  Diaz  del 
Castillo,  then  but  little  more  than  a  youth,  afterward 
the  chronicler  of  the  Mexican  conquest,  came  with 

"Appointed  to  succeed  Juan  de  Caicedo  'que  iba  proveido  en  el  oficio  de 
Veedor  de  las  fundiciones del  oro  dela  Tierra  Firme.'  JoseAmadorde  los  flios, 
Vida  de  Oviedo,  in  Oviedo,  i.  xxii.  Caicedo  died  in  Seville  before  sailing.  The 
duties  of  the  office  were  to  assay  and  stamp  the  gold  and  take  charge  of  the 
king's  fifth.  Oviedo  was  also  ewribano  general  or  chief  notary  of  Tierra  Firme. 

8  Or  as  Oviedo,  iii.  22,  has  it,  '  con  titulo  de  obispo  de  Sancta  Maria  de  la 
Antigua  e  de  Castilla  del  Oro.' 


REGULATIONS  FOR  THE  COLONY.  391 

the  expedition,  and  also  Pascual  de  Andagoya,  Her- 
nando  de  Soto,  discoverer  of  the  Mississippi,  Benal- 
cazar,  who  afterward  conquered  Quito,  and  Diego  de 
Almagro,  one  of  the  pacificators  of  Peru.  It  was,  in 
truth,  a  brilliant  company.  Juan  Serrano  was  chief 
pilot,  he  who  was  subsequently  killed  with  Magellan, 
the  discoverer  of  the  strait  that  now  bears  that  name. 
Cemaco's  village,  still  bearing  the  name  of  Santa 
Maria  cle  la  Antigua  del  Darien,  was  by  royal  ordi 
nance  raised  to  the  title  and  dignity  of  a  city,  with 
metropolitan  prerogatives,  ecclesiastical  as  well  as 
civil.  Lengthy  instructions  were  provided  the  gov 
ernor  by  the  Council  of  the  Indies.  He  was  charged 
to  see  that  his  people  were  properly  clad,  comfortably 
but  not  extravagantly;  to  prohibit  the  sale  or  use  of 
cards  and  dice ;  to  punish  murder,  theft,  and  blasphemy; 
to  tolerate  no  lawyer  or  any  ecclesiastical  or  profes 
sional  or  unprofessional  practitioner  of  the  law  in  the 
colony;9  to  take  no  important  step  without  consulting 
the  bishop  and  other  royal  officials— an  injudicious 
measure  which  broke  society  into  factions;  to  render 
justice  quickly  and  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of 
Spain ;  to  be  a  bright  and  shining  light  to  the  heathen 
in  all  truth  and  fair  honesty;  and,  last  of  all,  by  no 
means  to  forget  the  king's  share  of  the  spoils  taken  in 
the  exercise  of  said  virtues.10  The  new  governor  was 
furthermore  charged  to  strip  from  Vasco  Nunez  de 
Balboa  all  semblance  of  authority,  and  to  bring  him 
to  a  strict  account  for  his  misdeeds.  The  survivors 
of  poor  Nicuesa's  followers  were  to  be  treated  with 
special  leniency,  even  to  the  remitting  of  the  king's 

9Gonzalo  Fernandez  writing  from  Santo  Domingo  the  25th  of  October, 
1537,  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  i.  522-9, 
says  that  this  order  proved  inoperative,  'puesque  los  quelohabian  de  ejecutar 
lo  disimulaban,'  since  those  who  should  have  executed  it  dissembled.  Fora 
time,  however,  no  lawyer  was  allowed  to  plead  in  the  Indies,  the  alcalde 
mayor  speaking  on  both  sides,  and  finally  deciding  according  to  the  evidence ; 
'sentenciaba  por  aquel  por  quien  en  el  pleito  habia  mejor  hablado.' 

10  Instruction  dada  por  el  Rey  d  Pedrarias  Ddvila  para  su  viage  d  la  pro- 
vincia  de  Castllla  del  Oro,  <jue  iba  d  poblar  y  pacijicar  con  la  gente  que  llevaba, 
in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viarjes,  iii.  342-55;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Gen.,  iv.  139-42; 
Herrera,  ii.  i.  xiii. 


392  PEDBARIAS  AT  DAKEEN. 

fifth  on  their  accumulations.  All  this,  it  will  be  re 
membered,  was  before  the  discovery  of  the  South  Sea 
became  known  in  Spain ;  and  that  discovery  remained 
still  unrevealed  when,  on  the  llth  of  April,  1514, 
after  an  ostentatious  review  in  the  plaza  of  Seville, 
the  fleet  sailed  away  in  grand  glee  from  San  Lucar.11 
After  touching  at  some  of  the  islands  for  the  purpose 
of  capturing  Caribs  for  slaves,  and  also  at  Santa  Marta 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  fate  of  eleven  Spaniards  said 
to  have  been  left  there  by  Rodrigo  de  Colmenares, 
the  armament  reached  Darien  in  safety.  Significant 
of  the  coming  rule  was  an  incident  which  occurred 
during  one  of  the  landings.  A  servant  of  Pedrarias, 
named  San  Martin,  had  failed  in  respect  toward  Ayora, 
the  governor's  lieutenant,  while  ashore.  Informed  of 
it,  Pedrarias  ordered  Ayora  to  return  immediately  and 
hang  the  offender  to  the  first  tree,  which  was  done.12 

Scarcely  had  the  vessels  of  Pedrarias  disappeared 
from  the  shore  of  Spain,  when  the  tardy  envoy  of 
Vasco  Nunez  arrived  at  court,  and  craved  audience 
of  the  king.  Pedro  de  Arbolancha  had  unfortunately 
delayed  his  departure  from  Darien  for  two  months 
after  the  return  of  the  South  Sea  discoverers.  On 
this  point  of  time  turned  the  destinies  of  Vasco 
Nunez  and  of  the  New  World.  Pedrarias  would 
scarcely  have  been  made  governor;  Pizarro  would 
probably  never  have  become  the  conqueror  of  Peru, 
and  Vasco  Nunez  might  possibly  have  reached  Mexico 
before  Cortes. 

11  Helps,  Span.  Conq.,  i.  385,  and  Irving,  iii.  230,  say  12th  April.    Robert 
son,  Hint.  Am.,  i.  207,  stigmatizes  Ferdinand  for  elevating  Pedrarias,  and 
abasing  Vasco  Nunez;  in  which  the  learned  historian  is  wholly  wrong.     We 
who  know  the  merits  of  Vasco  Nunez  may  be  disposed  to  excuse  his  faults, 
but  the  king  could  not  do  otherwise,  from  a  ruler's  standpoint,  than  depose 
the  unknown  adventurer  guilty  of  unlawful  excesses. 

12  Five  or  six  months  later  Pedrarias  instituted  formal  proceedings  to  prove 
his  insubordination.     The  people  murmured  against  that  hasty  justice,  and 
attributed  it  to  some  former  displeasure  of  the  governor  against  the  man. 
Ovledo,  iii.  25.     Part  of  the  vessels  returned  to  Spain ;  several  of  the  old  and 
worm-eaten  were  sunk  in  Uraba  Gulf;  one  foundered  at  sea,  on  the  voyage 
back,  the  crew  escaping  to  Espafiola.    Oviedo,  iv.  471-3;   Herrera,  ii.  i.  vii. ; 
Andayoya's  JS/ar.,  1-3;  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  iii.  208. 


ARRIVAL  OF  PEDRARIAS.  393 

Arbolancha  was  conducted  into  the  royal  presence. 
He  displayed  his  treasures  and  told  his  tale.  The 
sovereign's  heart  was  touched  at  the  soldier's  recital. 
Those  pearls!  They  would  make  the  darkest  deeds 
resplendent  in  righteousness.  And  that  new  Southern 
Sea!  Surely  it  would  wash  away  far  deeper  stains 
than  any  which  sullied  the  hands  of  its  gallant  dis 
coverer.  Oh!  that  this  man  had  sooner  come;  for 
then  the  many  thousand  ducats  spent  on  old  Pedra- 
rias  might  not  have  been  out  of  their  box.  What  this 
costly  armament  was  sent  out  to  do,  a  handful  of 
roving  Spaniards  had  done,  under  the  leadership  of 
a  condemned  man,  against  whom  the  royal  wrath  up 
to  this  moment  had  burned.  And  in  this  achieving 
there  had  been  neither  much  bloodshed  nor  any  cost 
to  Spain ;  the  current  formulas  for  securing  possession 
had  been  observed,  and  even  the  king's  fifth  and  the 
king's  present  were  not  forgotten.  In  such  perform 
ance  there  was  manifest  no  mean  mind;  any  further 
thought  for  the  punishment  of  so  meritorious  a  cava 
lier  could  not  be  entertained;  and  King  Ferdinand 
resolved  that  Vasco  Nunez  should  not  go  unrewarded. 
So  rides  success  triumphant,  even  sagacious  royalty 
bending  its  stiff  neck  before  it.13 

Meanwhile  Pedrarias  entered  UraM  Gulf  and  an 
chored  his  fleet  before  Antigua.  Not  knowing  in 
what  temper  the  redoubtable  chieftain  of  the  town 
might  receive  a  successor,  Pedrarias  despatched  an 
officer  to  acquaint  the  colonists  with  his  presence,  and 
with  the  nature  of  his  commission.  Landing,  the  mes 
senger  asked  of  the  first  men  he  met  for  their  leader. 
He  was  pointed  where  some  native  workmen  were 
thatching  a  small  cottage  under  the  direction  of  a 
man  clad  in  cotton  jacket  and  drawers  and  pack- 

13  It  was  a  desperate  game  Vasco  Nunez  had  been  playing ;  and  although 
success  tip  to  this  time  had  been  varied,  it  was  sure  in  the  end  to  be  against 
him.  According  to  the  Licenciado  Zuazo,  cd  mity  ilustre  senor  Jllonxtenr  de 
Xcvres,  in  Pachc.co  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  i.  312-13,  Pasamonte  was  guilty 
of  double-dealing,  now  receiving  Balboa's  presents  and  writing  the  king  in  his 
favor,  and  at  another  time  seconding  the  persistent  efforts  of  Enciso  against  him. 


394  PEDRAKIAS  AT  DARIEN. 

thread  shoes.  Now  silk  and  brocade  was  the  cover 
ing  this  petty  officer  had  provided  himself  withal  to 
flaunt  it  in  Italy,  while  this  cotton-clad  fellow  looked 
more  like  a  common  laborer  than  the  governor  of  a 
Spanish  colony.  Nevertheless  the  officer  knew  his 
duty  and  approached  the  man  in  cotton  respectfully. 
"I  come  from  Don  Pedrarias  de  Avila,"  said  he, 
"lately  appointed  governor  of  Darien." 

It  was  sudden;  like  death,  which,  even  when 
expected,  seems  abrupt.  How  swiftly  in  his  brain 
revolved  probabilities  and  possibilities.  With  self- 
possession  and  courteous  dignity,  however,  he  an 
swered  presently:  "Say  to  Don  Pedrarias  that  he  is 
welcome  to  Antigua." 

Next  day,  which  was  the  30th  of  June,  Pedrarias 
disembarked.  The  landing,  where  he  formed  his  brill 
iant  retinue,  preparatory  to  the  entry  into  the  metrop 
olis,  was  a  league  from  the  town.  On  one  side  the 
governor  held  by  the  hand  his  wife,  Dona  Isabel, 
and  on  the  other,  arrayed  in  episcopal  robes,  walked 
the  bishop  of  Darien,  while  dignitaries,  officers,  cava 
liers,  and  adventurers  followed  in  the  line  of  march. 
Near  Antigua  they  were  met  by  the  sallow-faced 
colonists,  who,  though  ragged,  were  rich  both  in  ex 
perience  and  in  gold. 

The  two  leaders  met  with  great  courtesy;  Vasco 
Nunez  was  reverent,  Pedrarias  gracious.  Then  all 
went  forward  to  the  town,  the  friars  chanting  their 
Te  Deum  laudamus  for  delivery  from  ocean  perils. 
Vasco  Nunez  conducted  Pedrarias  and  the  officers  to 
his  own  dwelling,  while  the  remainder  of  the  com 
pany  were  distributed  among  the  colonists.  And  soon 
a  New  World  repast  was  spread  before  the  new 
comers,  consisting  wholly  of  native  products,  maize 
bread,  esculent  roots,  fish,  and  fruit,  and  to  drink 
water. 

And  now  begins  a  game  played  by  malevolent  craft 
on  one  side,  and  honorable  frankness  on  the  other, 


HYPOCRISY  AND  HATRED.  395 

which  is  unapproached  by  any  of  the  New  World 
trickeries  and  treacheries.  For  whatever  his  faults, 
whatever  the  pitfalls  his  tumultuous  destiny  had 
spread  for  him,  Vasco  Nunez  was  by  nature  single- 
hearted  and  chivalrous,  whereas  Pedrarias  Davila  was 
almost  satanic  in  jealousy  and  cold  hatred. 

Seeking  an  early  interview,  the  latter  assumes  an 
air  of  friendship,  praises  Vasco  Nunez  for  his  abilities, 
congratulates  him  on  his  successes,  and  speaks  of  the 
high  appreciation  of  the  king.  And  as  the  object  of 
both  is  only  the  welfare  of  the  colony,  will  he  not 
kindly  write  down  what  he  has  done  and  what  he  is 
just  now  intending  to  do?  Thrown  from  his  guard  by 
this  semblance  of  sincerity,  Vasco  Nunez  consents, 
and  writes  not  only  what  will  enable  Pedrarias  to 
profit  by  his  experience,  but,  as  the  governor  hopes, 
to  occasion  his  overthrow.  For  the  old  man  is  not 
slow  to  perceive,  on  arriving  at  Antigua  and  learning 
of  the  wonderful  discovery,  that  he  is  now  and  must 
be  in  reality  second  in  these  parts  where  so  lately  he 
was  appointed  first.  Dropping  the  mask,  he  insti 
tutes  charges,  and  orders  Vasco  Nunez  to  stand  trial 
for  his  life. 

As  alcalde  mayor,  the  investigation  must  be  brought 
before  the  licentiate  Espinosa,  and  he,  in  conformity 
with  royal  instructions,  had  to  be  associated  with 
the  bishop  Quevedo.  Though  inexperienced,  Espi 
nosa  is  honest.  As  for  the  prelate — does  not  the 
accused  pray  devoutly,  and  pay  liberally?  and  does 
he  not  send  the  good  bishop  gifts  of  slaves,  and  share 
with  him  several  lucrative  enterprises  ?  Go  to  !  He 
of  the  cask  is  not  so  great  a  simpleton  after  all. 
He  forces  even  Dona  Isabel  to  smile  upon  him. 
He  is  acquitted.  The  enraged  Pedrarias  then  hurls 
civil  processes  at  him,  until  he  is  nearly  ruined. 
Enciso  meanwhile  manufactures  fresh  guilt  relative 
to  the  affair  of  Nicuesa.  It  is  of  no  use;  for  the 
bishop  fattens.  Pedrarias  now  swears  he  will  send 
the  fellow  to  Spain  for  trial.  This  does  not  suit 


396  PEDRARIAS  AT  DARIEX. 

Quevedo.  "What  madness,"  drawls  the  bishop,  uto 
send  a  successful  man  to  court.  Know  you  not  that 
ere  this  all  Europe  is  ringing  his  praises  ?  Better 
keep  him  within  your  grasp;  become  reconciled,  then 
crush  him  under  your  protecting  wing."  Never  is 
more  diabolical  mercy  solicited  for  a  friend.  The 
governor  perceives  more  than  the  prelate  intends,  and 
immediately  arrays  his  villainy  in  friendship's  smiling 
garb. 

Amid  such  profitless  pastime,  too  often  the  chief 
occupation  of  rulers,  the  so  lately  hilarious  fifteen 
hundred  were  becoming  hungry.  The  provisions  they 
had  brought  were  exhausted.  Looking  at  the  five 
hundred  old  settlers,  the  remnant  of  other  fifteen 
hundred,  the  unseasoned  opened  speculation  as  to 
their  own  similar  contraction.  And  straightway  they 
began  to  die ;  twenty  a  day,  until  seven  hundred  were 
buried  in  their  brocades.  Sending  under  a  strong 
guard  some  provisions  to  a  secret  spot,  at  a  distance 
from  the  town,  Pedrarias  repaired  thither  and  fed 
himself. 

Immediate  occupation  alone  could  save  the  sur 
vivors.  Taking  advantage  of  Balboa's  plans,  Pedra 
rias  determined  to  appropriate  to  himself  the  benefits 
of  his  discovery.  Luckily^,  on  hearing  of  the  late 
discovery,  the  king  had  written  to  establish  a  line  of 
posts  from  sea  to  sea,u  to  make  settlements,  selecting 
therefor  healthy  sites,  where  was  good  water;  also  to 
build  a  town  on  the  shore  of  San  Miguel  Gulf,  and 
three  or  four  caravels  likewise,  giving  them  in  charge 
of  skilful  captains  for  the^)rosecution  of  new  discov 
eries  in  that  direction.  Accordingly,  at  once  to  plant 
the  line  of  posts  and  circumvent  any  efforts  of  Vasco 
Nunez  in  that  direction,  Juan  de  Ayora  with  four  hun- 

11  Capitulo  de  casta  escrita  por  el  Rey-Cat6lico  d  Pedrarias  Dovila,  sobre  los 
medios  de  J'acilitar  la  coimtnicacion  entre  la  costa  del  Darien  y  la-  mar  del  sur, 
y  que  para  continuar  en  cl  los  descubrimientos  se  hagan  alii  tres  6  cuaf,ro  carabelas, 
in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  iii.  355-7. 


REQUIREMENT  OF  THE  INDIANS.     .  397 

dred  men  was  despatched  across  the  mountains  from 
Car  eta. 

We  have  found  Balboa's  policy  in  his  treatment  of 
the  natives  severe  enough,  but  that  which  was  now 
to  be  inaugurated  makes  his  conduct  seem  humane  in 
comparison.  Whatever  harsh  measures  circumstances 
at  times  seemed  to  him  to  render  necessary,  the  fact 
remains  that  on  his  return  from  the  South  Sea  ex 
pedition  he  left  the  nations  friendly.15  In  all  their 
bloody  pacify  ings,  probably  not  one  of  the  New  World 
commanders  so  nearly  observed  the  wishes  of  their 
Catholic  majesties  as  Vasco  Nunez. 

Among  the  rules  respecting  the  natives  was  one 
directing  how  war  should  be  made,  and  in  this  faith 
and  philosophy  united  to  make  lust  and  avarice 
righteous.  The  formula  drawn  fat  an  earlier  date  by 
a  conclave  of  Spanish  jurists  and  divines,  by  which 
Nicuesa,  Ojeda,  and  others  were  to  take  possession  of 
territories,  was  superseded  by  a  Requirement  of  the 
Indians  furnished  Pedrarias  by  his  sovereign,  a  trans 
lation  of  which  I  give  in  full  below.16  This  require- 

15  Carta  de  Vasco  Nunez,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  375.  Oviedo 
enumerates  the  following  chiefs  with  whom  Balboa  had  made  peace :  Careta, 
Ponca,  Caveca,  Chiapes,  Cuquera,  Juanaga,  Bonanimana,  Tecra,  Comagre, 
Pocorosa,  Buqnebuca,  Chuyrica,  Otoque,  Chorita,  Pacr-a,  Thenoca,  Tuban- 
amu,  Teaoca,  Tamaca,  Tamao  and  others.  The  Licenciado  Zuazo  says,  Pa- 
chcco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  i.  315,  that  Vasco  Nunez  with  his  judicious 
policy  had  won  over  about  tliirtvcaciques. 

10  From  the  most  high  ancl^iglmjJjtflliolic  defender  of  the  Church,  always 
triumphant  and  never  vanquflBedj^B|reat  King  Don  Fernando,  the  fifth  of 
that  name,  King  of  the  Spains,  of^metwo  Sicilies,  and  of  Jerusalem,  and  of 
the  Indies,  isles  and  firm  land  of  the  ocean  sea,  tamer  of  barbarous  peoples ; 
and  from  the  very  high  and  puissant  lady,  the  Queen  Dona  Juana,  his  dearest 
and  most  beloved  daughter,  our  sovereigns ;  I,  Pedrarias  Davila,  their  servant, 
messenger,  and  captain,  notify  and  make  known  to  you  as  best  I  can,  that 
God,  our  Lord,  one  and  triune,  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  one  man 
and  one  woman,  from  whom  ffou  an^we  and  all  mankind  were  and  arc 
descended  and  procreated,  andmll  thd^who  shall  come  after  us.  But  from 
the  multitudes  issuing  out  of  that  generation  during  the  five  thousand  and 
more  years  since  the  world  was  made,  it  became  necessary  that  some  should 
go  one  way  and  some  another,  dispersing  over  many  kingdoms  and  provinces, 
as  in  one  alone  they  could  not  sustain  nor  preserve  themselves. 

All  these  peoples  God,  our  Lord,  gave  in  charge  to  one  person,  called  Saint 
Peter,  that  he  should  be  prince,  lord,  and  superior  over  all  men  in  the  world, 
whom  all  should  obey,  and  that  he  should  be  the  head  of  all  the  human 
lineage,  wheresoever  man  might  live  or  be,  and  of  whatever  law,  sect,  or 
belief ;  and  to  him  is  given  the  whole  world  for  his  kingdom  and  lordship  and 
jurisdiction.  And  although  he  was  ordered  to  place  his  chair  in  Rome,  as  tiie 


398  PEDPvABIAS  AT  DARIEN. 

ment,  which  heralded  to  the  heathen  the  lamb-like 
Christ  and  European  civilization  in  terms  ridiculous 

most  suitable  spot  whence  to  rule  the  world,  yet  was  he  also  permitted  to  be 
and  place  his  chair  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  and  judge  and  govern  all 
peoples,  Christians,  and  Moors,  and  Jews,  and  Gentiles,  of  whatever  sect 
or  belief  they  might  be.  And  him  they  called  Pope,  that  is  to  say,  Admir 
able,  Supreme,  Father,  and  Keeper,  because  he  is  father  and  keeper  of  all 
men.  And  this  Saint  Peter  was  obeyed  and  held  in  reverence  as  lord,  and 
king,  supreme  in  the  iiniverse,  by  those  who  lived  in  that  time,  likewise 
others  who  after  him  were  elected  to  the  pontificate  were  so  esteemed,  and  so 
it  has  continued  until  now  and  will  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

One  of  the  pontiffs  who  succeded  as  prince  and  lord  of  the  world,  to  the 
chair  and  dignity  aforesaid,  made  a  donation  of  these  isles  and  firm  land  of  the 
ocean  sea  to  the  said  King  and  Queen,  our  sovereigns,  and  to  their  successors, 
with  all  therein  contained,  as  it  appears  in  certain  writings  made  therefor, 
which  you  can  see  if  desirable.  So  that  by  virtue  of  said  donation  their 
highnesses  are  kings  and  lords  of  these  isles  and  firm  land,  and  as  such 
have  been  recognized,  and  obeyed,  and  served  by  the  inhabitants  of  almost 
all  the  islands  to  whom  notification  has  been  made,  who  still  obey  and 
serve  them  as  subjects  should;  and  of  their  free  will,  without  resistance, 
immediately,  without  delay,  as  soon  as  informed  of  the  aforesaid,  they  obeyed 
and  recognized  the  learned  men  and  friars  who  were  sent  by  their  highnesses 
to  preach  and  teach  our  holy  Catholic  faith ;  doing  this  of  their  free  and  spon 
taneous  will,  without  pressure  or  condition  of  any  kind ;  and  they  became 
Christians  and  are  now,  and  their  highnesses  received  them  gladly  and  benig- 
nantly,  and  ordered  that  they  should  be  treated  in  every  respect  as  their  own 
subjects  and  vassals;  and  you  are  held  and  obliged  to  do  likewise.  There 
fore,  as  best  I  may,  I  pray  and  require  you  well  to  understand  what  I  have  told 
you;  to  take  the  time  which  may  be  necessary  to  comprehend  it  and  to  deliberate 
upon  it ;  and  to  recognize  the  Church  as  Supreme  Mistress  of  the  Universe,  and 
the  Supreme  Pontiff,  called  Pope,  and  the  King  and  Queen  in  his  place  as  mon- 
archs  and  supreme  sovereigns  of  these  isles  and  firm  land,  by  virtue  of  the 
donation  aforesaid,  and  to  consent  and  allow  these  religious  fathers  to  explain 
and  preach  to  you  as  aforesaid.  If  thus  you  do,  you  will  do  well,  and  do  that 
which  you  are  held  and  bound  to  do,  and  their  highnesses,  and  I  in  their  name, 
will  receive  you  with  all  love  and  charity;  and  your  wives,  and  children, 
and  property  will  be  freely  left  to  joii  without  lien,  that  you  may  do  with 
them  and  with  yourselves,  whatever  you  may  please.  You  will  not  be  com 
pelled  to  turn  Christians,  except  when  informed  of  the  truth  you  desire  to 
be  converted  to  our  holy  Catholic  faith,  like  almost  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  other  isles.  And  besides  this  their  highnesses  will  grant  you  many 
privileges  and  exemptions,  and  do  you  many  favors.  But  if  you  do  not 
thus,  or  maliciously  delay  to  do  it,  I  certify  to  you  that  with  the  help  of 
God  I  will  invade  your  lands  with  a  powerful  force,  and  will  make  war  upon 
you  in  all  parts,  and  in  every  manner  in  my  power,  and  will  subject  you  to 
the  yoke  and  obedience  of  the  Church  and  their  highnesses ;  and  I  will  take 
your  persons,  and  those  of  your  wives  and  children,  and  will  make  them 
slaves,  and  as  such  will  sell  them  and  dispose  of  them  as  their  highnesses 
shall  order ;  and  I  will  take  your  property,  and  I  will  do  you  all  possible  harm 
and  evil,  as  to  vassals  who  do  not  obey  or  recognize  their  lord,  but  who  resist 
and  oppose  him.  And  I  protest  that  the  deaths  and  damage  which  from  such 
conduct  may  result  will  be  at  your  charge  and  not  at  that  of  their  highnesses,  nor 
at  mine,  nor  at  that  of  the  gentlemen  who  come  with  me.  And  now  to  thatwhich 
I  have  said  I  require  the  notary  here  present  to  give  me  a  certificate.  Episcopus 
Palentinus,  comes ;  F.  Bernardus,  Trinopolitanus  episcopus ;  F.Thomas  clc  Ma- 
tienzo ;  F.  Al.  Bustillo,  magister ;  Licenciatus  de  Sanctiago;  El  Doctor  Palacios 
Kubios ;  Licenciatus  de  Sosa ;  Gregorius,  licenciatus.  The  original  in  Ov'tedo, 
iii.  28-9.  To  the  astute  Enciso  belongs  the  honor  of  first  reading  this  requeri 


AYORA'S  OUTRAGES.  399 

and  diabolical  enough,  was  mild  and  logical  in  its 
intention  as  compared  with  the  horrors  attending  its 
execution.  In  the  instructions  accompanying  the 
requerimiento  y  Pedrarias  had  been  charged  never  to 
wage  war  unless  the  Indians  were  the  aggressors,  nor 
until  they  had  been  summoned  to  obedience  once, 
twice,  three  times.  This  the  governor  told  his  lieuten 
ant,  but  Pedrarias  likewise  told  Ayora  to  send  him 
food  and  gold  without  delay.  It  was  seldom  difficult 
to  excite  savages  to  acts  of  aggression,  and  as  for 
reading  to  the  natives  the  requerimiento,  as  required 
by  law,  that  might  be  done  by  the  notary  at  his  con 
venience,  but  never  so  as  to  interfere  with  the  advan 
tages  of  a  sudden  surprise  or  preliminary  butchery. 
In  a  word,  the  requirement  was  no  less  void  in  prac 
tice  than  absurd  in  theory. 

The  first  action  of  Ayora  was  evidence  of  this. 
Ever  since  the  union  of  Vasco  Nuiiez  and  Careta's 
daughter,  equivalent  with  the  natives  to  a  marriage, 
the  most  friendly  relations  had  existed  between  the 
Spaniards  and  Careta's  people.  Not  only  did  the 
cacique  present  his  respects  in  person  to  Pedrarias, 
but  many  times  he  sent  food  to  the  famishing  colonists. 
It  seems  incredible  that  creatures  in  human  form,  to 
say  nothing  of  European  or  Christian  men,  should 
repay  such  kindness  by  sudden,  unprovoked  attack, 
such  as  surprising  peaceful  villages  by  night,  firing  the 

miento  to  the  savages  in  America.  The  place  was  the  port  of  Genii ;  and  when 
the  lawyer  had  finished,  the  chief,  whose  name  was  Catarapa,  and  his  people 
laughed  at  him ;  these  benighted  barbarians  laughed  at  the  learned  bachiller, 
and  said  that  the  Pope  must  have  been  drunk  when  he  did  it,  for  he  was  giv 
ing  what  was  not  his ;  and  that  the  King  who  asked  and  took  such  a  grant 
must  be  a  crazy  one,  since  he  asked  for  what  was  another's.  'Dixeron  q  el 
papa  deuiera  estar  borracho  quado  lo  hizo ;  pues  daualo  q  no  era  suyo,  y  q  cl 
rcy  q  pedia  &  tomaua  tal  merced  deuia  ser  algun  loco  pues  pedia  lo  que  era  & 
otros. '  EncifiO,  Suma  de  Geoyrajla,  56.  A  copy  of  this  precious  document  was 
filed  in  the  Caxade Contratacion,  at  Seville.  Memorial  que  did  cl  bachiller Enciso, 
in  Pucheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  i.  442-7.  Herrera,  i.  vii.  xiv.,  gives  the 
text  of  the  requerimiento  made  for  Ojeda  and  others  in  1508.  Se*e  also  Real 
Ccdida,  in  Doc.  Lied.,  i.  111-2;  ZamorayCoronado,  Bib.  Leg.  Ult.,  iii.  21-31; 
Juan  y  Ulloa,  Voy.,  i.  114-20;  Acosta,  Hist.  Compend.  Nueva  Granada,  23-6, 
where  is  also  given  the  text  of  Nicuesa's  requisition ;  Las  (7a.sa.s-,  Hist.  hid. , 
iv.  154-6;  Help*'  Span.  Conq.,  i.  242;  Carta  diriyida  al  Hey  por  Vasco  Nunez, 
in  Navarrete,  Colf  de  Viayes,  iii.  375-86. 


400 


PEDRAPvIAS  AT  DARIEX. 


houses,  and  murdering  some  of  the  slumberers  whilo 
taking  captive  others,  all  being  attended  by  wanton 
cruelty  and  pillage.  Yet  such  was  the  fate  of  Careta, 
Panciaco,  and  other  friends  and  allies  of  Vasco  Nunez. 
From  the  accident  of  conquest,  captives  for  slaves  had 
become  one  of  the  objects  of  conquest. 


After  this  brilliant  achievement  at  Careta,  Ayora 
passed  on  to  a  small  port  which  he  named  Santa 
Cruz,17  where  he  planted  the  initial  settlement  of  the 
line  which  was  to  extend  from  sea  to  sea.  Leaving 
there  eighty  men,  he  marched  southward,  robbing 

17 1  follow  the  Novus  Orbis  of  De  Laet,  who  places  Pocorosa  and  S.  X. 
(Santa  Cruz)  north  and  west  of  Comagre;  although  Oviedo,  iii.  37,  says,  '  el 
puerto  do  Sancta  Cruz  quo  es  en  tierra  del  cacique  Comogre.'  It  is  often  im 
possible  to  reconcile  the  self-contradictions  of'  a  writer,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
conflicting  statements  of  the  several  chroniclers.  Oviedo  usually  places  the 
native  towns  and  provinces  where  most  convenient  for  his  narrative. 


HURTADO  SENT  OUT.  401 

and  murdering  as  he  went.  "  The  caciques  were  tort 
ured  to  make  them  disclose  their  gold,"  writes  Oviedo. 
"  Some  they  roasted,  others  they  threw  to  the  dogs, 
others  were  hanged."18 

If  not  for  the  church,  then  for  himself  the  good 
bishop  of  Darien  was  interested  in  the  spoils  of  God's 
enemies  everywhere.  In  Ayora's  maraudings  he  had 
special  interest;  and  no  intelligence  reaching  Antigua 
for  some  time  concerning  them,  Quevedo  suggested 
to  Pedrarias  that  a  messenger  be  sent  to  ascertain 
his  lieutenant's  progress.  Bartolome  Hurtado,  once 
the  friend  of  Vasco  Nunez,  but  anxious  now  before 
the  new  powers  to  wipe  out  that  stain,  was  accordingly 
sent  to  bring  in  the  plunder. 

On  the  way,  to  please  Pedrarias,  Hurtado  sought 
to  excel  Ayora  in  rapine ;  but  that  was  impossible.  In 
returning  with  the  plunder,  however,  he  stopped  at 
Car  eta's  village  and  asked  for  men  to  carry  burdens  to 
Antigua,  and  this  was  readily  granted  by  the  chief, 
anxious  as  he  still  was  for  the  friendship  of  the  Span 
iards.  After  honorably  discharging  his  trust  with 
regard  to  Ayora  and  Pedrarias,  in  manner  becoming 
a  Christian  and  a  cavalier,  he  selected  from  Careta's 
men  six  of  the  finest  specimens  and  presented  them 
as  slaves  to  the  governor;  to  the  worthy  bishop  he 
gave  other  six;  and  to  Espinosa  four.  After  thus 
going  the  rounds  among  the  high  officials,  the  re 
mainder  were  branded  and  sold  into  slavery  at  public 
sale.19  Hurtado  was. forgiven  his  former  humanity. 

18 1  clo  not  know  that  it  is  necessary  here  to  catalogue  Ayora's  crimes. 
One  which  the  Licenciado  Zuazo  mentions,  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 
i.  315-16,  if  sufficiently  pluralized,  will  answer  for  all.  Met  one  day,  on  ap 
proaching  a  village,  by  natives  bearing  presents  of  venison,  fowl  and  fish, 
wine  and  maize,  who  thought  the  white  tiba  to  be  their  friend,  Vasco  Nunez, 
Ayora  seized  the  cacique  and  his  chief  men,  tortured  them  with  fire  and  dogs 
until  all  their  gold  was  given  up,  and  then  burned  them  alive.  '  This  infernal 
hunt  lasted  several  months,'  says  Oviedo. 

19  '  Los  quales  luego  fueron  vendidos  en  almoneda  6  herrados,  e"  los  mas 
dellos  se  sacaron  de  la  tierra  por  mar,  e"  los  llevaron  a  otras  partes. '  Oviedo, 
iii.  39.  '  Poi  mando  ancora  lui  altri  Capitani  per  quella  Costa,  come  fu  Bar- 
tolomeo  Vrtado  in  Achla,  e  saltato  in  terra,  sotto  colore  di  pace,  piglio  tutti 
gl'Indiani,  che  pote,  e  gli  vende  per  ischiaui. '  Benzoni,  Hist.  Nvovo  Mondo,  49. 
HIST.  GEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.  26 


402  PEDRARIAS  AT  DARIEK 

Entering  the  dominions  of  Tubanama,  Juan  de 
Ayora  planted  there  another  fortress  which  he  left 
in  charge  of  Meneses.  But  instead  of  continuing  his 
labors  across  the  Isthmus,  as  ordered,  he  determined 
to  give  himself  wholly  up  to  robbery,  and  escape  the 
country  before  his  offences  should  be  fully  known. 
Following  this  plan  he  soon  found  himself  overloaded 
with  booty;  and,  leaving  his  captains  to  overrun  the 
land  at  pleasure,  he  returned  with  his  captives,  gold, 
and  provisions  to  Antigua.  The  gold,  he  said,  must 
remain  untouched,  for  future  division.  The  provis 
ions  were  deposited  with  the  governor,  and  the  cap 
tives  distributed  among  the  royal  officers,  who  had 
been  sent  hither  at  the  king's  cost,  to  see  among 
other  things  that  the  natives  were  not  enslaved.  Yet 
Ayora  was  ill  at  ease.  .  His  dreams  and  meditations 
were  not  pleasant;  he  knew  that  there  must  be  a  day 
of  reckoning  when  his  atrocities  became  known.  The 
villain  determined  to  escape  before  the  return  of  the 
captains.  Making  ready  with  his  men,  he  watched 
his  opportunity,  and  seizing  one  of  the  ships  lying  at 
the  anchorage,  not  unknown  to  the  governor  however, 
as  many  think,  he  escaped  with  his  booty.  Peter 
Martyr,  while  acknowledging  a  long  acquaintance  with 
Ayora,  says  that  "  in  all  the  turmoyles  and  tragicall 
affayres  of  the  Ocean,  nothing  hath  so  muche  dis 
pleased  me,  as  the  couetousnesse  of  this  man,  who 
hath  so  disturbed  the  pacified  minds  of  the  Kinges." 
And  "  if  Juan  de  Ayora  had  been  punished  for  his 
many  injuries  to  the  peaceable  caciques,"  wrote  Yasco 
Nunez  subsequently  to  the  king,  "  the  other  captains 
would  not  have  dared  to  commit  like  excesses."20 

The  chronicles  continue  in  about  the  same  strain. 
Shortly  after  Ayora,  Francisco  Becerra  came  in  from 
the  hunt  with  gold  to  the  value  of  seven  thousand  pesos 

20  Carta  al  Rcy,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viagcs,  iii.  376.  Oviedo  states  that 
Pedrarias  sent  a  ship  after  Ayora  to  Santo  Domingo,  but  before  it  reached  that 
port  Ayora  had  sailed  for  Spain,  where,  soon  afterward,  he  died,  leaving  the 
bishop,  the  alcalde  mayor,  and  the  governor  responsible  for  his  crimes.  Even 
if  this  were  true,  these  functionaries  may  have  winked  at  Ayora's  escape. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  SANTA  CRUZ.  403 

de  oro,  and  with  over  one  hundred  captives,  by  the 
judicious  distribution  of  which  official  inquiry  was  not 
only  quieted,  but  Becerra  obtained  a  new  commission. 
He  was  sent  with  one  hundred  and  eighty  men  and 
three  pieces  of  artillery  to  Cenu,  to  avenge  the  death 
of  forty-eight  men  lost  by  Francisco  de  Vallejo  some 
time  before.  It  was  here  that  Encisco  once  attempted 
to  violate  the  native  sepulchres  in  search  of  golden 
ornaments.  Becerra  went  with  the  determination  to 
spare  neither  age  nor  sex;  but,  on  landing,  the  party 
was  decoyed  into  ambush  and  every  man  of  them 
slain  by  the  poisoned  arrows  of  the  enemy,  a  native 
servant-boy  of  Becerra  alone  escaping  to  carry  the 
news  to  Antigua. 

Since  the  whole  region  was  in  arms  the  eighty  men 
at  Santa  Cruz  found  it  every  day  more  difficult  to 
sustain  life  by  stealing.  Wherever  the  savages  could 
catch  them  they  repaid  their  cruelties  in  kind,  cutting 
off  the  limbs  with  sharp  stones,  or  pouring  melted 
gold  down  their  throats,  crying  "Eat!  Eat  gold, 
Christians!  take  your  fill  of  gold  !"21 

Growing  yet  bolder,  Pocorosa  collected  a  large 
force  and  captured  the  fort,  five  Spaniards  only  escap 
ing  to  Antigua.22  Thus  within  six  months  after  estab 
lishing  Santa  Cruz,  not  a  vestige  of  the  settlement 
remained. 

Antonio  Tello  de  Guzman  was  sent  with  one  hun 
dred  men  to  continue  the  work  abandoned  by  Ayora. 
Departing  from  Antigua  early  in  November,  1515,  he 

21  Theodore  de  Bry  and  Benzoni  give  graphic  engravings  of  the  cutting  and 
roasting  and  eating  of  Spaniards.     Says  the  latter,   'Quegli,  che  pigliauano 
vini,  spetialmente  il  Capitani,  legategli  le  mani  e  i  piedi,  gettatigli  in  terra, 
colauano  loro  dell'oro  in  bocca,  dicendo,  mangia,  mangia  oro  Cristiano. '  Hist. 
Nvovo  Mondo,  49.     Nor  has  Las  Casas  failed  to  improve  the  subject,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  curious  illustrations  and  extreme  denunciations  of  his  Reyionwn 
Indicarum  devastatorum,  18-22  et  seq. 

22  Herrera,  ii.  i.  ii. ;  Peter  Martyr,  iii.  6.     Oviedo,  iii.  46,  asserts  that  Pan- 
ciaco  joined  Pocorosa  in  the  attack  on  Santa  Cruz,  and  that  not  a  single 
Spaniard  escaped.     Andagoya,  in  Nar.,  12,  says  that  all  were  killed  save  one 
woman,  \diom  Pocorosa  kept  several  years  as  his  wife.     She  was  finally  killed 
through  jealousy  by  an  Indian  woman  who  reported  her  to  have  been  eaten 
by  a  crocodile  while  bathing. 


401  PEDRARIAS  AT  DARIEN. 

proceeded  to  the  province  of  Tubanama"23  and  found 
the  fortress,  in  command  of  Captain  Meneses,  be 
sieged  by  the  savages,  and  the  garrison  reduced  to 
the  last  extremity.  The  place  was  abandoned,  and 
Meneses  marched  southward  with  Guzman  into  the 
provinces  of  Chepo  and  Chepauri.  There  they  were 
met  by  several  caciques  combined  to  oppose  them; 
but  the  savages  were  persuaded  to  think  better  of  it. 
Chepo  presented  his  visitors  with  a  large  amount  of 
gold  and  feasted  them.  While  seated  at  dinner  a 
young  cacique  rushed  in  greatly  excited  and  denounced 
the  host  as  a  usurper,  who  had  defrauded  him  of  his 
inheritance.  "  Reinstate  me,"  he  urged,  "  and  I  will 
give  you  twice  the  gold  Chepo  has  given."  The 
argument  was  irresistible.  Chepo  was  hanged ;  seven 
of  his  principal  men  were  given  to  the  dogs,  and  the 
adjudicators  received  gold  to  the  value  of  six  thousand 
pesos.  Then  they  went  their  way. 

As  they  approached  the  seaboard  they  heard  a  place 
much  spoken  of  which  the  natives  called  Panamd.  It 
must  be  that  gold  or  pearls  were  there,  the  Spaniards 
thought;  for  how  otherwise  could  any  place  be  famous ? 
On  reaching  it,  however,  they  were  disappointed  to 
find  only  a  collection  of  fishermen's  huts,  the  word 
panamdj  in  the  aboriginal  tongue,  signifying  "a  place 
where  many  fish  are  taken."24  Resting  here  with  part 
of  his  company,  Tello  cle  Guzman  despatched  Diego 
de  Albites  with  eighty  men  to  the  rich  province  of 
Chagre,  ten  leagues  distant;  and  this  captain  plumes 

23  Oviedo  calls  this  place  Tamao. 

21  This  was  the  site  of  old  Panama.  Aboriginally  fish  in  large  quantities 
were  dried  there.  '  Que  es  provincia  adonde  los  ayres  son  buenos  quando  vienen 
dela  mar, '  says  Herrera,  ii.  ii.  x. ,  '  y  malos  quando  precede  de  tierra. '  In 
Purchas,  His  PUgrimeft,  iv.  883,  is  written,  '  It  might  naue  had  a  better  seate, 
and  more  wholesome,  and  to  the  purpose  for  the  trafficke  of  the  South  Sea, 
not  going  very  farre  from  whence  the  Citie  now  stands.'  See  Juan  and  Ulloa, 
Voy.,  i.  99;  Hcylyn'sCosmocj.,  1085;  Lloyd,  in  London  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  i.  85; 
Fiiidlay's  Direct.,  i.  213;  Griswold's Panama,  11;  Viagero  Univ.,  xii.  303-30; 
Andagoj/a's  Nar.,  23.  Ambiguously  Gomara  writes,  Hist.  Ltd.,  254,  'Desto 
golfo  a  Panama  ay  mas  de  cinquenta,  que  descubrio  Gaspar  de  Morales  Capitan 
de  Pedrarias  de  Auila.'  Still  more  indefinite  is  Benzoni,  Hist.  Mondo  Nvovo, 
81,  'Questa  prouincia  di  Panama  soleua  essere  habitata  da  molti  popoli  In- 
diani,  e  per  tutti  quei  siu  mi  v'era  abondanza  d'oro ;  ma  gli  Spagnuoli  hanno 
consumato  ogni  cosa. ' 


TELLO  DE  GUZMAN  AND  ALBITES. 


405 


himself,  and  we  permit  him  in  God's  name,  that  he  did 
not  murder  the  sleepy  savages  when,  roused  at  dead 
of  night,  they  gazed  with  stolid  astonishment  on  their 
strange  visitors,  and  promptly  paid  twelve  hundred 
pesos  for  the  privilege  to  be  left  alive.  Acquiring 
so  much  so  easily,  Albites  deemed  it  only  proper  to 
demand  more,  and  handing  another  large  sack  to  the 
cacique,  he  told  him  to  fill  it  with  gold.  "  I  can  fill 
your  sack  with  stones  from  the  brook,"  was  the  reply, 
"  but  I  cannot  make  gold,  neither  have  I  any  more." 


Even  for  this  the  good  Albites  did  not  cast  him  to 
the  dogs,  but  took  his  departure  for  Pacora,25  where 
joined  by  Guzman  the  entire  company  returned  to 
Tubanama". 

Thus  far  the  expedition  of  Tello  de  Guzman  had 
been  prosperous,  and  more  important  than  he  himself 
imagined,  for  his  was  the  first  visit  of  Spaniards  to 
the  site  of  the  afterwards  renowned  city  of  Panama. 
Hence  to  Antigua,  however,  the  march  was  distress 
ing.  Elated  by  his  success  at  Santa  Cruz,  Pocorosa 

a3  It  may  be  the  same  as  Poncra ;  from  the  authorities  it  is  impossible  with 
certainty  to  determine, 


406  PEDRAEIAS  AT  DARIEK 

appeared  at  Tubanamd  with  .an  increased  force. 
Hoisting  as  banners  the  bloody  raiment  of  slain 
Christians,  the  savages  brandished  their  gory  pen 
nons  on  every  hillside,  crying,  "  Behold  the  fate  of 
the  accursed,  who  leave  their  homes  to  mar  the  peace 
of  unoffending  nations."  All  along  down  the  mount 
ain  and  over  the  burning  plain  of  Darien  to  the  very 
threshold  of  Antigua,  the  Spaniards  fought  a  hidden 
foe,  who  never  offered  pitched  battle,  but  so  har 
assed  them  that  ofttimes  they  were  on  the  point  of 
throwing  away  their  heavy  plates  of  gold,  and  lying 
down  to  die  from  thirst,  hunger,  and  exhaustion. 
Nevertheless  they  arrived  at  Antigua  with  many 
slaves  and  much  treasure. 

All  this  time  Vasco  Nunez  was  left  in  the  back 
ground;  and  while  such  dastardly  doings  were  in 
order  it  was  as  well  for  every  honorable  man  to  remain 
unoccupied.  It  was  hard,  however,  to  remain  idle; 
and  in  an  evil  moment,  at  the  earnest  solicitations 
of  the  old  comrades  who  had  no  confidence  in  any 
other  leader,  he  consented  to  take  part  in  another 
expedition  to  Dabaiba,  in  search  of  the  gold  and  the 
golden  temple  there.  It  was  a  desperate  undertaking, 
as  the  former  adventure  had  proved,  but  the  colony 
was  an  Ixion's  wheel  that  kept  the  government  ever 
moving. 

When  two  hundred  men  were  ready,  and  the  ques 
tion  of  leadership  arose,  Pedrarias  named  Luis  Car- 
rillo;  but  there  were  those  who  would  not  go  except 
under  Vasco  Nunez.  Then  it  occurred  to  the  gov 
ernor  to  divide  the  leadership  in  such  a  way  that 
if  the  expedition  proved  successful  his  own  captain 
should  have  the  credit,  and  if  a  failure,  the  blame 
should  fall  upon  his  enemy.  And  so  it  was  arranged, 
to  the  infinite  disgust  of  Balboa,  who  plainly  saw  the 
governor's  purpose,  arid  would  have  declined  could 
he  have  done  so  without  prejudice  to  his  friends. 
Embarking  in  June,  1515,  and  ascending  the  Atrato 


EXPEDITION  UP  THE  ATRATO.  407 

for  some  distance,  the  expedition  was  suddenly  sur 
rounded  by  hostile  canoes  which  darted  simultane 
ously  from  beneath  the  foliage  overhanging  either 
bank.  The  Spaniards  were  taken  at  a  disadvantage; 
for  beside  attacking  them  with  wooden  lances  the  sav 
ages,  who  were  more  expert  upon  the  water  than  the 
Spaniards,  dived  under  and  overturned  their  canoes, 
to  the  destruction  of  one  half  the  expedition.  Among 
the  lost  was  Luis  Carrillo.  The  one  hundred  survivors 
found  their  way  back  to  Antigua  with  no  small  diffi 
culty. 

One  might  think  that  this  would  be  enough  of 
the  golden  temple  for  the  present.  But  not  so. 
These  men  were  not  Castilians  if  danger  and  defeat 
acted  otherwise  than  as  stimulants  to  new  adventure. 
Furthermore,  like  the  glories  of  heaven  which  are 
magnified  by  the  difficulties  of  their  attainment,  the 

O  i/ 

mysterious  dominion  so  stubbornly  defended  must  hold 
great  treasure,  and  in  the  inflamed  minds  of  the  Chris 
tians  the  savage  pantheon  of  Dabaiba  had  risen  into  - 
a  lofty  edifice  glittering  with  gold  and  gems,  and  situ 
ated  in  a  region  rich  and  beautiful  beyond  comparison. 
And  Juan  de  Tabira,  the  factor,  was  confident  he  could 
capture  it,  as  likewise  was  Juan  de  Birues  the  inspector. 
They  would  build  three  light  brigantines;  and  with 
these,  and  a  small  fleet  of  canoes,  and,  say  one  hundred 
and  sixty  men,  bid  defiance  to  the  demon  host  of  Da 
baiba.  This  they  did,  Tabira  commanding.  The  cost 
fell  heavy  on  the  factor,  but  the  king's  chest  helped 
him  out,  if  Herrera  speaks  truly. 

As  hitherto,  the  invaders  were  attacked,  but  the  sav 
ages  were  easily  beaten  off.  Not  so  the  goddess  of  the 
golden  temple,  who  sent  such  a  flood  as  uprooted  trees, 
overturned  the  factor's  vessel,  and  drowned  among 
others  both  Tabira  and  Birues.  Francisco  Pizarro 
being  of  the  party  was  asked  to  assume  command  and 
continue  up  the  river,  but  he  declined,  and  further 
efforts  in  that  direction  .were  abandoned.26 

26  Peter  Martyr  speaks  of  four  attempts  to  gain  the  golden  temple.     The 


408  PEDHARIAS  AT  DARIEN. 

Rumors  arriving  from  Spain  of  the  recognition 
by  the  India  Council  of  the  services  and  merits  of 
Vasco  Nunez,  Pedrarias  hastened  to  move  men  to 
the  southern  seaboard,  lest  he  should  see  his  enemy 
placed  in  power  there.  For  this  mission  were  chosen 
the  governor's  cousin,  Gaspar  de  Morales,  and  Fran 
cisco  Pizarro,  to  whom  were  given  sixty  men.27  They 
were  told  to  cross  the  mountains  by  the  shortest 
route,  and,  taking  possession  of  the  Pearl  Islands 
found  and  named  by  Yasco  Nunez,  to  gather  the  fruit 
thereof.  The  object  of  the  Europeans  in  attacking 
the  islanders  was,  of  course,  to  extend  the  boundaries 
of  their  enlightened,  just,  and  humane  civilization, 
and  bring  the  benighted  heathen  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus.  True,  they  might  gather 
a  little  gold,  or  pick  up  such  pearls  as  fell  in  their 
way,  for  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire. 

On  reaching  the  seashore,  Morales  quartered  half 
of  his  men,  under  Penalosa,  on  a  cacique  named  Tuti- 
bra,  and  the  remainder  on  the  neighboring  chieftain, 
Tunaca.  Chiapes  and  Tumaco,  still  loyal  to  the 
Spaniards,  joined  them  there.  Every  requisite,  food, 
boats,  and  men,  was  provided  by  the  savages  with 
alacrity,  for  they  who  should  despoil  their  ancient 
enemy  were  welcome. 

One  day,  just  before  dark,  Morales  and  Pizarro 
with  thirty  Spaniards  and  a  large  company  of  natives 
embarked  in  a  fleet  of  canoes,  but  so  boisterous  was 
the  sea  that  they  were  unable  to  reach  the  islands 
before  the  next  day.  Landing  on  one  of  the  smaller 
islands  and  meeting  but  slight  resistance,  the  invaders 
passed  over  to  Isla  Rica,  as  it  was  called  by  Vasco 
Nunez,  the  largest  of  the  group,  where  dwelt  the 
terrible  king,  who  made  the  caciques  of  the  mainland 

first  attained  a  distance  up  the  river  of  forty  leagues,  the  second  of  fifty 
leagues,  and  the  third  of  eighty  leagues.  Again  they  crossed  the  river  and 
proceeded  by  land,  '  but  oh !  wonderful  mischance,  the  unarmed  and  naked 
people  always  overcame  the  armed  and  armored. '  Jacobo  Alvarez  Osorio,  a 
friar  of  the  priory  of  Darien,  spent  many  years  in  search  of  the  province  of 
Dabaiba. 

2r  Balboa  says  eighty.  Carta,  inPacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ii.  530. 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  PEARL  ISLANDS.  409 

tremble,  and  who  now,  nothing  daunted,  came  for 
ward  at  the  head  of  his  warriors  and  fought  the 
strangers  bravely.  And  notwithstanding  Christian 
gunpowder,  steel,  and  bloodhounds  heaping  in  lifeless 
masses  before  his  eyes  his  best  and  bravest,  the  stub 
born  king  fought  on  as  if  he  knew  not  how  to  yield. 
Finally  Chiapes  and  Tumaco  spoke  to  him,  and  showed 
how  vain  resistance  was,  how  valuable  the  friend 
ship  of  the  strangers.  Believing  this,  the  island 
monarch  submitted,  and  brought  the  Spaniards  to 
the  spacious  palace,  as  the  old  chroniclers  called  his 
house,  and  set  before  them  a  basket  of  large  and  lus 
trous  pearls  on  which  their  piety  fed  greedily.  In 
return  the  king  was  made  passing  rich  by  a  present 
of  a  few  cheap  hand -mirrors,  some  hawk- bells  and 
hatchets,  and  exhibited  almost  as  foolish  a  delight 
over  his  trinkets  as  did  the  Europeans  over  theirs. 
"  Commend  me  to  the  friendship  of  these  gods,"  cried 
the  king,  as  he  sought  his  swarthy  other  self  behind 
the  mirror,  and  jingled  the  hawk-bells,  so  much  more 
beautiful  than  pearls,  and  tried  the  keen  edge  of  his 
hatchet  on  the  skull  of  a  slave  standing  by.  Em 
bracing  Morales  he  led  him  to  a  tower  which  crowned 
the  dwelling,  and  commanded  a  view  of  the  isle- 
dotted  ocean  on  every  side.  "Behold,"  he  said,  "the 
infinite  sea  extending  beyond  the  sunbeams;  behold 
these  islands  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left.  All 
are  mine;  all  abound  in  pearls,  whereof  you  shall 
have  as  many  as  desired  if  you  continue  my  friend." 
He  also  spoke  of  the  nations  of  the  distant  mainland 
whose  mighty  power  was  evidenced  by  the  ships  which 
he  had  sometimes  seen. 

Morales  readily  promised  eternal  friendship,  stipu 
lating  only  that  one  hundred  marks  of  pearls  should 
be  annually  paid  the  king  of  Castile,  and  to  this 
assented  the  king  of  Dites,28  as  the  natives  called  Isla 
Rica.  In  order,  so  far  as  possible,  to  render  insig- 

28  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind. ,  84,  gives  the  island  or  the  chieftain  yet  another  name, 
*y  diose  buena  mafia  enla  ysla  de  Terarequi  a  rescatar  perlas.'  Oviedo,  iii.  16, 
calls  the  island  Toe. 


410  PEDRARIAS  AT  DARIEN. 

nificant  the  achievement  of  Yasco  Nunez,  Morales  had 
been  instructed  to  take  possession  of  the  South  Sea 
for  the  king  of  Spain  in  the  name  of  Pedrarias.  This 
was  now  done.  The  name  of  Isla  de  Flores  was  sub 
stituted  for  that  of  Isla  Rica,  and  the  holy  rite  of 
baptism  was  administered  to  the  king,  who  received 
the  name  Pedro  Arias.29 

The  good  fortune  of  Morales  now  forsook  him. 
On  returning  to  the  mainland  he  found  that  the  coun 
try  was  in  arms,  owing  to  the  excesses  of  Penalosa, 
who  was  a  relative  of  Isabel,  wife  of  Pedrarias.  The 
villain  had  repaid  the  hospitality  of  Tutibrd  by  out 
rages  on  his  women,  and  the  chieftains  had  in  conse 
quence  confederated  for  the  protection  of  their  homes. 
In  revenge  for  this  Morales  spread  fire  and  sword 
throughout  that  region.  On  one  occasion  eighteen 
caciques,  called  to  a  friendly  council,  were  treacherously 
seized  and  given  to  the  dogs;  at  another  time  seven 
hundred  savages  are  said  to  have  been  slain  within  an 
hour.  But  in  burning  the  village  of  a  cacique  named 
Biru,30  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  gulf,  the  Spaniards 
were  repulsed,  and  in  attempting  to  cross  the  moun 
tains  to  Darien  they  lost  their  way,  and  after  consid 
erable  wandering  and  suffering  found  themselves  back 
at  the  starting-point.  Again  they  essayed  the  transit, 
a  handful  of  men  amidst  infuriated  hosts.  In  retalia 
tion  for  night  attacks,  and  darts  showered  by  day 
from  cliffs  and  thickets,  the  Europeans  strewed  their 
path  with  murdered  and  mutilated  captives  to  the 

29  "\Vriting  the  king,  Vasco  Nunez  tells  the  tale  somewhat  differently.    '  No 
sooner  had  they  arrived  at  Isla  Rica,'  he  says,  '  than' entering  a  village  they 
captured  all  the  Indians  they  could.    The  cacique  prepared  for  war,  but  retired 
for  several  days,  during  which  time  the  Christians  burned  half  the  houses  with 
all  the  provisions.     Afterward  the  cacique  peaceably  returned  with  fifteen  or 
sixteen  marks  of  pearls  and  four  thousand  pesos  in  gold.     Then  he  took  the 
Spaniards  to  the  place  where  they  obtained  the  pearls,  and  made  his  people 
gather  them,  and  remain  at  peace.     Notwithstanding  all  this  the  captain 
without  conscience  gave  away  as  slaves  all  the  men  and  all  the  women  whom 
he  brought  away  from  the  Rich  Island. '     The  statement  may  be  taken  with 
allowance  as  from  a  man  smarting  under  wrong;  and  it  is  not  a  little  amusing 
to  see  how  suddenly  tender  becomes  the  conscience  of  the  ingenuous  Vasco, 
who  never  stole  anything  from  the  natives,  or  burned  their  houses,  or  made 
them  slaves ! 

30  Erroneously  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  origin  of  the  word  Peru. 


MISFORTUNES  OF  MORALES.  411 

number  of  one  hundred,  hoping  to  intimidate  the 
enemy,  who  was  only  the  more  maddened  thereby. 
Thus,  midst  this  bloody  disturbance,  which  in  ferocity 
far  exceeded  anything  of  which  wild  beasts  are  ca 
pable,  these  ministers  of  civilization  and  missionaries 
of  Christ  managed  with  great  tribulation  to  reach 
their  settlement,  still  clinging  to  the  gold  and  pearls.31 
To  Gaspar  de  Morales  Vasco  Nunez  pays  the  same 
encomiums  as  to  the  other  captains  of  Pedrarias.  "  Be 
it  known  to  your  Majesty,"  he  writes,  "that  during 
this  excursion  was  perpetrated  the  greatest  cruelty 
ever  heard  of  in  Arabian  or  Christian  country,  in  any 
generation.  And  this  it  is.  This  captain  and  the  sur 
viving  Christians  while  on  their  journey  took  nearly 
one  hundred  Indians  of  both  sexes,  mostly  women  and 
children,  fastened  them  with  chains,  and  afterward 
ordered  them  to  be  decapitated  and  scalped."  But 
"being  cousin  and  servant  of  the  governor,"  adds 
Oviedo,  he  suffers  "  neither  pain  nor  punishment." 

31  Some  of  the  pearls  were  of  extraordinary  size  and  beauty.  One,  in  par 
ticular,  attained  no  small  celebrity.  It  was  pear-shaped,  one  inch  in  length, 
and  nine  lines  in  its  largest  diameter.  Vasco  Nunez  describes  it  as  weighing 
'  ten  tomines  ' — a  tomin  is  about  one  third  of  a  drachm — '  very  perfect,  with 
out  a  scratch  or  stain  and  of  a  very  pretty  color  and  lustre  and  make;  which, 
in  truth, '  artlessly  intimating  what  would  be  his  course  under  the  circum 
stances,  '  is  a  jewel  well  worthy  of  presentation  to  your  Majesty,  more  par 
ticularly  as  coming  from  these  parts.  It  was  put  up  at  auction  and  sold  for 
1,200  pesos  de  oro  to  a  merchant,  and  finally  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  gov 
ernor.'  Oviedo,  iii.  49,  says  it  weighed  31  carats.  Subsequently  it  was  pre 
sented  through  Dona  Isabel  to  the  queen,  and  was  valued  in  Spain  at  4,000 
ducats.  Pedrarias  is  further  charged  with  divers  misdemeanors.  Carta  del 
Addantado  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  October  16, 1515,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas, 
Col  Doc.,  ii.  526,  and  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  375;  Ovalle,Hist.  ReL  Chile, 
in  Pinkerton't  Voy.,  xiv.  146-7. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 
1515-1517. 

GONZALO  DE  BADAJOZ  VISITS  THE  SOUTH  SEA — WHAT  HE  SEES  AT  NOMBRE 
DE  DIGS — His  DEALINGS  WITH  TOTONAGUA — AND  WITH  TATARACHE- 
RUBI — ARRIVES  AT  NATA — THE  SPANIARDS  GATHER  MUCH  GOLD — THEY 
ENCOUNTER  THE  REDOUBTABLE  PARIS — A  DESPERATE  FIGHT — BADAJOZ 
LOSES  HIS  GOLD  AND  RETURNS  TO  DARIEN — PEDRARIAS  ON  THE  WAR 
PATH — HE  STRIKES  CENU  A  BLOW  OF  REVENGE — ACLA  FOUNDED — THE 
GOVERNOR  RETURNS  ILL  TO  ANTIGUA — EXPEDITION  or  GASPAR  DE 

ESPINOSA    TO    THE    SOUTH    SEA — THE    LICENTIATE'S    ASS — ROBBERY    BY 

LAW — ESPINOSA'S  RELATION — A  BLOODY-HANDED  PRIEST — ESPINOSA  AT 
NATA — HE  COURTS  THE  ACQUAINTANCE  OF  PARIS — WHO  KILLS  THE 
AMBASSADORS — HURTADO  SURVEYS  THE  SOUTHERN  SEABOARD  TO  Ni- 
COYA — PANAMA  FOUNDED — AN  ABORIGINAL  TARTARUS — RETURN  OF 
ESPINOSA'S  EXPEDITION. 

WHILE  these  expeditions  were  directed  to  the  east 
side  of  Panama"  Bay,  other  captains  were  equally 
active  on  the  west  side. 

Gonzalo  de  Badajoz  embarked  at  Antigua  for  the 
South  Sea  in  March,  1515,  with  one  hundred  r,nd 
thirty  men.1  Landing  at  Nombre  de  Dios,  where  no 
white  man  had  touched  since  Nicuesa's  departure, 
a  dismal  spectacle  was  there  presented.  The  dis 
mantled  fort  stood  surrounded  by  tenantless  dwell 
ings,  whose  walls  were  once  the  silent  witnesses  of 
despair;  while  crosses,  heaps  of  stone,  and  dead  men's 
scattered  bones,  seemed  to  tell  how  restless  were 
these  adventurers  even  in  their  last  resting.  The 
most  impassive  of  all  that  callous  company  was  struck 
by  a  momentary  shudder  as  he  gazed  on  these  ghastly 

1  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iii.  cap.  x.,  says  he  set  out  in  May  with  80  men,  and 
was  afterward  joined  by  Mercado  with  50  men. 

(412) 


ADVENTURES  OF  BADAJOZ.  413 

portents  of  his  own  probable  fate;  and  they  would 
have  turned  back  on  the  spot  had  not  their  leader 
hurried  the  ships  away  beyond  their  reach. 

The  versatile  adventurer  quickly  recovers  himself, 
however,  and  what  is  more  wonderful  is  the  indiffer 
ence  with  which  sanguinary  recitals  often  repeated 
are  soon  received.  The  homely  adage  that  familiarity 
breeds  contempt  is  nowhere  more  strikingly  true  than 
in  our  own  intercourse  with  danger,  pain,  and  death. 
It  is  not  altogether  a  Hibernicism  to  say  that  men 
get  used  to  these  things,  even  to  hanging.  And 
when  the  oft-repeated  disasters  are  distant,  and  only 
the  survivors  with  their  prizes  are  present,  the  ter 
rible  tale  makes  still  less  impression.  That  colony 
after  colony  in  the  New  World  occupation  should  be 
swept  away  or  divided  by  death,  and  divided  yet 
again,  ten  times,  or  twenty  times  cut  in  twain;  or 
that  expedition  after  expedition  should  return  to  An 
tigua,  leaving  half  or  two  thirds  of  its  number  rotting 
on  the  heated  plain,  or  scattered  in  the  mountains 
furnishing  food  for  carrion-birds,  and  yet  new  colo 
nists  continue  to  come  out,  and  new  expeditions  con 
tinue  to  be  organized  by  those  willing  to  take  the 
same  even  chances  of  never  returning,  shows  an  igno 
rance,  or  indifference,  or  both,  to  which  fear  of  con 
sequences  is  as  inaccessible  as  ever  was  the  feeling  of 
love  to  Narcissus. 

The  mission  of  Badajoz  was  the  usual  one.  He 
was  to  cross  the  Isthmus  at  its  narrowest  part,  take 
possession  of  the  country,  and  gather  in  its  treasures. 
We  all  know  what  this  implied.  Were  any  but  civ 
ilized  Christians  so  to  do  it  would  be  called  murder, 
robbery,  treachery,  violation,  and  the  rest. 

Totonagua  was  the  first  victim  on  this  occasion. 
His  dominions  were  of  great  extent  and  thickly  peo 
pled,  the  village  where  he  resided  standing  on  the 
mountains  opposite  Nombre  de  Dios.  Surprised  by 
night  he  surrendered  gold  to  the  value  of  six  thou 
sand  pesos.  Tataracherubi,  a  wealthy  cacique  on  the 


414  DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 

southern  side,  was  similarly  relieved  of  gold  to  the 
value  of  eight  thousand  pesos.  Seeing  the  Spaniards 
so  deeply  in  love  with  gold,  Tataracherubi  told  them 
of  a  chief  named  Nata,  some  distance  to  the  south 
west,  very  rich  and  with  few  fighting  men.  Thirty 
men  under  Alonso  Perez  de  la  Rua  were  deemed 
ample  for  the  adventure,  but  after  a  night's  inarch 
the  Spaniards  found  themselves,  as  morning  broke, 
in  the  midst  of  a  cluster  of  villages  belonging  to  a 
numerous  and  warlike  people.  Retreat  was  impos 
sible,  and  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost.  Rushing 
for  the  principal  village  they  seized  the  leading  ca 
cique,  Nata,2  and  were  masters  of  the  situation.  For 
when  the  savages  pressed  them  hard  in  the  fight  that 
followed,  and  would  have  slain  them  all,  they  threat 
ened  Natd  with  instant  death  if  he  did  not  cause  his 
men  to  lay  down  their  arms.  Nata  obeyed.  Pres 
ently  Badajoz  joined  Perez,  and  the  chief  was  re 
leased  to  collect  for  his  captors  gold  in  value  to  fifteen 
thousand  castellanos.  After  remaining  at  Natd  two 
months  the  conquerors  surprised  the  village  of  Es- 
coria,  ten  leagues  to  the  southward,  and  secured  gold3 
to  the  value  of  nine  thousand  pesos.  Westward  from 
Escoria  lived  Biruquete4  and  a  blind  neighbor,  who 
were  relieved  of  six  thousand  pesos  worth  of  gold. 
In  the  vicinity  were  the  villages  of  Taracuri,  Pana- 
nome,  Tabor,  and  Chiru,  where  the  Spaniards  obtained 
another  considerable  quantity  of  gold. 

Gonzalo  de  Badajoz  was  gathering  a  rich  harvest. 
Thus  far  his  accumulations  reached  eighty  thousand 
castellanos,  equivalent  to  more  than  half  a  million  of 

2  On  Mercator's  atlas  there  is  a  town  and  river  south-west  from  Panama 
named  Nata.     Hondius,  Dampier,  Jefferys,  and  De  Laet  give  Nata;   West- 
Indische  Rplcghel,  Nato;  Kicpert,  Nata  de  los  Caballeros,  and  thence  eastward, 
R.  Af/nablanca,  and  opposite  this  river,  /  Chiru. 

3  Nearly  all  the  gold  found  here  was  wrought  into  plates  and  various  kinds 
of  utensils. 

4  It  is  groundless  speculation  on  the  part  of  Herrera  to  find  in  this  word, 
as  many  do  in  others,  the  origin  of  the  term  Peru.      '  Y  prosiguiendo  su 
descubrimiento  hazia  el  Ocidente,  llegaron  a  la  tierra  del  Cazique  dicho  Biru- 
quete,  de  quien  se  dize  que  ha  deriuado  el  nombre  de  Piru.'  Hist.  Ltd.,  ii. 
i.  xiv. 


THE  CACIQUE  PARIS.  415 

dollars  at  the  present  day.  It  was  not  a  disagreeable 
way  of  making  money.  It  was  quite  honorable  steal 
ing  in  the  eyes  of  civilization,  though  the  stupid 
savages  never  could  wholly  make  out  the  right  and 
wrong  of  it.  In  addition  to  gold  there  were  always 
women  for  baptism,  lust,  and  slavery,  and  so  the 
Christians  were  happy. 

Elated  by  their  successes,  the  conquerors  continued 
the  good  work.  Not  far  from  Chiru  were  the  domin 
ions  of  a  cacique  called  by  the  Spaniards  Parizao  Pa- 
riba,  subsequently  abbreviated  into  Paris.5  Advised 
of  their  approach  Paris  fled  to  the  mountains  with 
all  his  people  and  treasure.  Badajoz  sent  a  message 
threatening  to  put  the  dogs  upon  his  track  unless 
he  returned.  Paris  returned  word  that  he  was  ex 
ceedingly  occupied  and  hoped  the  Spanish  captain 
would  excuse  his  coming.  He  begged  him,  however, 
to  accept  an  accompanying  gift  from  his  women,  and 
wished  him  a  prosperous  journey  out  of  the  country. 
The  gift  so  carelessly  presented  was  carried  by  four 
principal  men  in  baskets  made  of  the  withes  of  palm- 
leaves  and  lined  with  deerskins.  In  dimensions  they 
were  about  one  and  a  half  by  two  feet,  and  three 
inches  in  depth.  The  contents  consisted  of  fabricated 
gold,  breast-plates,  bracelets  and  ear-rings,  valued,  as 
the  Spaniards  affirmed,  at  forty  or  fifty  thousand  cas- 
tellanos. 

So  much  treasure  so  royally  presented  only  excited 
their  cupidity  the  more.  Thanking  the  savages,  Ba- 
dajoz  retired  wdth  his  men,  but  as  soon  as  Paris 
returned  to  the  village,  he  surprised  it  at  night  and 
obtained  as  much  more  gold  as  had  already  been 
sent.  This  greediness  resulted  in  their  ruin.  Paris 
sent  out  upon  the  road  one  of  his  principal  men  who 

5  Paris  was  an  Indian  province  and  gulf  twelve  leagues  from  Natd.  Oviedo 
authorizes  us  to  write,  Pariza  or  Parila.  The  large  square  peninsula  which 
forms  the  western  bound  to  the  gulf  of  Panamd,  is  sometimes  called  by 
modern  writei-s  Parita,  and  the  gulf  which  cuts  into  the  peninsula  Gidfo  de 
Par  Ita.  See  Humboldt's  Atlas  of  New  Spain.  Pvibero  gives  G.  de  Part*,  Vaz 
Dourado,  G:.  de  Paris  naca  and  b:.  de  Paris  naqua;  De  Laet,  Golfo  de  Parita, 
as  well  as  the  city  Parita,  south  of  which  is  lubraua,  and  north,  Escoria. 


416 


DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 


was  instructed,  when  captured,  to  pass  himself  off  as 
belonging  to  an  adjoining  village,  three  leagues  dis 
tant,  and  to  say  that  it  was  well  stocked  with  gold. 
He  was  on  his  way  to  the  river  to  fish,  but  would 
show  them  his  town.  The  strategy  succeeded.  Bada- 
joz  sent  a  portion  of  the  men  under  his  guidance  to 


bring  in  the  treasure.  Meanwhile  Paris  had  raised 
an  army  of  four  thousand  warriors,  and  the  invaders 
being  now  divided,  as  had  been  designed,  he  fiercely 
attacked  and  almost  exterminated  one  part  before 
the  other  could  join  it.  The  Spaniards  fought  until 


ATTACK  ON  CENtf.  417 

seventy  of  their  number  were  slain,  whereupon  they 
abandoned  the  treasure,  cut  their  way  through  the 
savages,  and  fled  to  the  territory  of  Chame.6  Thence 
they  crossed  to  an  island  occupied  by  Tabor,  and 
afterward  to  Taboga  Island,  where  they  remained  for 
thirty  days  recruiting  their  strength  for  the  desperate 
attempt  to  reach  Darien.  This  they  finally  accom 
plished,  but  Perez  de  la  Rua  lost  his  life  immediately 
on  returning  to  the  mainland.  Since  they  failed  to 
bring  home  the  gold  of  which  their  stories  were  full, 
we  may  each  of  us  believe  them  according  to  our  faith. 

The  year  1515  was  now  drawing  toward  its  close. 
It  had  been  clouded  with  more  than  one  disaster, 
and  Pedrarias  was  anything  but  pleased.  Himself  a 
fighting  man  as  well  as  civil  officer,  he  determined  to 

O  O 

show  his  young  captains  what  an  old  man  could  do  in 
the  field;  for  whatever  his  general  character,  and  it 
was  detestable  enough,  Pedrarias  was  not  a  coward. 
His  first  blow  was  to  be  directed  against  the  Cemi 
people,  toward  whom  he  had  not  felt  kindly  since 
the  slaughter  of  the  two  companies  under  Yallejo 
and  Becerra.  What  right  had  these  savages  to  kill 
Spaniards?  And  yet  were  his  purpose  known  of 
entering  within  range  of  those  poisoned  arrows  he 
would  have  few  followers  to  the  wars.  An  expedi 
tion  of  three  hundred  men  was  therefore  organized 
ostensibly  against  Pocorosa,  and  with  this  he  coasted 
westward  until  after  night-fall,  when  he  ordered  the 
pilots  to  turn  back  and  make  for  Cemi,  whose  tristful 
shore  the  next  morning  saw  them  close  approaching. 
Anchoring,  Hurtado  was  sent  with  two  hundred  men 
to  fire  the  village  and  do  what  killing  was  convenient. 
He  managed  to  cut  in  pieces  a  few  women  and  children 
as  they  escaped  the  flames,  and  secure  some  captives 
for  slaves,  but  the  poisoned  arrows  soon  terminated 

6  Town  and  province,  beside  being  the  name  of  the  first  prominent  point 
west  of  Panama.     Colon  and  Ribero  have  it,  p  de  Chame;  Vaz  Dourado  writes 
it  the  same  once,  and  again,  p.:  de  Cane;  Colom  gives  P  de  Chane;  De  Laet, 
and  others  after  him,  Chame,  with  Otoque  east  of  it. 
HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    27 


418  DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 

the  sport,  and  the  expedition  turned  again  toward 
the  province  of  Pocorosa. 

The  purpose  of  the  governor  was  to  found  at  least 
two  posts  of  the  line  ordained  by  the  king,  but 
which  his  captains  had  failed  to  establish.  Pedrarias 
resolved  that  the  termini  of  the  intended  line  on 
either  ocean  should  be  at  once  selected  and  town- 
building  begun.  Coasting  westward  in  search  of  a 
site  he  came  to  a  pleasant  port,  northward  of  Careta, 
beyond  which  extended  a  dry  and  fertile  plain  with 
timber  suitable  for  ship-building,  and  from  which  led 
a  now  well-known  route  across  the  Isthmus.  The 
natives  called  the  place  Acla,7  that  is  to  say,  'Bones 
of  Men.'  There  the  governor  began  to  build  a  wooden 
fort  with  such  enthusiasm  as  not  only  to  direct  the 
laborers,  but  to  assist  them  with  his  hands,  until 
excess  of  zeal  brought  on  a  fever  which  rendered  it 
necessary  for  him  to  be  carried  bedridden  to  Antigua. 
Gabriel  de  Rojas  was  left  in  command  of  the  unfin 
ished  enterprise,  and  Gaspar  de  Espinosa  with  a  stout 
force  was  permitted  to  try  the  fortunes  of  war  on 
that  permanent  object  of  the  spoiler,  Pocorosa. 

It  seems  that  the  youthful  magistrate  on  finding 
his  official  duties  spiritless  without  the  mellow  growl 
and  inane  wit  of  pettifogger  or  pundit,  had  laid  aside 
the  long-robe  and  buckled  on  the  sword,  this  being  in 
his  opinion  the  more  significant  emblem  in  the  arbitra- 

7 '  Donde  despues  Pedrarias  pob!6  un  pueblo  de  cristianos  que  se  dice  Acla, 
y  antes  que  hobiese  esta  batalla  tenia  otro  nombre,  porque  Acla  en  la  lengua 
de  aquella  tierra  quiere  decir  huesos  de  hombres  6  canillas  de  hombres.' 
Andatjoya,  Relation,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  iii.  397.  See  also  Carta  de 
Alonso  de  la  Puente  y  Diego  Marquez,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ii. 
538-49;  Robert  FitzRoy,  in  London  Geoy.  Soc. ,  Jour.,  xxiii.  179,  gives  us  a 
fair  specimen  of  historical  writing  by  an  intelligent  gentleman,  who  knows 
nothing  of  what  he  is  saying  when  he  describes  'Acla,  or  Agla,'  as  settled  'in 
1514,  a  few  miles  inland  from  that  port  or  bay  now  famed  in  history  and 
romance,  called  by  Patterson  Caledonian  Harbour. '  Acla  was  on  the  coast, 
three  or  four  leagues  north  of  Caledonian  Bay,  as  we  find  in  Purchas,  His  Pil- 
grimes,  iv.  883,  'right  against  the  Hand  of  Pinos,  whereof  at  this  present  there 
is  no  more  memory  than  that  there  was  the  death  of  that  famous  Ciiptaine, 
whose  name  will  last  eternally,  the  President  Basco  Nunnez  of  Balnoa,  and  oi 
his  company.'  Fernando  Colon,  1527,  calls  the  town  ocara;  Diego  de  Ribero, 
acra;  Vaz  Dourado,  1571,  Munich  Atlas,  No.  x.,  axca,  and  on  No.  xi.,  azca; 
De  Laet,  Colom,  and  others,  Acla. 


THE  LICENTIATE'S  ASS.  419 

tion  of  Indian  affairs.  And  as  the  highest  wisdom  is  ' 
that  which  adapts  learning  to  the  duties  of  the  day, 
the  licentiate  would  not  be  bound  by  the  mechanical 
restrictions  which  governed  the  illiterate  cavaliers  in 
their  encounters  with  the  natives.  There  are  some 
whom  travel  improves  but  little,  though  like  Haddad 
Ben  Ahab,  they  should  climb  to  the  top  of  the  world's 
wall  and  look  down  the  other  side.  Our  juvenile  judge 
was  not  one  of  these.  Bonum  est  fugienda  adspicere 
in  alieno  maloj  was  his  motto.  It  is  good  to  note  in 
the  misfortunes  of  others  what  we  should  avoid,  for 
so  Publius  Syrus  has  said.  He  would  go  to  the 
wars  as  a  warrior,  not  plodding  his  way  wearily  over 
mountain  and  through  morass,  like  a  common  foot- 
soldier,  but  he  would  enter  the  domain  of  the  enemy 
mounted,  and  in  a  manner  becoming  a  general  and 
a  judge.  Athena  went  to  war  mounted  on  a  lion, 
Alexander  on  a  horse,  Espinosa  on — an  ass.  History 

fives  the  licentiate  this  honor,  and  as  an  honest  man 
cannot  deny  it  him;  he  was  the  first  to  cross  the 
Isthmus  on  an  ass.  Some  horses  had  of  late  been 
brought  to  Antigua,  which  were  employed  to  a  very 
limited  extent  in  the  wars  of  Tierra  Firme  and  also 
on  the  present  occasion;  but  the  alcalde  mayor  pre 
ferred  to  bestride  an  ass;  it  was  a  more  judicial  beast, 
not  to  say  surer-footed  or  more  safe.  Did  not  Ma 
homet  choose  an  ass  on  which  to  ride  to  heaven  ? 
There  was  another  advance.  Several  pieces  of  artil 
lery  were  dragged  across  the  Isthmus  in  this  expe 
dition. 

When  the  savages  first  beheld  the  conquering  hero 
borne  triumphantly  through  crowds  of  admiring  spec 
tators,  they  fell  back  dumfounded.  They  knew  the 
force  of  Spanish  steel;  bloodhounds  they  knew,  and 
arquebuses  vomiting  fire  and  hurling  thunderbolts. 
But  what  was  this  ?  Its  eyes  were  not  fiery,  nor  its 
nostrils  distended,  nor  its  teeth  flesh-tearing.  Its  coun 
tenance  betokened  mildness,  and  mind-absence,  such 
as  attend  benevolent  contemplation;  there  was  in  it 


nrni;_ 


420  DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 

nothing  of  that  refined  lust  or  voracious  piety  which 
characterized  the  faces  of  the  Spaniards.  And  surely 
Apollo  was  in  error  when  he  gave  Midas  such  ears 
because  he  could  not  appreciate  music.  For  listen  to 
its  notes.  Ah,  that  voice !  When  Sir  Balaam  lifted 
up  his  voice  the  savages  fled  in  terror.  Tremblingly 
they  returned  and  enquired  for  what  the  creature  was 
asking.  The  Spaniards  replied  that  he  was  asking 
for  gold;  and  during  the  campaign  his  musical  beast 
brought  the  licentiate  more  gold  than  did  ever  Leon- 
cico  earn  for  Yasco  Nunez.  And  throughout  that 
region  the  learned  licentiate  became  known  to  the 
natives  by  the  noble  animal  that  he  bestrode,  so 
much  so  that  those  who  entered  the  Spaniard's  camp 
to  see  the  general  used  to  announce  their  object  by 
braying  like  an  ass-,  an  appeal  to  which  the  chief 
officer  ever  obligingly  responded. 

As  alcalde  mayor  it  was  the  duty  of  Espinosa  at  all 
times  and  in  all  places  to  administer  the  law.  For  so 
God  and  the  king  had  commanded;  so  he  had  sworn 
to  do.  Now  it  was  often  somewhat  inconvenient  to 
rob  and  murder  at  pleasure,  even  under  the  liberal 
provisions  of  the  king's  Requirement,  according  to 
the  governor's  ideas  of  business.  Therefore  it  was 
deemed  wise  and  prudent  to  issue  an  edict  from  the 
imperial  city  of  Antigua  declaring  all  Americans  in 
arms  against  the  Europeans  to  be  outlaws,  doomed 
to  slavery,  mutilation,  or  death.  Those  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  destruction  of  Santa  Cruz  should 
be  burned;  and  it  was  quite  remarkable  in  so  young 
a  jurist  how  quickly  he  determined,  no  matter  how 
distant  the  evidence,  whenever  the  destruction  of  a 
people,  while  promoting  the  sovereignty  of  law,  would 
at  the  same  time  yield  profit  to  the  lawgiver. 

The  judge  had  not  proceeded  far  upon  his  new 
circuit  before  he  met  Baclajoz,  who  was  returning 
dejectedly  to  Antigua,  suffering  from  the  effects  of 
excessive  cupidity.  Informed  of  the  immense  treas- 


DEPOPULATION  OF  THE  PROVINCES.  421 

ure  Badajoz  had  failed  to  bring  back,  Espinosa  wrote 
Pedrarias  for  more  men  that  he  might  go  and  gather 
it.  Badajoz  claimed  the  command  as  a  right;  but 
Pedrarias  said,  "Not  so;  Espinosa  is  alcalde  mayor; 
furthermore,  Captain  Badajoz  brings  back  neither 
slaves  nor  gold  wherewith  to  purchase  favor."  With 
this  the  licentiate  received  one  hundred  and  thirty 
additional  men  under  Geronimo  Valenzuela.  So  great 
was  becoming  the  abhorrence  of  the  colonists  for  these 
hazardous  and  unholy  adventures  that  this  captain, 
in  conformity  to  his  instructions,  scuttled  his  ship  on 
reaching  Acla,  in  order  to  deprive  the  men  of  the 
means  for  returning  to  Antigua. 

Caesar's  Commentaries  on  the  Gallic  wars  are  not 
more  minute  in  detail  than  the  narration8  of  incidents 
during  this  expedition  as  given  by  Espinosa  to  the 
governor.  The  licentiate  was  exceedingly  careful  in 
every  instance,  first  of  all  to  propitiate  the  law  by 
observing  its  smallest  letter,  such  as  reading  and  ex 
pounding  the  king's  Requirement,  and  never  to  rob 
or  kill  the  natives  except  in  the  name  of  the  king, 
the  holy  see,  and  the  rights  of  man.  His  judicial 
conscience  thus  quieted,  he  went  to  work  with  a  will. 

The  provinces  of  Pocorosa  and  Comagre  were  at 
this  time  almost  depopulated,  and  the  licentiate  could 
with  difficulty  obtain  food  for  the  men  or  exercise 
for  his  arms.  On  the  approach  of  the  Spaniards, 
the  poor  remnants  of  these  once  happy  nations  fled 
affrighted  to  their  hiding-places.  This  the  learned 
licentiate  ruled  ipso  jure  a  declaration  of  hostilities ; 

8  Reladon  hecha  por  Gaspar  de  Espinosa,  alcalde  mayor  de  Castllla  del  Oro, 
dnda  a  Pedrarias  de  Avila,  lurjar  ttniente  general  de  aquellas  provincias,  de 
todo  lo  que  le  sucediti  en  la  entrada  que  hizo  en  ellns,  de  drden  de  Pedrarias,  in 
Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ii.  467-522.  The  licentiate  begins  his  ver 
bose  narrative  with  a  flourish  of  trumpets  before  the  king  and  queen,  in  a 
lengthy  saying  of  Quintilian,  and  an  apology,  saying  that  had  he  sufficient 
time  he  would  give  the  particulars  of  his  raid.  The  document  is  signed,  El 
Licenciado  Espinosa ;  Gerouimo  Valenzuela ;  Pablo  Mexia ;  Pedro  de  Gamez ; 
Bartolome  Hurtado,  capitan;  Gabriel  de  Roxas,  Por  su  mandado,  Martin 
Salceclo.  The  editors  of  the  collection  in  which  the  paper  appears  complain 
of  its  errors  in  regard  to  places,  which  they  have  endeavored  to  rectify  when 
ever  possible.  The  truth  of  its  incidents  they  of  course  could  not  dispute. 


422  DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 

in  a  word,  if  the  law  could  not  be  twisted  to  fit  the 
occasion,  the  chief  guardian  of  the  law,  himself  turned 
law-breaker  and  spoiler,  was  as  ready  to  throw  over 
board  the  law  as  was  the  most  lawless  cavalier. 
Whole  nations,  I  say,  were  declared  outlaws  by  the 
honorable  chief  judge,  because  they  would  not  come 
forward  and  embrace  slavery  of  their  own  free  will. 
If  any  fugitives  were  particularly  hard  to  catch,  that 
was  proof  of  participation  in  the  Santa  Cruz  affair,  and 
they  were  burned  according  to  law. 

The  caprice  of  the  law,  however,  does  not  exhibit 
the  pretensions  of  civilization  and  Christianity  in 
these  parts  in  their  grossest  absurdity.  In  the  out 
rageous  raids  under  Pedrarias,  religion  joined  unholy 
hands  with  jurisprudence.  We  have  noticed  the  itch 
ing  palm  of  Quevedo,  the  bishop,  but  we  are  hardly 
prepared  to  see  his  dean  actually  enter  the  field  of 
inhumanities  in  person  against  the  unhappy  natives. 
Yet  the  licentiate  is  not  ashamed  to  write,  "We  pro 
ceeded  on  our  way  about  one  league  and  a  half  to 
Poquina's  land,  where  the  Indians  set  fire  to  their 
huts  and  ran  away.  I  sent  the  dean  with  one  squad, 
and  Ojeda  with  another,  and  they  brought  back  some 
Indians,  the  number  whereof  will  appear  in  the  dis 
tribution.  I  gave  Chiarna  some  of  these  Indians,  and 
that  overpaid  him  for  the  provisions  he  had  furnished 
us."  Unfortunately  this  is  not  the  only  instance  we 
are  doomed  to  encounter  in  this  history,  of  a  priest  of 
the  holy  Catholic  faith  placing  himself  beside  blood 
hounds  and  bloody-minded  men,  and  joining  a  hunt, 
in  Christ's  name,  to  bring  innocent  men  and  women 
and  children  to  slavery  and  death. 

After  sending  to  Santa  Cruz  in  the  hope  of  finding 
provisions  from  Antigua,  "we  went  to  the  province 
of  Tamame,"  continues  Espinosa,  "  whence  I  sent  all 
the  captains  to  explore  the  Rio  Grande,9  on  both 
banks,  as  I  had  been  informed  that  Pocorosa's  people 
were  there  hiding.  Some  Indians  were  caught,  as 

9  Probably  the  Rio  Chepo,  or  Bayano. 


ESPINOSA  ON  THE  PACIFIC.  423 

will  appear  in  the  distribution,  five  of  whom  were 
burnt  to  ashes,  on  confessing  their  participation  in 
the  murders  of  Santa  Cruz."  Indeed,  "  I  used  to 
send  men  after  the  Indians,  and  justice  was  done 
upon  all  those  who  had  participated  in  the  Santa 
Cruz  outrage,  either  by  hanging  or  burning,  and  two 
were  shot  off  from  the  cannon's  mouth  the  more  to 
frighten  them." 

Crossing  the  cordillera  by  way  of  Tubanama  and 
Chepo  to  Panamd,  where  he  hoped  to  obtain  food, 
but  found  only  some  huts  and  one  woman,  Espinosa 
passed  on  to  Chiru,  sending  out  his  captains  in  every 
direction  for  plunder.  At  Chame  the  Spaniards  found 
only  four  Indians ;  and  as  the  chief  had  furnished  corn 
to  Badajoz,  they  did  not  molest  him.  The  cacique 
of  Chiru  was  captured  with  his  women  and  gold,  by 
Hurtado,  but  appearing  peaceable  he  was  liberated, 
and  made  the  custodian  of  some  slaves,  and  ornaments 
for  the  mass,  for  Satan  was  now  to  set  up  Christ 
on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  Chiru  sent  Espinosa 
iguanas  to  eat,  and  chicha,  fish,  deer,  and  salt,  and  was 
oiven  some  hammocks  in  return. 

O 

After  this  the  Spaniards  charged  on  Natd  one  night, 
securing  one  hundred  captives,  and  gold  to  the  value 
of  fifteen  hundred  castellanos.  The  cacique  escaped, 
and  rallying  his  warriors  prepared  to  attack  the  Span 
iards  ;  but  when  the  natives  saw  the  horses  they  fled 
in  terror,  fearing  that  they  would  be  torn  in  pieces  by 
them.  As  it  was,  the  horsemen  pursued  the  fugitives 
and  hewed  them  down  in  great  numbers.  Espinosa 
marvelled  at  the  multitudes  of  people  he  here  en 
countered,  and  at  the  number  of  their  villages.  He 
found  also  an  abundance  of  maize,  fish,  and  deer,  and 
there  were  geese  and  turkeys.  Four  months'  supply  of 
corn  was  at  once  secured  for  the  army ;  and  for  better 
protection  during  the  sojourn  palisades  were  erected. 

One  morning  while  the  licentiate  was  reposing  in 
his  lodge,  Nata"  with  one  attendant  rushed  uncere 
moniously  into  his  presence,  desperation  depicted  in 


424  DAEIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 

their  countenances,  and  with  empty  quivers  in  their 
hands.  "  You  are  too  strong  for  me,"  cried  the  chief. 
"  You  have  taken  my  warriors,  my  wives,  nay  children; 
do  with  me  as  you  please."  Espinosa  received  him 
kindly,  returned  him  his  wives  and  children,  and  told 
him  to  bring  his  people  from  their  hiding-places  and 
fear  nothing.  The  gold  which  had  been  taken  from 
Badajoz  was  then  demanded  of  him,  but  Natd  denied 
having  any  of  it,  saying  that  Paris  had  kept  it  all. 
Being  well  established  here  the  Spaniards  proceeded 
against  the  neighboring  provinces.  The  people  fled, 
but  were  compelled  by  hunger  to  return.  Among  the 
captives  taken  some  were  employed  in  planting,  and 
if  any  became  unruly  they  were  hanged.  Others  as 
sisted  in  building  a  little  chapel,  for  the  zealous  dean 
had  now  sheathed,  his  bloody  sword  to  preach  through 
an  interpreter  the  glad  tidings  of  good- will  to  man, 
and  many  were  baptized. 

Meanwhile  a  deputation  composed  of  the  natives 
of  Nata  was  sent  to  the  cacique  Paris,  demanding  his 
allegiance  to  the  king  of  Spain,  and  the  restoration 
of  the  gold  taken  from  Badajoz.  Paris  replied  by 
hanging  all  the  ambassadors,  save  two,  by  whom  he 
sent  back  word  that  every  Christian  caught  within 
his  territories  would  be  treated  in  like  manner.  The 
licentiate  prepared  immediately  to  inarch  against  the 
redoubtable  chieftain. 

On  the  29th  of  July,  1516,  every  member  of  the 
army  was  confessed  by  the  priest.  Vows  were  made 
to  Our  Lady  of  Antigua,  "  and  in  the  name  of  God," 
says  the  licentiate,  "we  began  our  journey."  Hurtado 
had  been  sent  with  fifty  men  to  Escoria,  and  the  ruler 
of  that  province  together  with  Chirii  and  Nata  was 
forced  to  accompany  the  expedition  against  Paris.10 

10  The  licentiate's  narrative  here  becomes  as  confused  as  his  sense  of  justice. 
The  names  of  towns,  provinces,  and  chiefs  are  now  brought  together  and  then 
scattered  as  if  flung  at  random  from  the  hand,  making  it  in  no  wise  difficult 
to  imagine  either  that  the  licentiate  never  made  the  journey,  or  that  he  did 
not  write  the  relation.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  on  either  of  these  points. 
There  is  this  to  say;  language  was  not  then  what  it  is  now,  and  there  were 
men  who  knew  how  best  to  use  it  even  in  those  days. 


VALENZUELA  JOINS  ESPINOSA.  423 

The  inhabitants  melted  before  the  invaders,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  men  could  be  captured  for 
guides.  The  Spaniards  had  not  advanced  far  before 
they  learned  that  a  council  had  been  held  by  the  chiefs 
confederated  for  self-protection,  to  determine  whether 
the  gold  taken  from  Badajoz  should  be  returned. 
Some  were  in  favor  of  restoring  it;  but  others  objected 
that,  this  being  given  up,  as  much  more  would  be  de 
manded,  and  since  fight  they  must  in  either  case,  it 
was  agreed  to  do  so  before  surrendering  the  treasure. 
It  so  happened  that  Diego  Albites  with  eighty  men 
was  marching  in  advance,  and  coming  to  a  rivulet 
he  espied  some  Indians  hidden  under  the  bank  and 
undertook  to  capture  them.  Instantly  the  country 
was  alive  with  savages;  Albites  found  himself  sur 
rounded  by  four  thousand  of  the  enemy,  wholly  cut 
off  from  the  main  body.  The  Spaniards  fought  des 
perately  for  six  hours,  and  would  have  been  destroyed 
had  not  Espinosa  appeared  and  let  loose  upon  the 
assailants  the  bloodhounds  and  the  horsemen.  Twenty 
caciques  and  a  host  of  warriors  were  slain,  and  many 
of  the  Spaniards  were  badly  wounded.  "  That  night 
we  slept  upon  the  battle-field,"  says  Espinosa,  "and 
next  day  I  threw  up  a  protection  of  palisades  and  sent 
out  in  search  of  the  cacique  Paris."  The  cunning 
chief  had  burned  his  village  and  fled,  thus  leaving  the 
invaders  neither  gold  nor  provisions.  Albites  went 
out  to  forage,  with  instructions  to  fire  a  cannon  in 
case  of  danger.  Nine  times  that  night  the  licentiate 
heard  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  was  not  a  little  alarmed 
for  the  safety  of  the  captain.  Great  was  his  joy, 
therefore,  when  early  in  the  morning  Valenzuela 
appeared  with  reinforcement  of  one  hundred  men 
from  Antigua  and  informed  the  licentiate  that  it  was 
he  who  had  fired  the  guns  while  in  search  of  the 
commander's  camp. 

Espinosa  having  now  three  hundred  men  felt  him 
self  strong  enough  to  prosecute  discovery  according 


426  DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRARIAS. 

to  the  full  tenor  of  his  instructions,  which  were  to 
explore  the  coast  westward  as  far  as  practicable. 
As  a  first  step  he  sent  a  detachment  of  eighty  men 
under  Valenzuela  into  the  province  of  Guarari,  near 
the  seashore,  in  search  of  trees  for  canoes.  Mean 
while  the  treasure  lost  by  Badajoz  must  if  possible  be 
found  before  abandoning  these  parts.  Companies  were 
sent  out  in  various  directions  under  Albites,  Hurtado, 
and  Pedro  de  Gamez,  between  whom  arose  no  small 
rivalry  for  securing  the  honor  of  the  capture.  Their 
purpose  was  to  seize  the  caciques  and  wring  from 
them  the  secret  by  torture.  At  length  Gamez  came 
upon  the  scent,  and  followed  it  into  the  province  of 
Quema.  He  was  even  so  fortunate  as  to  capture  the 
chief,  but  for  want  of  an  interpreter  nothing  definite 
could  be  learned.  He  nevertheless  reported  favorably 
to  Espinosa,  who  ordered  Albites  and  Hurtado  to  go 
to  his  assistance.  Under  the  gentle  persuasion  of  the 
rack  Quema  disclosed  the  place  where  part  of  the 
gold,  some  thirty  thousand  castellanos,  was  hidden, 
but  denied  any  knowledge  of  the  remainder.  With 
this  gold  and  other  plunder,  the  three  captains  rejoined 
their  commander,  who  had  passed  on  to  Guarari. 

Two  canoes  being  completed,  each  capable  of  carry 
ing  seventy  men,  and  three  smaller  ones  having  been 
brought  by  Pablo  Mejia  from  Chiru,  they  were  placed 
in  charge  of  Bartolome  Hurtado,  who  with  eighty  or 
ninety  men  coasted  south  and  westward,  while  Espi 
nosa  with  the  remainder  of  the  company  followed  by 
land.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  the  worthy  licen 
tiate  was  soon  tired  of  w^ading  through  the  thick 
mud;  and  so,  after  four  days'  march  to  a  small  port 
called  Huera,11  in  the  province  of  Vera,  a  council  was 
held  which  arranged  that  Hurtado  should  continue 
the  survey  with  one  hundred  men,  in  boats,  while  the 
land  party  should  return  to  Quema  and  search  for  the 
remainder  of  the  Badajoz  treasure. 

The  first  province  at  which  Hurtado  landed  was 

11  Named  by  Espiiiosa,  Puerto  de  las  Agujas. 


SOUTH  SEA  EXPLORATIONS. 


427 


called  Guanata,  whence  the  inhabitants  had  fled,  and 
where  by  reason  of  continuous  rains  the  Spaniards 
rested  seven  days.  Securing  guides  they  then  passed 
on  to  an  island,  called  by  the  natives  Caubaco,  or 
Cebaco,12  three  days  distant.  Hurtado  was  acquiring 


experience,  and  found  it  better  to  treat  these  wild 
people  gently.  This  policy  succeeded,  and,  although 
his  landing  was  at  first  opposed,  he  and  the  islanders 
soon  became  the  best  of  friends.  Their  ruler  was 
absent  on  the  mainland,  fighting ;  and  when  he 
returned  his  subjects  introduced  the  strangers  with 
such  warmth  that  he  at  once  extended  his  good-will, 
giving  Hurtado  a  golden  armor  valued  at  one  thou 
sand  castellanos.  Indeed,  he  proved  most  affable  and 
accommodating,  willing  to  acknowledge  the  king  of 
Spain,  accept  Christianity,  or  any  thing  they  desired; 
so  much  so  that  the  Spaniards  called  him  Cacique 
Amigo.  An  expedition  was  organized  against  the 
inhabitants  of  a  neighboring  island,  named  by  the 
Spaniards  Isla  de  Varones,  in  which  they  were  joined 
by  Pequeari,  brother  of  Cebaco,  with  nine  canoes. 
These  islanders  were  found  entrenched  in  a  log 
fortress,  surrounded  by  a  ditch,  and  so  difficult  to 
carry  that  the  assailants  were  repeatedly  thrown  back 

12  Colon  and  Ribcro  both  write  ?/«  de  Cebaco;  Mcrcator  places  a  town  on  the 
mainland  opposite,  Sebaco;  Ogilby,  /.  de  S.  Maria;  DcLaet,  I*les  del  Zebaco; 
Colora  and  Jefferys,  Zebaco;  Kiepert,  /.  Cebaco ,  and  near  it  /.  del  Gobernador. 


428  DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDRAEIAS. 

and  must  have  failed  but  for  their  artillery.  Seven 
leagues  to  the  westward  was  an  island  called  Cabo,13 
where  the  Spaniards  found  a  little  gold.  Thence 
they  kept  along  the  mainland,  but  the  inhabitants 
were  so  fierce  they  dared  not  land.  Some  boatmen 
told  them,  however,  that  through  the  lands  of  the 
adjoining  provinces,  Torra  and  Tabraba,  the  distance 
to  the  North  Sea  was  but  three  days'  journey.  And 
here  they  met  with  rumors  of  a  rich  and  powerful 
nation  to  the  westward,  with  double  faces  and  rounded 
feet — an  allusion  probably  to  the  table-land  civilization. 
There  are  people  with  the  former  characteristic  even 
to-day,  and  among  our  superior  European  culture. 

Hurtado  explored  the  coast  as  far  as  the  gulf  of 
Nicoya,14  about  one  hundred  and  forty  leagues  from 
Nata.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Golfo  Dulce,15  the  peo 
ple  were  called  Chiuchires.  The  beauty  and  fruitful- 
ness  of  the  country  proved  a  constant  temptation  to 
the  Spaniards  to  land  and  dispute  possession  with  the 
owners,  who  appeared  along  the  shore  with  drum  and 
trumpet  to  frighten  the  visitation.  But  such  was  not 
Hurtado's  purpose,  nor  his  ability;  from  Nicoya  he 
returned  to  join  Espinosa. 

After  due  deliberation  it  was  determined  at  An 
tigua  that  the  fishing  station  of  Panamd 16  should  be 

13  If  Coiba  was  meant  we  find  connected  the  ancient  name  of  Gatos,  ya  gatos, 
y  de  gatos,  etc.  Then  the  name  changes,  and  we  have  by  Vaz  Dourado  /;.  de 
quofoque;  Mercator,  Quicare;  Dampier,  Keys  of  Quicara  or  Quibo;  I.  deLaet 
gives,  Cobaya,  Quicaro,  and  La  Montuosa;  Colom,  Coyba,  Quicaro,  and  Lama- 
tuosa;  Jefferys,  Coyba,  Quicaro,  and  opposite  Coiba,  Pt.  Blanco,  and  west  Coco, 
and  Honda.  Herrera  calls  the  island  Cobayos. 

u  Not  so  called  at  the  time,  however.  According  to  Herrera  the  native 
name  was  Chira.  The  gulf  was  first  known  to  civilization  as  San  Lucar,  and  San 
Lazaro;  before  this,  even,  we  have  by  Colon,  G.  de  S.  Viccnite.  Vaz  Dourado 
gives  Sao  linear;  Mercator,  in  1574,  places  in  the  interior  the  town  Nicoia,  and 
on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  gulf  the  town  Pari.  Ogilby  gives  on  the  Goffo  de 
Salinas,  as  well  as  on  the  land,  perhaps' town  and  province,  Nicoya,  and  a  little 
to  the  west,  Paro.  Dampier  gives  G.  of  Nicoya,  and  the  town  of  nicoya.  De 
Laet  locates  the  town  of  Nicoya,  east  of  which  is  Paro.  West-Indische  Spieghel, 
G.  Goca;  and  Jefferys,  Nicova,  and  near  it  emptying  into  the  gulf,  7?.  Diapema, 
JR.  Taminsco,  J3.  de  Costarica,  R.  de  las  Canas,  and  R.  Solano. 

15  Called  the  bay  of  Osa  by  Herrera ;  baia  de  oqua  by  Vaz  Dourado ;  Mu 
nich  Atlas,  no.  xi.,  b:.  deoqua;  De  Laet,  G  off  ode  Salinas;  and  by  Dampier.  and 
Jefferys,  G.  Dulce,  and  Gulfe  Duke. 

10  With  singular  fidelity  to  its  original,  this  name  has  retained  its  proper 


GOLD  HUNTING.  429 

the  site  of  the  chief  city,  the  terminal  post  of  the 
transcontinental  line  on  the  shore  of  the  South  Sea. 
And  after  the  return  of  Hurtado,  which  was  early  in 
1517,  Espinosa  proceeded,  under  present  instructions 
from  Pedrarias,  to  place  an  establishment  there.  Its 
first  commander  was  Hernan  Ponce,  who  had  just 
returned  with  Hurtado  from  the  Nicoya  expedition.17 

During  the  absence  of  Hurtado,  Espinosa  had  pro 
ceeded  to  Quema  in  his  search  for  Paris,  and  the 
gold  that  Badajoz  had  lost,  but  he  was  soon  obliged 
to  leave  that  province  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
provisions.  Two  days'  journey  inland  brought  the 
Spaniards  to  a  village  governed  by  a  cacique  called 
Chiracona,  who  was  accused  of  having  been  instru 
mental  in  the  defeat  of  Badajoz,  and  who  now  held 
in  his  possession  two  of  the  baskets  of  gold.  Into 
this  province,  famous  for  the  bravery  of  its  men  and 
the  beauty  of  its  women,  and  also  as  being  haunted 
by  twjraes,  or  devils,  Diego  de  Albites  was  sent  for 
ward  with  sixty  men,  the  remainder  of  the  company 
following  at  a  slower  march  while  feeding  on  reed 
roots.  "  By  God's  will,"  says  the  pious  licentiate, 
"  the  cacique  was  captured  with  his  women  and  chil 
dren."  Chiracona  at  first  denied  the  impeachment, 
but  when  tortured  he  promised  to  produce  the  gold. 

The  poor  fellow  really  knew  nothing  of  the  treas 
ure,  but  he  saw  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
confess  something  if  he  would  live.  And  under  the 
pressure  his  wits  quickened.  According  to  tradition 
the  rendezvous  of  devils  was  a  mountain  fastness,  ten 
leagues  distant,  into  which  Tartarean  retreat  no  man 

orthography  without  regard  to  time  or  place.  The  chart-makers  of  every 
name  and  nation  give  only  Panamd.  Fernando  Colon  applies  the  word  as  to 
a  province,  but  usually  it  is  given  as  to  a  town.  Dampier  gives  the  Bay  of 
Panama  as  well  as  the  city.  De  Laet  sends  flowing  into  this  bay  /?.  Chiepo, 
JR.  Pacora,  ./?.  2lubanama,  /?.  de  la  balsa,  while  to  the  north  are  7?.  Pequi, 
Venta  de  Cruzes,  and  Limaret. 

17  Herrera,  dec.  ii.  lib.  ii.  cap.  x.,  places  Ponce  at  Panamd  in  1516.  Al 
though  the  chronicles  and  relations  are  all  exceedingly  confused,  yet  I  am 
satisfied  that  the  establishment  of  a  post  at  Panamd  was  not  effected  before 
January,  1517,  since  Espinosa  was  hunting  for  Paris  in  January,  during  the 
absence  of  Hurtado  and  Ponce  upon  the  coast  toward  the  north-west. 


430  DARIEN  EXPEDITIONS  UNDER  PEDR  ARIAS. 

had  ever  ventured.  "  If,"  thought  the  sadly  battered 
Chiracona,  "  these  infernal  Christians  can  be  enticed 
thither,  there  will  be  a  happy  end  of  them."  But  when 
he  told  them  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  place, 
and  of  the  vast  stores  of  wealth  the  ages  had  garnered 
there,  a  woman  of  Escoria,  whom  the  chaste  licentiate 
regarded  with  tender  favor,  besought  her  master  not 
to  enter  that  dangerous  recess,  for  she  had  heard  say 
that  Chiracona  sought  only  the  destruction  of  the 
Spaniards,  confident  that  the  earth  would  open  to 
swallow  them.  But  the  licentiate  replied,  "  Have 
no  misgivings,  amiga  mia;  Christians  fear  not  devils; 
devils  fear  Christians,  and  fly  before  them."  And  so 
Pedro  de  Gamez  was  sent  with  seventy  men  to  the 
abode  of  the  devils.  The  night  following  there  was 
a  terrible  earthquake:  both  heathen  and  Christian 
believed  his  hour  had  come;  and  as  Chiracona  rode 
in  his  house  the  oscillating  earth,  as  in  a  canoe  he 
rode  the  billowy  ocean,  he  smiled  to  think  how  well 
his  plan  was  working. 

Next  day  Gamez  returned  without  the  gold ;  whereat 
both  white  men  and  red  were  disappointed,  the  former 
because  the  treasure  was  not  forthcoming,  the  latter 
because  the  Spanish  had  returned  unharmed,  since 
this  would  beside  require  Chiracona  to  invent  some 
new  pastime  for  their  greedy  avarice.  The  Spaniards 
remained  at  this  place  two  months,  living  on  supplies 
forced  from  Chiracona,  and  urging  upon  him  Chris 
tianity,  allegiance  to  Spain,  and  the  delivery  of  the 
gold.  Finding  him  obdurate  on  all  these  points,  they 
gave  him  to  the  dogs  and  went  their  way.  Paris 
being  heard  of  at  Quema,  Diego  de  Albites  was  sent 
thither,  but  was  unsuccessful  in  the  primary  object 
of  his  mission.  The  2d  of  January,  1517,  all  passed 
into  Escoria,  whence  Albites  was  despatched  on  a  three 
days'  journey  to  the  northward  to  capture  a  cacique 
named  Tabraba.  He  was  successful,  and  secured  gold 
to  the  value  of  four  thousand  castellanos. 

Espinosa  now  made   ready  for  returning   to   the 


RETURN  OF  ESPINOSA  TO  ANTIGUA.  431 

North  Sea.  It  filled  him  with  indignation  to  witness 
the  ingratitude  of  the  few  caciques  whose  lives  he 
had  spared.  Nata"  apostatized,  burned  the  Spaniards' 
palisades,  destroyed  their  growing  grain,  and  joined  a 
hostile  confederacy.  The  people  of  Chiru  and  else 
where  retired,  thus  adding  insult  to  the  failure  to 
supply  articles  for  plunder.  While  passing  through 
Tubanamd,  Espinosa  overthrew  a  chief  named  Charnna, 
who  had  been  hostile  to  Vasco  Nunez.  In  Comagre 
he  found  Serrano,  sent  again  to  scourge  that  almost 
desolate  province.  Half  famished  the  Spaniards  ar 
rived  at  Acla,  and  were  overjoyed  to  find  Vasco  Nunez, 
who  gave  them  food  and  provided  them  a  vessel  in 
which  to  return  to  Antigua. 

The  alcalde  mayor's  were  the  mightiest  stealings 
of  them  all.  Herrera  estimates  the  returns  of  gold 
at  eighty  thousand  pesos,  and  two  thousand  captives 
for  slaves.  After  giving  the  king  his  fifth,  and  the 
governor  and  officials  each  a  liberal  share,  there  was 
enough  distributed  among  the  soldiers  to  make  each 
esteem  himself  rich.  Then  followed  days  and  nights 
of  glorious  debauch,  in  which,  beside  women  and  wine, 
gambling  was  conspicuous.  A  second  distribution  of 
capital  was  speedily  effected  under  the  auspices  of  the 
goddess  unfathomable.  It  was  paltry  to  bet  less  than 
a  peso  on  any  game,  while  a  slave  was  a  common 
wager.  The  governor,  his  council,  and  the  clergy 
took  jovial  parts  in  the  exercise,  and  it  is  said  that 
Pedrarias  at  one  sitting  played  away  a  hundred  slaves. 
It  was  of  great  avail,  indeed,  with  such  servants  and 
subjects,  for  the  king  to  forbid  playing-cards  to  be 
sent  to  the  New  World,  and  for  the  Council  of  the 
Indies  to  restrict  a  twenty-four  hours'  loss  at  play  to 
ten  castellanos. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NUfrEZ  DE  BALBOA. 
1516-1517. 

AFFAIRS  AT  ANTIGUA — DIFFERENT  QUALITIES  OF  PACIFICATION — COMPLAINTS 
OF  VASCO  NUNEZ  TO  THE  KING — A  NEW  EXPEDITION  PLANNED — VAS 
CO  NUNEZ  MADE  ADELANTADO  AND  CAPTAIN-GENERAL  OF  THE  SOUTH 
SEA — PEDRARJAS  KEEPS  SECRET  THE  APPOINTMENT — RECONCILIATION 
OF  BALBOA  AND  PEDRARIAS — BETROTHAL  OF  DONA  MARIA — VASCO  NUNEZ 
GOES  TO  ACLA — MASSACRE  OF  OLANO— THE  MUNICIPALITY  OF  ACLA 
ESTABLISHED — MATERIALS  FOR  SHIPS  CARRIED  ACROSS  THE  MOUN 
TAINS — DIFFICULTIES,  PERILS,  AND  MORTALITY — BALBOA  AT  THE  PEARL 
ISLANDS — PREDICTION  OF  MICER  CODRO,  THE  ASTROLOGER — RUMORED 
ARRIVAL  OF  A  NEW  GOVERNOR  AT  ANTIGUA — MEDITATED  EVASION  OP 
NEW  AUTHORITY — THE  INFAMY  OF  GARABITO — VASCO  NUNEZ  SUM 
MONED  BY  PEDRARIAS  TO  ACLA — His  JOURNEY  THITHER — TRIAL  AND 
EXECUTION. 

DURING  Espinosa's  absence  in  the  south,  affairs  at 
Antigua  were  exceptionally  dull.  The  illness  of  the 
governor,  unfortunately,  was  not  fatal.  Business  had 
approached  its  end,  for  the  fighting  men  were  away, 
and  the  thrifty  arts  offered  few  attractions  to  piratical 
adventurers.  So  low  was  the  colony  at  one  time 
reduced  that  the  Casa  de  la  Fundicion,  or  melting- 
house,  was  closed  and  public  fasts  were  appointed— 
a  homoeopathic  policy,  in  truth,  for  a  starving  com 
munity.  But  for  the  feud  between  Pedrarias  and 
Vasco  Nunez,  which  in  that  infamous  environment 
was  easily  kept  alive,  little  would  have  occurred 
worthy  of  record. 

It  should  be  no  fault  of  the  governor  if  the  cavalier 
was  not  ruined.  His  choicest  schemes  were  marred 
by  incompetent  and  evil-minded  men.  He  was  vili- 


QUARRELS  WITH  THE  GOVERNOR.  433 

fied  at  court,  and  in  the  colony  every  indignity 
possible  was .  laid  upon  him.  The  observant  reader 
must  already  have  drawn  a  contrast  in  the  respective 
quality  of  enterprise  pursued  by  these  men.  What 
ever  may  have  been  the  immediate  results,  whatever 
the  wrongs  and  cruelties  inflicted  by  either,  in  the 
one  case  there  was  the  lofty  aim  of  discovery  and 
peaceful  occupation;  in  the  other,  no  higher  object 
than  plunder  was  apparent.  Balboa  had  not  time  for 
much  gold-gathering;  the  captains  of  Pedrarias  had 
time  for  nothing  else. 

Excepting  the  raid  of  the  alcalde  mayor,  the  expe 
ditions  planned  by  Pedrarias  were  not  remarkable  for 
their  success.  Nor  did  Balboa  scruple  to  rail  at  the 
old  governor  in  consequence.  "All  the  enterprises 
of  Pedrarias  met  with  such  ill  success,"  says  Ben- 
zoni,  "that  Balboa  laughed  at  him  and  mocked  him, 
whereat  the  governor  became  irate,  and  serious  con 
tentions  resulted." 

Balboa  was  now  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  approach 
ing  forty,  and  had  during  the  past  few  years  developed 
from  a  careless  rambler  into  a  thoughtful  ruler,  with 
a  New  World  fame  second  only  to  its  first  discoverer. 
"  Behold,"  says  Peter  Martyr,  "this  rash  royster 
turned  into  a  politic  captain,  a  violent  Goliah  trans 
formed  to  Heliseus,  and  from  Anteus  to  Hercules 
the  conqueror  of  monsters."  And  of  all  monsters  he 
might  encounter  by  sea  or  land,  old  man  Pedrarias  was 
the  most  monstrous.  It  was  exasperating  beyond 
endurance  to  an  ardent  and  chivalrous  nature  like 
Balboa's,  thus  to  have  his  glories  reaped  and  his 
energies  placed  in  circumscription  by  a  superlatively 
selfish  person  of  far  inferior  natural  abilities,  made  by 
mistake  his  political  superior.  And  he  never  ceased 
to  strike  back  with  all  the  force  at  his  command.  By 
every  departure  he  appealed  to  the  royal  authorities 
in  Spain,  laying  before  them  vivid  accounts  of  out 
rages  on  the  natives,  perversion  of  the  laws,  and 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    28 


434  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NUftEZ. 

3  oss  mismanagement  of  the  colony.  "Most  power- 
ill  sovereign,"  he  wrote  the  king,  "I,  a  true  and  law- 
abiding  servant,  sensible  of  the  many  obligations  I 
am  under  to  do  loyal  service  for  benefits  bestowed— 
and  may  your  Majesty  live  long  to  grant  me  more 
—humbly  desire  to  undeceive  your  Majesty  regard 
ing  the  governor,  Pedrarias  Davila,  that  your  Majesty 
may  order  such  provisions  as  may  be  deemed  best." 
He  urged  Oviedo,  when  about  to  depart  for  Spain,  to 
place  before  the  Council  of  the  Indies  the  true  condi 
tion  of  things.  And  again  he  writes,  "I  beseech  your 
Majesty  not  to  regard  me  as  a  calumniator,  or  as 
stating  aught  in  malice,  but  that  you  will  order  an 
investigation,  that  you  may  know  all  I  have  said  is 
true."  He  still  entertained  hopes  that  the  report  of 
Arbolancha,  accompanied  by  the  presents,  would  be 
graciously  received,  and  that  his  successes  would  atone 
for  past  irregularities. 

While  awaiting  the  results  of  these  endeavors,  he 
determined  to  make  an  expedition  to  the  South  Sea, 
without  permission  or  aid  from  Pedrarias,  and  to 
extend  his  discoveries  there  in  either  direction.  In 
pursuance  of  this  purpose,  and  with  the  cooperation 
of  the  small  remnant  of  those  who  had  sworn  fealty 
on  the  heights  of  Quarequd,,  he  secretly  despatched 
to  Cuba  for  men  and  arms,  a  small  vessel  in  charge 
of  Andres  Garabito.  Having  thus  set  in  motion  the 
wheels  of  his  fate,  he  awaited  developments. 

We  have  seen  how  King  Ferdinand  received  Ar 
bolancha,  how  the  royal  heart  was  touched  by 
the  discoveries  and  pearls  of  the  generous  cavalier. 
And  we  must  confess  the  monarch's  dilemma.  The 
establishing  of  Pedrarias'  government  had  cost  him 
much  money,  and  the  very  qualities  which  achieved 
desperate  adventure  tended  to  loosen  the  bonds  of 
allegiance.  But  Yasco  Nunez  had  manifested  no  d  1s- 
position  to  throw  off  royal  authority;  furthermore,  it 


ADELANTADO  AND  CAPTAIN-GENERAL.  435 

had  become  a  principle  of  colonial  economics,  that  the 
services  of  successful  commanders  should  be  paid  for 
out  of  their  future  gains.  How  then  could  any  sov 
ereign  expect  the  extension  of  his  dominions,  if  suc 
cessful  adventure  was  defrauded  of  its  right  ?  It  was 
therefore  determined  that  the  reward  of  Vasco  Nunez  f 
should  be  the  title  of  adelantado  of  the  Southern  Sea, 
and  captain-general  of  the  provinces  of  Coiba  and 
Panama,  but  subject  to  the  supervision  of  Pedrarias 
as  superior  officer. 

The  royal  despatches  conferring  this  appointment 
reached  Antigua  early  in  1515,  prior  to  the  departure 
of  Espinosa.  Pedrarias,  of  course,  was  at  the  same 
time  informed  of  the  fact.  His  mortification  was 
only  exceeded  by  his  dastardly  resolve.  Take  from 
Castilla  del  Oro  its  southern  seaboard  and  the  gov 
ernment  was  not  worth  the  having,  even  though  the 
jurisdiction  of  Antigua  did  extend  nominally  over 
the  whole.  The  north  coast  was  already  stripped, 
and  the  climate  was  such  as  no  European  could  long 
endure;  while  in  the  south  wealth  and  dominion 
awaited  romantic  adventure.  All  despatches  arriv 
ing  at  Antigua  had  to  pass  through  the  governor's 
hands.  Those  for  Vasco  Nunez  on  this  occasion  were 
withheld. 

Pedrarias  well  knew  that  some  excuse  would  be 
necessary  for  his  conduct;  and  he  began  to  look  about 
for  one.  It  was  unlawful  in  the  provinces  for  any 
governor  or  captain -general  to  exercise  the  func 
tions  of  office  while  undergoing  his  residencia.  New 
charges  against  the  former  governor  of  the  colony 
must  therefore  be  invented,  and  litigious  persecution 
renewed.  By  collusion  with  the  judge  this  investi 
gation,  as  the  law  then  required,  could  be  continued 
indefinitely.  Still  better,  the  alcalde  mayor,  who  was 
the  person  most  proper  in  this  instance  to  take  the 
residencia,  might  be  allured  from  his  friendship  for  , 
the  discoverer,  by  the  offer  of  a  military  command 
after  proceedings  had  been  instituted,  for  it  was  well 


436  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO 

known  that  the  licentiate's  vanity  was  not  less  than 
his  cupidity. 

Believing  himself  prepared,  the  governor  sum 
moned  his  council,  revealed  the  secret,  and  urged 
that  the  commission  should  be  withheld.  All  agreed 
save  Bishop  Quevedo,  who,  beside  the  real  friendship 
entertained  for  Vasco  Nunez,  thought  he  saw  more 
profit  in  the  elevation  of  the  free-handed  cavalier, 
than  in  the  military  raid  of  the  alcalde  mayor.  And 
so  seeing,  he  grew  zealously  virtuous,  and  began  to 
storm  about  it.  Outnumbered  in  the  council,  he 
mounted  his  pulpit  and  hurled  invectives  at  his  op 
ponents.  "  Can  it  be,"  he  cried,  "  that  the  execrable 
passions  of  envious  and  designing  men  may  thus  sub 
vert  the  royal  design,  and  withhold  the  just  reward 
of  eminent  service?"  Furthermore,  he  threatened 
to  spread  the  bare  facts  before  the  authorities  in 
Spain. 

Pedrarias  quailed.  He  had  not  anticipated  the  vio 
lent  opposition  of  the  prelate,  and  he  feared  the  rising 
strength  of  his  adversary,  now  that  the  royal  favor 
and  a  royal  commission  were  known  to  have  been 
granted  him.  Vasco  Nunez  might  have  his  office, 
but  the  old  man  swore  it  should  be  the  death  of  him. 
For  he  would  lay  around  him  such  snares  and  pit 
falls  as  would  surely  prove  his  destruction  in  the 
end.  Pedrarias  would  be  the  power;  and  play  upon 
this  braggart  as  he  would  upon  a  pipe  for  devils  to 
dance  by. 

The  public  acknowledgment  of  dignities,  attended 
by  the  congratulations  of  friends  and  the  discussion 
of  southern  projects  in  which  alone  interest  now 
centred,  raised  in  popularity  and  importance  the  new 
governor,  to  the  overshadowing  of  the  old  one.  But 
once  more  the  destiny  of  Vasco  Nunez  is  to  turn  on 
the  bad  advice  of  a  friend.  Thrown  upon  himself,  his 
own  sound  judgment  had  ever  been  sufficient,  but  the 
counsels  of  piety  or  erudition  were  as  quicksand  under 


QUEVEDO  AS  MEDIATOR.  437 

his  feet.  Quevedo  induced  him,  for  the  sake  of  peace 
and  in  order  to  enter  without  delay  upon  his  South 
Sea  schemes,  to  waive  in  favor  of  Pedrarias  some 
portion  of  the  rights  the  king  had  granted  him.  Es- 
pinosa  and  others  were  accordingly  permitted  to  over 
run  the  southern  provinces  at  pleasure.  This  was  a 
mistake. 

Thus  reconciled,  in  appearance  at  least,  Pedrarias 
himself  would  fain  have  had  rest,  if  it  had  been  per 
mitted  by  his  evil  nature,  which  still  demanded  its 
daily  bitter  pabulum. 

Scarcely  were  these  pacific  fictions  consummated 
when  the  vessel  of  Andres  Garabito  returned  from 
Cuba  with  men  and  supplies  for  the  projected  expe 
dition  of  Vasco  Nunez.  Arriving  off  the  coast  of 
Darien  Garabito  despatched  a  messenger  to  Balboa, 
informing  him  of  his  return,  and  asking  orders.  It 
soon  reached  the  ears  of  Pedrarias  that  a  suspicious- 
looking  craft,  armed  and  equipped  as  if  on  some  illicit 
mission,  lay  hidden  in  a  small  bay  some  six  leagues 
distant.  He  was  furthermore  informed  that  the  cap 
tain  of  this  vessel  was  in  secret  communication  with 
Vasco  Nunez,  and  that  preparations  were  being  made 
for  some  mysterious  undertaking.  Pedrarias  became 
both  frightened  and  furious.  He  called  to  mind  the 
fate  of  Nicuesa.  Alarm  for  his  own  safety  was  mingled 
with  ire  and  envious  regrets  for  ever  having  yielded 
even  in  appearance  to  any  recognition  of  this  upstart's 
titles  and  honors.  He  ordered  the  instant  arrest  of 
Balboa,  and  even  threatened  to  confine  him  for  safe 
keeping  in  the  large  wooden  cage  stationed  in  the 
middle  of  the  plaza. 

The  fears  of  Pedrarias  were  calmed,  however,  by 
the  cooler  heads;  the  nature  and  purpose  of  the  in 
tended  expedition  were  explained;  no  lurking  trea 
son  was  discovered,  no  plot  against  the  peace  of 
Antigua  or  sinister  designs  upon  the  person  of  its 
governor  were  found;  and  having  bound  himself  to 
new  and  more  stringent  restrictions,  Vasco  Nunez  was 


438  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NUftEZ. 

set  at  liberty,  and  the  precarious  friendship  ostensibly 
renewed.1 

About  this  time  the  bishop  of  Darien  was  seized 
with  a  luminous  idea.  Through  his  pertinacious  de- 
votedness  the  worthy  prelate  had  twice  rescued  his 
friend  from  a  life  of  independence  and  honor,  and  had 
twice  consigned  him  to  the  mercies  of  an  insidious 
enemy.  He  had  prevented  Pedrarias  from  sending 
him  in  chains  to  Spain,  which  would  have  sounded 
his  renown  and  enlisted  for  him  sympathy  throughout 
Christendom ;  he  had  persuaded  him  to  relinquish  his 
rights  to  such  an  extent  as  to  place  his  fortune  at  the 
disposal  of  an  inveterate  foe.  I  do  not  say  Quevedo 
was  an  Ahithophel;  yet  the  machinations  of  all  his 
enemies  could  not  bring  upon  Vasco  Nunez  the  evils 
consummated  by  this  one  friend.  Nevertheless,  the 
present  conception  happily  brought  forth,  and  malice 
and  suspicion  will  forever  give  place  to  confiding 
affection. 

Four  blooming  daughters  Pedrarias  had  left  in 
Spain.  The  health  of  the  governor  seemed  to  be 
yielding  before  the  combined  influence  of  temper  and 
climate.  Who  could  be  a  more  fitting  successor  in 
the  government,  and  who  a  more  suitable  son-in-law? 

O  ' 

Let  Balboa  take  to  wife  Dona  Maria,  eldest  daughter 
of  Pedrarias,  and  so  bind  the  North  Sea  to  the  South 

1  Authorities  thus  far  for  this  chapter  are  for  the  most  part  the  same  as 
those  last  quoted.  LasCasas,  Hist.  Lid.,  iv.  169-248,  who,  I  think,  gives  the 
best  account  of  any  by  contemporary  writers ;  Herrera,  dec.  ii.  lib.  i.  cap.  iii. ; 
OvledOj  iii.  6-8;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iii.  cap.  iii.  and  dec.  iv.  cap.  ix.;  Benzoni, 
Hist.  Hondo  Nvovo,  50.  For  Balboa's  complaints  to  the  king,  see  Cartadiri- 
gida  al  Rey,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  375.  Brief  or  extended  general 
accounts  maybe  found  in  Voyages,  Curious  and  Entertaining,  470-1 ;  Panama, 
Descr.,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ix.  80;  More.lli,  Fasti Novi  Orbis, 
16;  Andagoya's  Nar.,  ii.-iii. ;  Gal-nemo's  Dixcov.,  125-8;  Ovalle,  Hist.  Eel. 
Chile,  in  Pinkerton's  Voy.,  xiv.  151;  Acosta,  Hist.  Compend.  Nuevo  Granada, 
62;  March  y  Labores,  Marina  Espanola,  i.  400,  portrait;  Du  Perrier,  Gen. 
Hist.  Voy.,  166;  Martire,  Summario,  iu  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  iii.  349;  Die.  Enc. 
de  la  Lengua  Esp.,  i.  308;  Carta,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  iii.  526; 
Puente,  Carfa,  in  id.,  538-49;  Maglianos,  St.  Francis  and  Franciscans,  537-8; 
Pedrarias,  Rey  t- Toy  ten,  3-175,  and  Cordua,  Scheeps-Togt,  26-35,  in  A  a,  vii. ; 
Hesperian  Mag.,  ii.  32-3;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  83-5;  Trving's  Columbus,  iii. 
262-86;  Uifvoerige,  Rcys-Togten,  33-50,  in  Gottfried,  Reysen,  iii.;  Remesal, 
Hist.  Chyapa,  103;  Gonzalez  Ddvila,  Carta  al  Rey,  Squier's  MS.,  i.  16. 


BALBOA'S  BETROTHAL.  439 

by  cords  of  love.  Such  was  the  plan  of  the  prelate. 
Vasco  Nunez,  nothing  loath,  assented,  for  the  daugh 
ter  was  as  amiable  as  the  father  was  malicious.  Dona 
Isabel  was  not  the  mother  to  look  coldly  on  so  gal 
lant  a  proposal ;  as  for  the  daughter,  then  dreaming  her 
maiden  days  away  in  a  convent  at  Seville,  her  own  k 
consent  to  the  betrothal  was  a  question  which  gave 
parents  little  concern  in  those  days;  the  chief  diffi 
culty  was  the  splenetic  father.  Approaching  the  gov 
ernor,  not  without  misgivings,  Quevedo  said:  "Time 
passes,  Senor  Pedrarias,  anct  with  time,  all  flesh. 
Those  who  shall  take  our  places  follow  close  at  our 
heels.  A  powerful  rival  converted  into  a  firm  ally  is 
double  compensation,  and  the  father  of  four  daughters 
has  not  the  opportunity  every  day  to  refuse  a  gov 
ernor  for  a  son-in-law.  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  a  man 
of  no  mean  parts,  well-born  and  famous,  asks  your 
daughter  in  marriage.  Grant  him  his  desire,  and  so 
heal  discord  and  fortify  your  declining  years." 

Notwithstanding  the  obvious  advantages,  Pedrarias 
hesitated.  It  was  no  easy  matter  at  once  to  purify 
the  poisoned  stream  of  thought.  But  the  offer  was 
too  tempting  to  be  declined,  although  Pedrarias  would 
have  much  preferred  for  his  adviser  a  Thrasybulus, 
who  counselled  Periander  to  cut  off  the  tallest  heads 
if  he  would  maintain  his  power.  The  old  man,  still 
hugging  his  suspicions,  signed  the  marriage  contract, 
and  ordered  fair  Dona  Maria  to  appear  and  accept 
marital  honors.  But  even  the  gift  of  the  daughter 
was  like  the  gifts  of  Medea — envenomed. 

Now  surely  might  Yasco  Nunez  walk  the  firm  earth, 
his  fortune  ascendant.  Adelantado,  captain-general 
of  the  Southern  Sea,  son-in-law  of  Pedrarias,  and  in 
favor  with  the  royal  authorities,  though  Ferdinand,  r 
poor  king,  was  dead.  The  clouds  which  had  so  long 
obscured  Balboa's  rising  fame  were  by  this  masterly 
invocation  of  the  bishop  forever  dissipated.  There 
was  no  longer  any  fear  from  the  unclean  ghosts  of 


440  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NUNEZ. 

entombed  mistakes,  while  his  good  deeds  would  shine 
with  steadier  and  ever-increasing  lustre.  He  might 
now  prosecute  adventure  to  the  uttermost  of  his 
ambition,  while  his  friend  and  counsellor,  the  bishop, 
carried  the  happy  tidings  of  reconciliation  to  court.2 

The  year  1516  was  advancing  toward  its  middle 
term.  Vasco  Nunez  craved  permission  from  his 
'  father-in-law — for  betrothal  was  equivalent  to  mar 
riage  so  far  as  the  political  aspect  of  the  case  was 
concerned — to  proceed  to  Acla  and  continue  the 
business  there  begun,  which  was  indeed  none  other 
than  part  of  his  original  scheme.  Pedrarias  assented, 
placing  every  requisite  at  the  command  of  his  dear 
son.  The  South  Sea  expeditions  had  drained  the 

2 '  La  llegada  del  obispo  a  Castilla  no  se  verific6  hasta  en  1518 ;  y  por  cierto 
que  no  guard6  aqui  a  su  amigo  los  respetos  y  consecuencia  que  le  debia.     En 
su  disputa  con  Casas  delante  del  emperador  asegur6  que  el  primer  goberna- 
dor  del  Darien  liabia  sido  malo,  y  el  segundo  muy  peor. '  Quinlana,  Vidas,  '  Bal 
boa,  '  35.    In  the  matter  of  definite  dates  for  the  events  of  this  chapter,  author 
ities  differ.     All  are  more  or  less  vague.     Most  of  them  end  the  career  of 
Vasco  Nunez  with  the  end  of  1517;  which,  if  correct,  would  fix  the  time  of 
his  departure  from  Antigua  about  May,  1516,  for  in  his  agreement  with  Pe 
drarias  it  was  arranged  that  the  time  of  absence  on  the  South  Sea  expedition 
should  be  limited  to  eighteen  months,  and  one  of  the  principal  charges  of  the 
governor  was  that  Balboa  had  failed  in  this.    Among  the  collection  of  documents 
in  the  royal  archives  of  the  Indies  appears  a  petition  presented  by  Fernando 
de  Argiiello  to  Pedrarias  and  his  council,  in  behalf  of  Vasco  Nunez,  requesting 
an  extension  of  the  time.     At  the  foot  of  the  petition  is  a  decree,  dated  Jan 
uary  13,  1518,  granting  an  extension  of  four  months.     Either  the  document 
is  fictitious,  or  its  date  erroneous,  or  contemporary  writers  are  in  error.     I  am 
qiiite  sure  that  Pedrarias  never  gave  any  extension,  since  the  authorities  are 
clear  and  positive  on  that  point,  and  the  incidents  of  the  narrative  hinge 
upon  it.     Compare  copy  of  this  document  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 
ii.  556-S;    Carta  de  Alonso  de  la  Puente  y  Diego  de  Marqiiez,  in  id.,  538-49; 
Moreri  and  Miravel  y  Ciisadevante  in  El  Gran.  Die. ;  Barney's  Discov.  South 
Sea,  i.  12;  Naharro,  Relation,  in  Doc.  Incd.  para  Hist.  Nsp.,  xxvi.  232.     As 
to  the  date  of  Quevedo's  leaving  Darien  and  his  arrival  in  Spain  there  are 
grave  differences.     Herrcra  sends  the  bishop  to  Spain  in  1518,  to  report  the 
misgovcrnment  of  Pedrarias.     Oviedo  states  that  Quevedo  left  Darien  soon 
after  the  reconciliation  of  Vasco  Nunez  and  Pedrarias,  and  yet  does  not 
speak  of   his  being  in   Spain  until  1519,    'era  llegado.'     It  is   known  that 
Quevedo  spent  some  time  in  Cuba,  urging  Diego  Velazquez  to  apply  for  the 
governorship  of  Castilla  del  Oro.     The  petition  of  Argiiello  for  the  extension 
of  the  time  of  absence  of  Vasco  Nunez,  before  mentioned,  contains  the  name 
of  Quevedo  as  one  of  those  who  acted  upon  it,  which  only  the  more  con 
clusively  proves  that  document  fictitious.     Stranger  than  all  this,  however, 
is  the  statement  in  the  royal  c6dula,  dated  June  18,  1519,  ordering  the  ships 
of  Balboa  to  be  delivered  to  Gil  Gonzalez,  that  Vasco  Nunez  was  then  a 
prisoner.     So  singular  is  this  culpable  ignorance,  or  carelessness,  or  decep 
tion,  regarding  the  death  of  Vasco  Nunez,  on  the  part  of  the  royal  officials, 
as  at  first  to  raise  grave  doubts  regarding  the  date  of  his  death,  were  it  not 
proved  by  many  collateral  incidents. 


SOUTH  SEA  EXPEDITION.  441 

colony  of  most  of  its  available  men,  yet  so  esteemed 
was  Vasco  Nunez  that  all  who  were  at  Antigua 
eagerly  flocked  to  his  standard.  Fernando  de  Ar- 
giicllo,  a  notary,  formerly  the  opponent  of  Nicuesa, 
but  always  a  partisan  of  Vasco  Nunez,  having  accu 
mulated  wealth  placed  it  at  the  disposal  of  his  friend/ 
and  soon  after  Balboa  embarked  with  eighty  men. 

Arrived  at  Acla  he  found  the  post  destroyed  arid 
the  comandante  Olano,  the  successor  of  Gabriel  de 
Rojas,  together  with,  twelve  soldiers,  had  been  mas 
sacred  by  the  men  of  Careta,  in  retaliation  for  the 
act  of  Hurtado  which  consigned  one  hundred  of  their 
number  to  slavery.  For  this  outrage  the  people  of 
the  province  were  declared  outlaws.  Balboa  immedi 
ately  organized  a  municipality,  appointed  an  alcalde 
and  a  regidor,  laid  out  a  new  town,  and  began  to 
build.  Each  citizen,  either  in  person  or  by  slaves, 
was  required  to  plant  sufficient  for  his  sustenance. 
Requiring  more  men,  Balboa  accompanied  Espinosa 
to  Antigua,  early  in  1517,  and  returned  with  two 
hundred  recruits.  The  restoration  of  Acla  was  in 
tended  only  as  preliminary  to  further  South  Sea 
discoveries;  but  this  accomplished,  an  obstacle  inter 
posed  itself,  at  first  glance  insurmountable.  In  order 
to  navigate  the  new  ocean  ships  were  necessary.  The 
short  voyages  hitherto  undertaken  in  native  canoes 
had  been  perilous  in  the  extreme.  Herein  lay  the 
difficulty.  The  cordillera  here  rises  abruptly  from 
the  northern  side  of  the  Isthmus,  undulating  gently 
on  the  opposite  side  toward  the  Southern  Sea.  On  the 
northern  slope  grew  trees  suitable  for  ship-building;  / 
on  the  southern  side  vegetation  was  more  diminutive. 
But  of  what  avail  were  trees  on  the  border  of  one 
ocean,  for  the  purposes  of  navigation  on  the  other? 

The  true  standard  of  greatness  is  in  the  application 
of  means  to  ends.  The  magnitude  of  the  means  has 
no  more  to  do  with  it  than  the  results,  which  may 
or  may  not  prove  successful.  With  a  few  hundred 
Spaniards,  and  such  savages  as  could  be  whipped 


442  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NU^EZ. 

into  the  service,  Vasco  Nunez  dared  conceive  and 
execute  the  project  of  building  ships  on  one  side 
of  a  chain  of  mountains  for  use  on  the  other  side;  to 
navigate  his  vessels  in  pieces  or  sections,  on  the  backs 
of  Indians,  over  hills  and  swamps,  and  that  under  a 
sun  so  hot,  in  an  atmosphere  so  poisoned,  and  through 
vegetation  so  rank  and  tangled  as  successfully  to  have 
defied  the  efforts  of  science  for  centuries  thereafter. 
"  No  living  man  in  all  the  Indies,"  testifies  the  mod 
erate  Herrera,  "  dared  attempt  such  an  enterprise, 
or  would  have  succeeded  in  it,  save  Vasco  Nunez  de 
Balboa." 

The  plan  of  Yasco  Nunez  was  to  prepare  his  timber 
as  near  as  possible  to  some  navigable  point  on  one  of 
the  many  streams  flowing  into  the  South  Sea,  which 
are  generally  torrents  on  the  mountain-side,  but  which 
become  broad  and  calm  before  reaching  the  ocean. 
The  stream  chosen  for  the  purpose  was  called  the  Rio 
de  las  Balsas,3  or  River  of  the  Rafts.  Carpenters 
and  builders  are  sent  out  in  search  of  trees  suitable 
for  the  purpose,  and  the  preparation  of  the  tim 
ber  is  begun.  With  fifty  men  Francisco  Companon 

3  There  are  several  streams  of  this  name  between  the  Atrato  and  the  Col 
orado,  but  none  of  them  suit  the  occasion.  Modern  maps  give  a  Rio  Balsas 
flowing  into  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel  from  the  south,  its  source  turned  the  far 
thest  possible  away  from  Acla.  On  a  map  of  Joannis  de  Laet,  1633,  Nov. 
Orb.,  347,  midway  between  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel  and  Panamd,  are  the 
words  K  de  la  balsa.  They  are  placed  opposite  Acla;  the  mouth  of  a  river  only 
is  given,  the  stream  not  being  laid  down.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  R.  de  la 
balse  of  Montanus,  Nieuwe  Weereld,  1071,  which  is  in  about  the  same  locality. 
The  Rio  Chepo  is  the  only  stream  approaching  the  description  in  that  vicin 
ity.  In  my  opinion  both  of  these  map-makers  were  wrong;  neither  the  Rio 
Chepo  nor  any  other  stream  in  that  neighborhood  was  the  Rio  Balsas  of  Vasco 
Nunez.  The  head-waters  of  the  Rio  Chucunaque  are  nearer  the  old  site  of 
Acla  than  those  of  the  Rio  Chepo,  or  of  any  other  southward  flowing  stream; 
and  yet  I  do  not  think  the  Chucunaque  the  Balsas  of  Vasco  Nunez.  Says  Pas- 
cual  de  Andagoya,  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  in.  404,  '  Le  envio  fi  la  provincia  de 
Acla  a  poblar  un  pueblo,  que  es  el  que  agora  estd  que  se  dice  Acla,  y  de  alii  le 
dio  gente  que  fuese  al  rio  de  la  Balsa,  y  hiciese  dos  navios  para  bajar  por 
dl  a  la  mar  del  sur .  .  .  y  bajados  al  golfo  de  S.  Miguel  se  anegaban,'  etc. ;  from 
which,  and  from  the  objects  and  incidents  of  the  enterprise,  as  given  by 
various  authors,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  the  Rio  de  las  Balsas  of  Vasco  Nunez 
to  be  the  stream  now  known  as  the  Rio  Sabana.  The  fact  of  distance  alone, 
commonly  estimated  at  22  leagues,  but  which  Las  Casas  makes  '  24  y  25 
leguas  de  sierras  altisimas,'  inclines  me  to  this  opinion,  not  to  mention 
several  others  pointing  in  the  same  direction,  which  will  clearly  appear  in 
the  text. 


CARRIES  SEIPS  ACROSS  THE  MOUNTAINS.  443 

passes  over  the  cordillera  and  selects  a  place  upon  the 
river,  twenty-two  leagues  from  Acla,  from  which  to 
launch  the  ships.  Likewise  on  the  summit  of  the 
sierra,  twelve  leagues  from  Acla,  he  builds  a  fort,  to 
serve  as  a  half-way  house  for  rest  and  protection, 
beside  stations  established  at  other  points.  All  is 
bustle  and  activity  at  Acla  and  in  the  neighboring 
forests;  some  arc  felling  trees,  some  measuring  and 
hewing  timber;  some  preparing  anchors,  rigging,  and 
stores.  "  In  all  labors,"  says  Las  Casas,  "  Vasco 
Nunez  took  the  foremost  part,  working  with  his  own 
hands  and  giving  aid  and  encouragement  everywhere." 
Materials  for  four  brigantines  being  at  length  pre 
pared,  the  herculean  task  of  transportation  across  the 
mountains  is  next  to  be  performed.  Thirty  negroes 
have  been  secured  from  Antigua,  but  these  are  not  a 
tenth  part  of  the  force  required.  Squads  of  soldiers 
are  therefore  sent  out  in  every  direction,  and  natives 
are  driven  in  to  the  number  of  several  thousand. 
Upon  their  naked  backs  the  heavy  timbers  are  laid, 
and  goaded  forward  by  merciless  overseers,  among 
whom  is  the  black  African  as  well  as  the  white 
European,  they  are  forced  through  the  marshy  thicket 
and  up  the  rocky  steep  until  they  sink  exhausted 
beneath  their  burden.  Unused  to  labor,  ill-fed,  made 
desperate  by  their  distress,  some  attempt  escape,  but 
the  bloodhound  is  quickly  on  their  track;  some  kill 
themselves,  but  more  sink  lifeless  under  their  heavy 
loads.  All  along  those  terrible  leagues  the  newly 
cut  path  is  strewed  with  dead  savages,  and  soon  the 
air  is  rank  from  putrid  carcasses.  "  More  than  five 
hundred  Indians  perished  in  the  transportation  of 
these  ships,"  affirmed  Bishop  Quevedo  before  the 
court  of  Spain,  and  Las  Casas  says  the  deaths  were 
nearer  two  thousand  in  number.*  To  take  the  places 

4 '  Yo  vi  firmado  de  su  nombrc  del  mismo  Obispo,  en  una  relacion  que 
hizo  al  Emperador  en  Barcelona  el  afio  de  1519,  cuando  el  de  la.tierra  firme 
vino,  como  mas  largo  adelante,  placiendo  a  Dios,  sera  referido,  que  habia 
muerto  el  Vasco  Nufiez,  por  hacer  los  bergantines,  500  indios,  y  el  secre- 
tario  del  mismo  Obispo  me  dijo  que  no  quiso  poner  mas  numero  porque  no 


444  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO 

of  the  dead,  recruits  are  caught  in  the  forest ;  the  work 
goes  bravely  on,  and  the  stupendous  feat  is  finally 
accomplished.  The  wild  bank  of  the  Balsas  was 
strewed  with  materials  for  this  new  sea  navigation. 
But  on  putting  the  pieces  together  it  is  found  that 
after  all  the  toil  there  is  timber  enough  for  only  two 
vessels  instead  of  four;  the  rest  has  been  lost  by  the 
way.  And  this  is  not  the  worst  of  it.  That  which 
has  been  brought  over  at  such  cruel  cost,  cut  near  the 
coast  and  hewed  green  as  it  was,  is  so  full  of  worms 
that  it  cannot  be  used.  All  must  be  thrown,  away  and 
the  work  begun  anew.5 

Timber  is  sought  nearer  at  hand  this  time,  and 
with  fair  success.  Yasco  Nunez  now  divides  his  force 
into  three  parties,  and  sends  one  to  hew  timber,  one 
to  bring  supplies  from  Acla,  and  a  third  to  forage 
on  the  natives.  Again  they  are  ready  with  new  ma 
terials  to  begin  construction,  when  the  heavens  sud 
denly  darken  and  drop  such  a  deluge  on  them  that 
they  are  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  trees.  Part  of 
the  timber  is  swept  away,  and  part  buried  in  mud. 
To  add  to  their  misfortunes,  foraging  fails;  hunger 
pinches;  and  "when  Yasco  Nunez  himself  was  forced 
to  feed  on  roots,"  says  Las  Casas,  always  with  an  eye 
to  his  proteges,  "it  may  well  be  imagined  to  what 
extremity  six  hundred  Indian  captives  were  reduced." 

It  now  looks  very  dark  to  Yasco  Nunez,  and  he 
begins  to  consider  if  it  were  not  better  to  move  on, 
one  way  or  the  other,  than  to  die  there.  But  these 
misgivings  are  only  for  a  moment.  No,  it  is  not  bet 
ter.  Throwing  a  bridge  of  floating  withe-tied  logs 
across  the  river  he  sends  over  Companon  with  a 

pareciese  cosa  increible,  pero  que  la  verdad  era  que  llegaban  6  pasaban  de 
2,000.'  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.,  iv.  233-4.  'Nose  hallo  que  Castellano  nin- 
guno  muriesse,  ni  negro,  aunque  de  los  Indies  fueroii  muchos  los  que  pere- 
cieron.'  Herrera,  dec.  ii.  lib.  ii.  cap.  xi. 

5  Pascual  de  Andagoya  asserts  that  the  worm-eaten  timber  was  put  together 
on  the  Balsas  and  navigated,  though  with  great  difficulty,  to  the  gulf  of  San 
Miguel,  and  thence  to  the  Pearl  Islands;  and  that  there  they  soon  foundered. 
Relation  de  los  sucesos  de  Pedrarias  Duvila,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii. 
404.  This  statement,  though  entitled  to  great  weight,  is  not  sustained  by  the 
other  authorities. 


AT  THE  PEARL  ISLAOTS.  445 

strong  company,  and  tells  him  never  to  return  ex 
cept  with  food.  Hurtado  he  despatches  to  Antigua 
for  more  men,  and  goes  himself  to  Acla  for  neces 
sary  effects.  In  all  which  he  is  successful;  and  he  is 
successful  finally  in  floating  two  brigantines  upon  the 
Balsas.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  failure  this  side  of 
death. 

What  a  bright  vision  it  is  that  greets  him  as  he  drops 
down  into  the  sea,  his  own  sea  that  he  had  found  and 
well-nigh  lost  again!  Heaven  is  indeed  beautiful  if 
it  be  anything  fairer.  Silver  and  gold  and  pearl  are 
the  sunshine,  land,  and  sky;  while  the  sea,  the  mur 
muring,  gladdening,  majestic  sea;  it  would  inspire  a 
brute  with  nobility,  one  sight  of  it! 

Dreams  and  realities !  Wild  as  had  been  the  dreams 
of  these  ignorant  and  voracious  men,  dreams  with 
their  Indies  and  Araby  isles,  they  fell  far  short  of 
reality.  How  could  they  dream  of  a  Montezuma 
empire  waiting  expectantly  to  welcome  the  destroyer, 
or  of  an  Inca  faction  so  evenly  balanced  that  so  light  a 
hell-flake  as  a  Pizarro  might  turn  it? 

Selecting  Isla  Rica,  the  largest  of  the  Pearl  Islands, 
as  a  rendezvous  and  place  of  settlement,  Balboa  dis 
charged  his  vessels  there  and  sent  them  back  to  bring 
from  the  Balsas  the  remainder  of  the  company,  to 
gether  with  materials  for  two  more  ships,  which  were 
in  due  time  completed,  making  four  in  all.  More 
supplies  were  brought  from  Acla,  and  journeys  be 
tween  the  two  seas  were  from  this  time  frequent. 
Meanwhile,  after  pacifying  the  Pearl  Islands,  he  em 
barked  with  one  hundred  men  for  a  cruise  eastward. 
After  sailing  twenty  leagues  a  shoal  of  whales  so 
frightened  the  sailors  that  they  anchored  for  the  night 
near  the  shore,  and  embraced  the  opportunity  to  kill 
a  village  of  Indians  for  having  put  to  death  Bernardo 
Morales  and  his  men  in  a  former  expedition.  The  wind 
being  contrary  the  fleet  next  morning  returned  to  the 
Pearl  Islands. 

Thus  haply  launched  upon  the  tide  of  glorious  ad- 


446  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NUftEZ. 

venture,  with  full  freedom  in  the  south,  and  in  harmony 
with  superior  powers,  what  could  fortune  offer  more 
satisfactory  or  secure?  But  fickle  the  goddess,  and 
malignant  the  while,  keeping  alive  suspicion  and  envy 
where  only  honor  and  good-will  should  be.  It  hap 
pened  about  this  time  that  as  one  of  Balboa's  captains 
was  setting  out  on  his  return  to  the  South  Sea,  rumor 
reached  Acla  that  Lope  de  Sosa,  a  native  of  Cordova, 
then  acting  governor  of  the  Canary  Islands,  had  been 
appointed  to  supersede  Pedrarias.  At  one  time  such 
a  prospect  would  have  been  hailed  with  delight  by 
Vasco  Nunez,  but  now  that  his  fortunes  were  so  hap 
pily  linked  with  those  of  his  ancient  enemy  he  could 
desire  no  change. 

One  evening  while  in  friendly  conversation  with  the 
vicar,  Rodrigo  Perez,  and  the  notary,  Yalderrabano — 
for  on  these  Pearl  Islands  now  were  all  the  parapher 
nalia  of  spiritual  and  temporal  ruler  ship — upon  the 
probable  effect  of  a  change  of  governors  on  South  Sea 
affairs  Yasco  Nunez  remarked,  "  It  may  be  possible 
that  Lope  de  Sosa  has  ere  this  received  his  commis 
sion,  and  that  even  now  he  is  at  Antigua,  in  which 
case  my  lord  Pedrarias  is  no  longer  governor,  and 
all  our  toilsome  undertakings  will  profit  us  nothing. 
In  order  therefore  to  know  best  how  to  proceed  in 
this  emergency  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  would  be 
well  to  send  some  faithful  messenger  to  Acla  for  our 
further  necessities ;  and  if  the  new  governor  has  come, 
we  will  furnish  our  ships,  and  pursue  our  enterprise  as 
best  we  can,  trusting  to  his  future  approval.  But  if 
my  lord  Pedrarias  is  still  in  power,  he  will  allay  our 
fears,  and  we  will  then  set  out  upon  our  voyage,  which 
I  trust  in  God  will  succeed  according  to  our  wishes." 
I  beg  the  reader  to  remember  these  words,  and  say  if 
in  them  is  hidden  the  venom  of  treason  to  the  father- 

fovernor  when  morbid  acrimony  decides  them  criminal, 
do  not  say  that  at  this  juncture  Yasco  Nunez  would 
not  have  disregarded  any  whimsical  malevolence  on 
the  part  of  his  future  father-in-law  which  might  stand 


MICER  CODRO,  THE  ASTROLOGER.  447 

in  the  way  of  his  high  purposes.  I  think  he  would 
have  done  so.  But  that  he  saw  no  necessity  for  so 
doing,  and  never  dreamed  of  disobedience  or  disloy 
alty,  I  am  very  sure. 

As  his  ill-fate  would  have  it,  just  when  Vasco  Nunez 
was  concluding  his  remarks  on  this  subject,  a  sentinel 
on  guard  in  front  of  the  general's  quarters  stepped  up 
under  the  awning  to  shelter  himself  from  a  passing 
shower.  This  fellow,  whose  sense  of  smell  was  so  acute 
that  he  could  detect  disloyalty  though  hidden  in  a 
barrel  of  salt,  found  here  at  once  a  mare's  nest.  Of 
course  his  general  was  talking  treason;  he  had  often 
been  suspected,  and  now  he  openly  admitted  that  if 
affairs  planned  in  Spain  or  at  Antigua  did  not  suit  him, 
he  would  sail  away  and  leave  all  emperors  and  gov 
ernors  in  the  lurch.  And  if  he  alone  might  have  the 
disclosing  of  this  villainy  his  fortune  was  made. 

A  story  is  told  of  one  Micer  Codro,  a  Venetian 
astrologer,  who  followed  his  stars  to  the  Indies  and 
there  interpreted  nature  for  a  consideration.  For  up 
and  down  the  world  the  devil  used  to  lead  him  with  the 
faintest  thread  of  comet-light.  While  at  the  height 
of  his  power  in  Darien,  the  horoscope  of  Vasco  Nunez 
was  cast  by  this  philosopher,  and  his  fate  foretold  with 
all  the  precision  characterizing  the  profession.  Direct 
ing  the  attention  of  his  auditor  to  a  particular  star  he 
said:  "When  you  behold  that  star  at  yonder  point, 
know  that  your  fate  approaches;  your  fortune  then 
will  be  in  jeopardy,  and  your  life  in  peril.  But  if  you 
escape  that  danger,  wealth  and  renown  such  as  have 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  no  captain  in  all  the  Indies  will  be 
yours."  Amidst  the  bustling  activities  of  life  Vasco 
Nunez  had  well-nigh  forgotten  the  words  of  the  sooth 
sayer.  But  while  waiting  the  progress  of  his  plans 
at  the  Pearl  Islands,  he  chanced  to  take  a  stroll  upon 
the  beach  one  night  in  company  with  his  friends. 
The  air  was  clear  of  moisture,  and  the  heavens  ablaze 
with  stars  which  seemed  by  their  own  light  multiplied. 
Nor  was  this  gorgeous  firmament  more  glorious  than 


448  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NU$EZ. 

the  hopes  which  then  thrilled  the  breast  of  the  cav 
alier.  While  in  careless  conversation  his  eye  was 
suddenly  arrested  by  the  star  of  his  destiny  which 
hung  portentous  in  the  exact  spot  designated  by 
Micer  Codro.  The  prediction  of  the  astrologer  at  once 
flashed  upon  him.  "  But  surely,"  he  thought,  "  the 
worthy  fellow  read  carelessly,  or  else  possesses  little 
knowledge  of  his  art,  for  my  time  of  peril  has  passed. 
I  will,  however,  accept  the  saving  clause  of  his  pre 
diction,  and  now  achieve  the  fame  and  wealth  whereof 
he  spake."  Then  with  a  smile  he  turned  to  his  com 
panions.  "  Have  a  care  of  soothsayers,"  he  said  gayly. 
"  You  all  know  Micer  Codro.  According  to  his  pre 
diction  I  stand  this  moment  on  the  verge  of  demo 
lition.  But  I  defy  thee,  fate !  See  there  those  ships, 
and  this  wealth-bordered  sea;  see  here  this  good 
right  arm,  this  stout  heart,  and  you,  my  friends,  three 
hundred  faithful  men.  Does  this  look  like  collapse?" 

Notwithstanding  the  rumor  of  a  new  governor  at 
Antigua,  this  South  Sea  enterprise  ought  to  be  prose 
cuted  at  all  hazard.  By  authority  both  of  the  king 
and  of  his  representative  in  Darien  the  expedition  had 
been  undertaken.  Money  had  been  spent  and  infinite 
toil ;  life  had  been  adventured — the  lives  of  Spaniards, 
that  is  to  say,  for  a  thousand  or  two  dead  savages  were 
scarcely  to  be  regarded  in  the  account.  And  now  it 
behooved  them  to  give  no  new  king  or  new  governor 
the  opportunity  of  ruining  their  hopes  by  counter 
manding  the  expedition. 

It  was  finally  arranged  that  Andres  Garabito, 
Luis  Botello,  Andres  de  valderrabano,  and  Fernando 
Munoz  should  proceed  to  Acla,  and  as  they  drew  near 
the  town  the  party  should  halt;  one  of  them  should 
enter  at  night  alone,  and,  proceeding  to  the  house  of 
Vasco  Nunez,  should  ascertain  from  the  servant  to  be 
found  there  if  Pedrarias  was  superseded;  and  if  the 
new  governor  had  arrived  the  party  would  withdraw 
unobserved,  return  to  the  South  Sea,  and  proclaim 
Vasco  Nunez  governor  of  Tierra  Firme,  at  the  same 


TREACHEROUS  MESSENGERS.  449 

time  giving  him  a  paper  purporting  to  be  his  com 
mission.  Thus  would  his  command  be  deceived  into 
the  belief  that  he  was  legal  ruler,  and  so  follow  his 
bidding  without  question.  This  was  a  glance  toward 
treason ;  it  was  as  bad  as  treason ;  but  neither  now  nor 
ever  was  it  treason.  The  projected  stratagem  was 
dangerous,  and  wholly  useless,  and  most  unfortunate, 
as  the  result  proved;  complicating  affairs  and  aiding 
his  enemies  in  casting  over  him  that  cloud  of  suspicion 
which  ultimately  involved  him  in  ruin. 

Likewise  the  agents  for  this  errand  were  unhappily 
chosen.  Garabito  was  the  deadly  enemy  of  Balboa,  * 
though  the  latter  did  not  know  it.  Worse  than  that, 
far  more  dastardly  and  damnable  than  enemy,  he 
was  a  treacherous  friend.  Balboa  had  often  shown  , 
him  favors,  and  placed  implicit  confidence  in  him,  as 
the  prominence  given  him  in  this  delicate  mission 
plainly  indicated.  Within  a  friendly,  even  fawning 
exterior,  lurked  deadly  hate.  It  originated  thus: 
While  Vasco  Nunez  was  yet  under  the  cloud  of  the 
governor's  displeasure,  Garabito  had  attempted  im 
proper  intimacy  with  Careta's  daughter,  Balboa's 
wife  after  the  Indian  fashion.  One  word  from  her 
protector,  one  glance  from  his  eye — for  the  miscreant 
saw  perdition  in  it — was  sufficient  to  check  his  pre 
sumption;  but  Garabito  never  forgot  it,  and  awaited 
only  his  revenge.  While  on  the  Balsas  he  had  even 
written  Pedrarias  that  it  was  Balboa's  purpose,  on 
reaching  the  ocean,  to  throw  off  allegiance  to  him,  and 
to  every  one  but  the  king.  He  further  affirmed  that 
Vasco  Nunez  cared  nothing  for  his  daughter,  loved 
only  the  Indian  girl,  and  never  intended  to  ratify 
his  betrothal  obligation.  Though  Garabito  knew  well 
enough  he  deserved  hanging  for  this,  and  might  even 

o  o      o  o 

achieve  that  infamy,  yet  he  understood  both  himself 
and  Pedrarias,  and  he  knew  these  lies  would  fatten  on 
the  old  man's  soul. 

When  Garabito  arrived  at  Acla,  instead  of  doing 
as  he  had  been  told,  he  set  about  to  perform  a  little 

HIST.  GEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    29 


450  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NU^EZ. 

drama  which  should  at  once  precipitate  revenge  and 
free  him  from  the  odium  of  traitorous  friendship. 
Mingling  with  the  gossips  of  the  town,  he  talked  mys 
teriously  about  South  Sea  affairs,  threw  out  insinua 
tions,  and  dropped  dark  hints  concerning  Yasco  Nunez 
and  the  government.  By  such  means  he  succeeded 
in  causing  himself  to  be  arrested;  and  when  brought 
before  the  magistrate  for  examination,  no  torture  was 
required  to  draw  from  him  all  he  knew,  and  more. 
An  abstract  of  the  evidence  taken  in  this  investiga 
tion,  together  with  the  letters  and  papers  of  Garabito, 
was  forwarded  to  Pedrarias. 

When  Yasco  Nunez  embarked  from  Antigua  on 
this  enterprise,  it  was  stipulated  that  he  should  re 
turn  at  the  expiration  of  eighteen  months.  The  time 
having  expired,  he  wrote  Pedrarias  requesting  its 
extension,  giving  as  a  reason  for  requiring  it  the  ex 
traordinary  difficulties  under  which  he  had  labored, 
and  the  attendant  delays.  He  requested  Fernando  de 
Argiiello,  who  had  a  large  pecuniary  interest  at  stake, 
to  gain  further  time,  if  possible,  as  otherwise  their 
expenditure  and  toil  would  all  be  lost.  In  answer  to 
the  application  of  Arguello,  Pedrarias  said  little ;  but 
within  the  caldron  the  black  stuff  simmered. 

This  inopportune  revival  of  the  ancient  feud  be 
tween  the  governors  excited  no  small  stir  at  Antigua, 
And  when  tidings  of  Garabito's  arrest  were  received, 
and  the  character  of  his  testimony  was  made  known, 
the  friends  of  Yasco  Nunez  entertained  fears  for  his 
safety.  It  made  little  difference  whether  what  this 
villain  had  said  was  true  or  false — though  no  one  be 
lieved  that  Yasco  Nunez  contemplated  anything  crim 
inal—old  man  Pedrarias  with  his  malignity  aroused 
was  a  fiend  incarnate.  Arguello  wrote  Balboa  that  the 
governor,  would  neither  grant  nor  deny  an  extension 
of  time,  and  the  notary  advised  him  to  put  to  sea  at 
once,  and  place  himself  beyond  the  rancorous  caprice 
of  Pedrarias.  He  further  informed  him  that  in  the 


GARABITO'S  INFAMY.  451 

event  of  a  rupture  he  could  appeal  to  the  Jeronimite 
Fathers,  at  Santo  Domingo,  who  would  see  justice 
done  him.  Unfortunately,  this  letter  was  intercepted 
and  sent  to  Pedrarias. 

The  conflagration  which  sweeps  a  city  is  often  kin 
dled  by  a  spark.  The  South  Sea  discoverer  entertained 
a  harmless  ruse,  justifiable,  in  his  opinion,  as  tending 
to  settle  the  minds  of  his  men  and  ensure  their  more 
perfect  obedience  in  hazardous  enterprise;  he  har 
bored  at  the  most  the  intention  of  placing  himself  for 
no  unlawful  purpose  beyond  the  call  of  the  new  gov 
ernor  until  he  had  consummated  his  long  cherished 
schemes,  and  not  of  deceiving  the  old  governor,  to 
whom,  if  still  in  power,  his  messengers  were  to  dis 
close  all  his  fears,  in  the  belief  that  his  necessities 
would  certainly  be  relieved.  These  trivial  thoughts, 
flung  distorted  by  Garabito  into  the  inflammable  breast 
of  Pedrarias,  were  more  than  sufficient  to  light  a  flame 
beyond  the  power  of  man  to  extinguish.  On  former 
occasions  the  enmity  had  been  rather  of  a  political  than 
a  personal  nature ;  now  it  enters  the  private  chambers 
of  the  affections,  and  beside  crimes  plotted  against  the 
ruler,  the  father  is  to  be  wounded  and  insulted.  And 
his  hate  becomes  unto  death,  murderous. 

With  the  several  pretended  disclosures  of  Garabito  > 
before  him,  his  mind  ran  quickly  back  over  the  career 
of  Yasco  Nunez,  his  ill  treatment  of  Enciso,  his  ex 
pulsion  of  Nicuesa,  his  irregularities  while  in  office, 
the  king's  order  to  call  him  to  a  reckoning,  the  brill 
iant  discoveries  intervening,  the  failure  to  convict 
him  of  crimes,  the  king's  favor,  and  at  last  the  nearer 
and  to  be  hoped  final  reconciliation.  Warmer  yet 
within  him  glowed  the  thought  of  these  things,  as 
his  mind  dwelt  upon  the  letters  disparaging  to  him 
self  which  Vasco  Nunez  had  sent  the  king,  and 
recalled  once  more  what  Garabito  had  said  concern 
ing  the  repudiation  of  both  himself  and  his  daugh 
ter.  He  talked  with  Bachiller  Corral,  who  had  been 


452  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NUftEZ. 

once  arrested  by  Vasco  Nunez  for  improper  conduct, 
and  to  the  royal  treasurer,  Alonso  de  la  Puente, 
whom  Yasco  Nunez  had  once  offended  by  demanding 
the  payment  of  a  debt,  he  read  the  -letter  of  Fer 
nando  de  Argiiello,  and  then  ordered  the  arrest  of  the 
writer. 

He  communed  with  his  heart  in  his  rage  and  was 
glad.  And  he  wrote  his  son-in-law  a  letter,  his  dear 
son-in-law,  a  friendly,  fatherly  letter,  requesting  his 
presence  at  Acla  for  the  purpose  of  consultation  over 
affairs  affecting  their  mutual  interests.  This  letter 
was  despatched  by  messengers  urged  to  the  greatest 
haste,  that  the  friends  of  Vasco  Nunez  might  not  have 
time  to  warn  him  of  his  danger.  "Once  within  my 
grasp,"  muttered  the  old  man,  "he  never  shall  escape 
me."  That  he  might  not  embark  on  some  lengthy 
voyage  or  otherwise  delay  his  coming,  Pedrarias 
ordered  Francisco  Pizarro  to  place  himself  at  the 
head  of  as  large  a  force  as  he  could  muster,  and  im 
mediately  to  find  and  arrest  his  former  comrade  and 
commander,  Yasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  and  bring  him 
under  safe  guard  to  Acla. 

Now  the  dissembling  letter  of  Pedrarias,  so  the 

O 

chroniclers  tell  us,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Yasco 
Nunez  while  yet  the  star  of  his  destiny  hovered,  im 
patient  of  flight,  about  the  spot  whereon  it  was  to  de 
termine  his  fate ;  which  proves  to  any  reasonable  mind, 
beyond  peradventure,  several  things;  item,  that  the 
heavenly  lights  are  fingered  by  Omnipotence  for  indi 
vidual  import ;  item ,  that  Micer  Codro  knows  the  stars ; 
item,  that  the  stars  know  Micer  Codro ;  item,  parva 
momenta  in  spem  metumque  impellere  animos. 

Conscious  of  no  wrong,  Yasco  Nunez  suspected  no 
treachery,  and  on  receipt  of  the  letter  he  set  out  at 
once  with  the  returning  messengers  to  grant  his  father- 
in-law  the  desired  interview,  leaving  his  command  at 
the  Pearl  Islands  in  charge  of  Francisco  Companon. 
As  they  journeyed  toward  Acla  he  interrogated  his 
companions  concerning  the  affairs  of  the  colony.  At 


THE  ARREST.  453 

first  they  were  cautious  in  their  replies,  and  made  ' 
evasive  answers ;  but  the  prompt  and  cordial  manner 
in  which  Vasco  Nunez  responded  to  the  summons  of 
Pedrarias  carried  conviction  of  his  integrity.  Further 
than  this,  they  had  long  known  Yasco  Nunez  as  a 
gallant  cavalier  and  a  genial  friend,  and  they  resolved, 
come  what  might,  he  should  not  fall  into  the  clutches 
of  his  enemy  without  a  word  of  warning  from  them. 
Enjoining  secrecy,  they  told  him  all;  that  current 
opinion  considered  not  only  his  liberty  but  that  his  life  ' 
was  in  jeopardy. 

Balboa  would  not  believe  it.  Pedrarias  might  be  ' 
very  angry,  though  he  had  written  in  so  friendly  a 
strain;  it  was  his  nature  to  be  suspicious  and  treach 
erous;  he  could  not  help  it;  he  was  martyr  to  a  hate 
wherein  he  was  created,  and  not  unlike  that  of  Acri- 
sius  who  quarrelled  with  his  twin  brother  Proetus  be 
fore  they  were  born.  There  might  be  some  difficulty 
in  pacifying  Pedrarias,  but  as  for  fearing  him,  the  idea 
was  preposterous.  Even  though  he  had  meditated 
treason  against  the  governor,  which  he  had  not,  he 
was  not  guilty  of  any  criminal  act;  and  surely  a  man 
cannot  be  hanged  for  his  meditations.  Of  course  he 
would  go  forward. 

As  he  descended  the  mountains  and  drew  near  Acla, 
Vasco  Nunez  was  met  by  the  force  sent  out  by  the 
governor.  As  the  leader  advanced  to  make  the  arrest, 
his  old  friend  and  patron  cast  on  him  a  reproachful 
look  and  exclaimed,  "How  is  this,  Francisco  Pizarro? 
You  were  not  wont  to  come  out  in  this  manner  to 
receive  me !"  He  offered  no  opposition,  however,  and 
made  no  remonstrance  when  the  irons  were  put  upon 
him  and  he  was  led  away  to  prison  at  Acla. 

History  presents  few  sadder  pictures  than  the  clos 
ing  scenes  in  the  career  of  Yasco  Nunez  de  Balboa. 
And  as  we  look  at  it,  our  sorrow  waxes  hot  with  in 
dignation  over  the  triumph  of  wrong.  Occasionally, 
in  the  hostile  encounters  of  men,  justice  seems  to 


454  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO 

abandon  the  arena,  leaving  iniquity  master  of  the 
field;  at  which  times  the  spectator  burns  for  the 
power  which  Omnipotence  declines  to  exercise. 

The  game  here  played  was  for  a  valuable  life.  On 
one  side  was  a  singularly  morbid  hate,  envenomed 
and  pitiless,  united  with  unscrupulous  treachery  and 
hypocrisy,  which  in  an  old  man  of  ability,  breeding, 
and  position,  was  hideous  beyond  expression.  On  the 
other  side  were  recognized  talents  of  so  exceptional 
an  order  as  to  make  the  possessor  the  most  popular 
man  in  the  colony.  This  is  what  kept  his  irascible  ad 
versary  on  nettles.  Vasco  Nunez  was  the  hero  of  this 
conquest.  He  was  to  Pedrarias  as  Loki  to  Baldur, 
or  as  Hyperion  to  a  satyr;  and  in  their  strangely 
assorted  friendship  they  were  more  unequally  yoked 
than  in  their  enmity  they  were  divided.  He  was 
the  mirror  in  which  by  comparison  the  governor 
most  clearly  saw  his  own  infirmities.  Like  Othello 
he  was  of  that  free  and  open  nature  which  thinks 
men  honest  that  but  seem  so.  His  faults  were  those 
of  the  times  rather  than  of  the  man.  He  was  as  am 
bitious  as  Achilles,  but  it  was  a  laudable  ambition  as 
times  went.  He  was  neither  voracious  nor  avaricious ; 
cruel  he  unquestionably  was,  but  not  wantonly  so;  he 
gathered  gold,  but  he  scattered  it  open-handedly.  He 
coveted  fame;  and  in  those  days  neither  equity  nor 
humanity  were  essential  to  greatness.  I  do  not  re 
gard  him  as  greedy  of  office;  he  loved  power,  but  he 
loved  adventure  more.  Of  course,  in  principle,  the 
robber  life  he  led  was  wrong,  though  sanctioned  by 
philosophers  and  divines,  and  Yasco  Nunez  aspired 
to  belong  to  neither  class.  He  was  an  illiterate  cav 
alier,  honest  and  superstitious,  ready  to  accept  the 
dogmas  of  the  day  if  they  did  not  too  greatly  interfere 
with  his  desires.  Neither  his  loyalty  nor  his  religion 
was  sufficient  to  be  of  great  injury  to  him;  although, 
if  we  may  credit  Peter  Martyr,  he  never  attempted 
any  adventure  without  the  invocation  of  the  deity 
and  all  the  saints.  Among  his  comrades  he  had  ever 


HYPOCRISY  AND  CUNNING.  455 

at  command  a  light  artillery  of  wit;  in  logical  argu 
ment  he  was  not  equal  to  his  archenemy,  but  in  .action 
he  was  the  inferior  of  no  man.  A  natural  and  perfect 
leader,  he  was  out  of  place  as  second.  Conception 
and  execution  were  one  with  him;  he  could  not  be 
bound  by  another's  ideas.  Latent  in  him  were  inex 
haustible  resources,  known  to  exist,  even  by  himself, 
only  as  occasion  required  them.  Only  with  emo 
tions  of  pride  might  any  Spaniard  regard  his  frank 
intrepidity,  chivalrous  bearing,  and  affable,  generous 
disposition.  In  cruelty,  subtlety,  and  base  cunning 
Pedrarias  was  his  superior,  but  not  in  war,  or 
statesmanship,  not  to  mention  honorable  enterprise. 
Throughout  his  entire  career,  whatever  Vasco  Nunez 

O  ' 

touched  by  himself  was  a  success ;  there  was  no  chance 
about  it,  but  simply  energy  and  ability,  temperate 
courage  and  common  sense.  His  final  overthrow  was 
accomplished  not  by  fair  and  open  opposition,  but  by 
means  most  foul  and  damnable.  Some  might  say  that 
in  this  contemplated  assumption  of  authority  he  was, 
like  Icarus,  flying  too  near  the  sun;  yet,  in  truth,  it 
was  no  sun,  but  fires  infernal  that  melted  the  wax  of 
his  wings.  His  trial,  to  which  let  us  now  pass,  was  a 
judicial  assassination. 

Old  man  Pedrarias  could  scarcely  conceal  his  exul 
tation  in  thus  having,  as  he  imagined,  outwitted  his 
prisoner.  He  could  with  difficulty  refrain  from  feast 
ing  his  eyes  upon  him;  nay,  he  would  not,  and  ar 
raying  his  features  in  fatherly  concern,  he  repaired  to 
the  prison.  Gently  he  accosted  Balboa,  assuring  him 
that  he  had  been  forced  to  this  step  against  his  will, 
that  the  treasurer,  Puente,  was  the  accuser,  and  that 
he,  the  governor,  was  in  duty  bound  to  investigate 
all  charges,  particularly  accusations  made  by  a  royal 
officer.  "But  be  not  cast  down,  my  son,"  said  the 
venerable  hypocrite,  "neither  give  way  to  fear;  for 
the  more  clearly  your  actions  are  brought  to  light,  the 
brighter  will  shine  your  eminent  and  loyal  services." 


456  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NU^EZ. 

Going  his  way,  Pedrarias  threw  himself  with  all 
his  strength  into  the  prosecution,  or  rather,  I  should 
say,  persecution.  The  laws  of  Spain,  transported  to 
the  colonies  and  administered  by  passionate  and  un 
principled  men,  were  capable  of  almost  any  construc 
tion  desired,  and  hence  were  as  often  used  to  cloak 
villainy  as  to  punish  crime.  The  law  was  ever  on  the 
side  of  him  who  possessed  the  power  to  enforce  it. 
All  the  accusations  of  former  trials  were  in  this  in 
stance  brought  together,  and  old  charges,  long  since 
obliterated  by  royal  forgiveness,  were  renewed.  To 
the  oft-told  tales  of  Enciso's  imprisonment  and  Ni- 
cuesa's  death,  were  added  misdeeds  conjectured  or 
invented  by  the  listening  sentinel,  Garabito,  and  the 
rest.  Argiiello's  letter  was  offered  in  evidence,  and 
all  his  enemies  had  their  fling-  at  him.  The  licentiate. 

O 

Kspinosa,  before  whom  the  case  was  brought,  was 
now  a  firm  adherent  of  the  governor.  He  had  been 
paid  his  price  in  the  South  Sea  command,  and  the 
downfall  of  Balboa  would  open  for  him  further  empire 
in  that  quarter. 

All  is  going  well;  Pedrarias  is  content.  The  pris 
oner's  chains  are  doubled.  A  little  torture  now 
applied  might  be  pleasing  in  effect.  Dropping  the 
mask,  Pedrarias  enters  the  prison.  "  So,  villain!  you 
thought  to  escape  me,"  he  cried.  "  Your  governor 
has  become  your  tool,  your  plaything;  his  daughter 
an  idle  jest,  jilted  for  a  savage  strumpet.  Thank 
God!  your  days  are  numbered." 

Balboa  at  first  made  no  reply,  did  not  even  mani 
fest  surprise.  He  had  seen,  soon  after  the  trial  began, 
that  his  judges  thirsted  for  his  blood,  and  that  he  was 
foredoomed.  Finally  he  spake.  "  I  am  here  at  your 
bidding.  Since  last  we  pledged  friendship  I  have 
toiled  faithfully  in  your  behalf,  and  mine.  I  have 
suffered  many  hardships,  and  have  overcome  obstacles 
deemed  insurmountable  by  most  men.  Never  for  a 
moment  have  I  entertained  one  thought  disloyal  to 
my  betrothed  or  you.  For  the  truth  of  this  I  refer 


THE  SENTENCE.  457 

you  to  my  actions,  and  call  God  to  witness.  If  I  am 
guilty,  as  you  say,  why  am  I  here?  Think  you,  with 
four  good  ships  and  three  hundred  devoted  men  at 
my  command,  with  fortune  beckoning  me  from  every 
direction,  that  had  I  harbored  treason  I  would  not 
have  spread  my  sails  and  sought  a  land  unknown, 
beyond  all  fear  of  capture?  You  know,  my  lord  Pe- 
drarias,  that  I  am  innocent." 

It  was  patent  to  all  that  Vasco  Nunez  was  to  be 
sacrificed  to  the  insatiable  hate  of  the  hoary-headed  ' 
governor.  Even  Espinosa  was  becoming  tired  of  it, 
and  would  have  discharged  the  accused,  had  it  not 
been  for  Pedrarias  and  Puente,  who  insisted  on  what 
they  called  a  verdict  in  accordance  with  the  law  and 
evidence.  Under  such  pressure  Espinosa  was  forced  to 
adjudge  the  prisoner  guilty.  The  penalty  was  death. 
Vasco  Nunez  claimed  the  right  of  appeal  to  the 
Council  of  the  Indies,  which  was  denied  him;  to  the 
Jeronimite  Fathers,  which  was  also  denied.  Espinosa 
became  alarmed;  he  shrank  from  having  on  his  soul 
the  blood  of  this  man,  so  gallant  a  cavalier,  so  eminent 
a  discoverer;  he  never  really  desired  more  than  to 
drive  him  into  obscurity,  and  he  begged  the  governor 
that  the  petition  for  appeal  might  be  granted.  "No," 
said  Pedrarias,  "if  he  has  sinned,  let  him  suffer." 

With  horror  the  colonists  heard  that  Vasco  Nunez 
was  condemned  to  be  beheaded.  Four  of  his  friends 
were  to  suffer  with  him,  Andres  de  Valderrabano, 
Luis  Botello,  Fernando  Munoz,  and  Fernando  de 
Argiiello. 

It  was  a  dismal  day  at  Acla,  the  chroniclers  tell  us, 
that  on  which  five  brave  men  were  doomed  to  die,  not 
for  any  crime,  but  as  victims  of  a  ferocious,  savage- 
hearted  old  man.  At  an  early  hour  the  dull  strokes 
of  the  carpenter's  hammer  were  heard  in  the  plaza 
where  the  scaffold  rose.  Troops  of  men  gathered  on 
the  streets  and  talked  of  the  coming  execution,  won 
dering  if  there  would  be  an  attempt  at  rescue.  But 


458  THE  FATE  OF  VASCO  NUNEZ. 

Pedrarias  had  taken  care  of  that.  Were  the  heav 
enly  powers  a-dreaming  that  they  should  without 
interference  permit  this  horrible  crime?  Alas!  these 
very  men  had  just  as  iniquitously  slain  their  innocent 
thousands.  Why  should  we  pity  them?  And  the 
same  oft-invoked  Omnipotence  had  permitted  the 
ghastly  work  to  be  done  in  his  name.  Of  what  avail 
is  it  to  wonder? 

Heavily  chained,  and  surrounded  by  a  strong  guard, 
the  men  were  brought  forth.  First  came  Vasco  Nunez. 

O 

His  step  and  bearing  were  not  those  of  a  malefactor. 
Fire  flashed  from  his  eye  and  indignation  flushed 
his  cheek  as  he  beheld  the  preparations  for  his  igno 
miny.  But  this  renowned  and  honored  chieftain,  even 
while  marching  to  the  scaffold,  was  less  to  be  pitied 
than  Pedrarias,  who  from  behind  a  screened  window 
was  this  moment  feasting  his  eyes  upon  the  victim. 
Before  the  prisoner  walked  the  town-crier,  who,  as 
he  approached  the  middle  of  the  square,  exclaimed 
in  a  loud  voice,  "  Behold  the  usurper,  a  man  recreant 
to  his  trust,  and  disloyal  to  his  king.  Let  death  be 
ever  the  doom  of  traitors."  "  Tis  false!"  cried  Vasco 
Nunez.  "  Never  have  I  been  disloyal  or  untrue.  To 
infamous  treachery  and  wrong  I  yield  my  life,  and  not 
to  justice."6 

6  If  I  have  applied  strong  terms  of  demmciation  to  Pedrarias  Davila,  it  is  be 
cause  he  unquestionably  deserves  it.  He  is  by  far  the  worst  man  who  came 
officially  to  the  New  World  during  its  early  government.  In  this  all  authori 
ties  agree.  And  all  agree  that  Vasco  Nunez  was  not  deserving  of  death. 
Andagoya,  Relation,  in  Navarrcte,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  403-5,  is  an  excellent 
authority.  Says  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Jnd.,  iv.  240,  '  Dijeron  que  esta  falsedad  6 
testimonio  falso,  6  quiza  verdad,  escribio  Garabito  a  Pedrarias  porque  Vasco 
Nunez,  por  una  india  que  tenia  por  amiga,  le  habia  de  palabra  maltratado.' 
Some  of  the  more  knowing  among  the  chroniclers  say  that  God  punished 
Vasco  Nunez  with  this  death  for  his  treatment  of  Nicuesa.  Will  they 
at  the  same  time  tell  us  for  what  God  permitted  Pedrarias  to  live  ?  '  Desta 
manera  acab6  el  adelantamiento  de  Vasco  Nunez,  descubridor  de  la  inar  del 
Sur,  6  pago  la  muerte  del  capitan  Diego  de  Nicuesa;  por  la  qual  6  por  otras 
culpas  permitio  Dios  que  oviesse  tal  miierte,  e  no  por  lo  quel  pregon  decia, 
porque  la  que  llamaban  traycion,  ninguno  la  tuvo  por  tal.'  Oviedo,  iii.  60. 
Herrera  everywhere  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  Vasco  Nunez,  and  pro 
nounces  the  character  and  conduct  of  Pedrarias  detestable.  Says  Gomara, 
Hist.  I)i(l. ,  85,  '  Ni  pareciera  delante  del  gouernador,  aunque  mas  su  suegro 
f  uera.  Junto  se  le  con  esto,  la  muerte  de  Diego  de  Nicuesa,  y  sus  sesenta  com- 
pafieros.  La  prision  del  bachiller  Enciso,  y  que  era  vadolero  reboltoso,  cruel, 
y  malo  para  Indios.'  Of  Balboa's  denial  of  guilt,  in  Hist.  Mondo  Nvovo,  i.  51, 


THE  EXECUTION.  459 

The  sacrament  was  then  administered;  and,  after 
having  confessed  himself,  Vasco  Nunez,  with  his  usual 
firm  step  and  calm  demeanor,  mounted  the  scaffold. 
Raising  his  eyes  to  heaven  he  called  on  God  to  wit 
ness  his  innocence.  Then  with  a  rapid  farewell  glance 
at  heaven's  light  and  earth's  beauty,  at  the  eager 
upturned  faces  of  his  friends,  he  placed  his  head  upon 
the  block,  and  in  a  moment  more  it  was  rolling  trunk- 
less  on  the  platform! 

Yalderrabano,  Botello,  and  Munoz  each  suffered  in 
turn.  Arguello  remained.  A  last  attempt  was  made 
to  move  Pedrarias.  "  It  cannot  be,"  was  the  reply. 
"  Rather  than  one  of  them  should  live,  I  myself  will 
die."  It  was  dark  before  the  last  dull  heavy  stroke 
told  the  crowd  that  the  sickening  work  was  done. 
With  the  death  of  the  offender  justice  is  satisfied;  not 
so  vengeance.  By  order  of  Pedrarias  the  head  of 
Vasco  Nunez  was  placed  upon  a  pole,  and  displayed 
in  the  market-place. 

Time,  which  throws  a  misty  cloud  between  the 
present  and  the  past,  and  strips  the  hideousness  from 
many  iniquitous  deeds,  drops  no  friendly  mantle  over 
the  horrors  of  that  day  at  Acla.  One  century  after 
another  rolls  by,  and  the  colors  on  the  canvas  deepen; 
the  red  gore  dripping  from  the  scaffold  becomes  red 
der,  the  black  heart  of  Pedrarias  blacker,  and  the 
generous  qualities  and  brilliant  achievements  of  Vasco 
Nunez  shine  yet  brighter. 

Benzoni  writes,  '  Valboa  con  giuramento  neg6,  dicendo,  die  inquanto  toccaua 
alia  informatione  che  contra  lui  s'era  fatta  di  solleuargli  la  gente  che  1'era  a 
torto,  e  falsamente  accusato,  e  che  considerasse  bene  quello  che  faceua,  e  se  lui 
hauesse  tal  cosa  teiitata,  lion  saria  venuto  alia  presentia  sua,  e  similmente  del 
resto,  si  difese  il  meglio  che  puote  ma  dove  regnano  le  forze,  poco  gioua  de- 
fendersi  con  la  ragione.'  And  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iy.  cap.  ix.,  testifies, 
'  Vaschum  ab  Austro  accersit  Petrus  Arias:  paret  dicto  Vaschus,  in  catenas 
conjicitur.  Negat  Vaschns  tale  consilium  cogitasse.  Testes  quseruntur  male- 
factorum,  qua?  patraverat:  ab  initio  dicta  colliguntur,  morte  dignus  censetur, 
perimitur. '  And  '  what  stomach '  he  further  adds,  '  Pedrarias  Davila  may 
have,  should  he  ever  return  to  Spain,  let  good  men  judge. ' 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 

DECLINE  OF  SPANISH  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

1517-1523. 

DISHONESTY  THE  BEST  POLICY — PEDRARIAS  STIGMATIZED — His  AUTHORITY 
CURTAILED — QUEVEDO  IN  SPAIN — HE  ENCOUNTERS  LAS  CASAS — THE 
BATTLE  OF  THE  PRIESTS— OVIEDO  ENTERS  THE  ARENA — BUSINESS  IN 
DARIEN — THE  INTEROCEANIC  ROAD  AGAIN — ITS  TERMINI — PEDRARIAS 
AND  ESPINOSA  AT  PAN  AMI— THE  LICENTIATE  MAKES  ANOTHER  RAID 
— THE  FRIARS  or  ST  JEROME  HAVE  THEIR  EYE  ON  PEDRARIAS — THE 
CABILDO  OF  ANTIGUA  SHAKES  ITS  FINGER  AT  HIM — CONTINUED  AT 
TEMPTS  TO  DEPOPULATE  THE  NORTH  COAST — ALBITES  BUILDS  NOMBRE 
DE  Dios — LUCKY  LICENTIATE — ARRIVAL  AND  DEATH  OF  LOPE  DE  SOSA 
— OVIEDO  RETURNS  AND  DOES  BATTLE  WITH  THE  DRAGON — AND  is 
BEATEN  FROM  THE  FIELD. 

FOR  the  villainous  adjudging  of  Yasco  Nunez, 
Gaspar  de  Espinosa  received  his  place  on  the  South 
Sea.  And  when  true  tidings  reached  Pedrarias  of 

<5 

the  appointment  of  Lope  de  Sosa  as  his  successor, 
the  grizzly  old  governor  did  exactly  that  for  which 
he  pretended  to  have  beheaded  Yasco  Nunez.  Strik 
ing  corollaries  from  the  historical  propositions  of  the 
preceding  chapter. 

That  Pedrarias  was  not  at  once  deposed  may  seem 
strange  to  us.  He  was  deposed,  however;  but  slip 
ping  south  he  sought  new  fields,  as  we  shall  presently 
see;  and  by  the  intercession  of  powerful  friends  at 
court  he  managed  to  retain  rulership  for  a  term  of 
years.  Then,  too,  the  changes.  It  was  troublesome 
and  expensive  for  royalty  to  establish  subordinate 
governments  in  the  Indies;  and  as  nearly  all  of 
Spain's  New  World  governors,  and,  indeed,  officials 
and  subjects,  were  wrong  in  some  particular,  there 

(400) 


THE  CONDUCT  OF  PEDRARIAS  CONDEMNED.  461 

was  not  always  encouragement  to  make  a  change. 
Yet  Spain  and  all  Christendom  were  indignant  over 
the  infamous  doings  at  Acla.  The  friars  of  St  Jerome 
instantly  clipped  the  wings  of  the  cormorant,  by 
ordering  him  in  the  king's  name  "to  resolve  upon 
nothing  by  himself,  but  to  follow  the  advice  of  the 
cabildo1  of  Darien;  and,  moreover,  to  send  to  Espanola 
all  the  gold  taken  from  Cacique  Paris."  This  was  of 
little  practical  avail,  however.  Royalty  might  issue 
edicts;  but  those  appointed  to  enforce  them  seemed 
to  turn  to  corruption  on  entering  the  atmosphere  of 
the  Indies. 

Some  said,  if  the  good  bishop  had  been  there,  Yasco 
Nunez  had  not  died.  But  according  to  Micer  Codro 
it  was  scarcely  among  the  possibilities  for  the  inau 
spicious  friend  of  Balboa  to  have  been  present  at  the 
right  moment.  Associated  with  the  alcalde  mayor 
and  the  governor  in  magisterial  authority,  the  bishop 
could  without  doubt  have  diverted  the  quarrel  from 
such  gory  channels;  for  there  was  always  enough  of 
the  temporal  in  his  spiritual  polities  to  give  his  influ 
ence  weight  in  balancing  power.  It  was  a  wolfish 
flock.  The  bishop  complained  of  it  to  the  king;  and 
on  the  other  hand  the  royal  officers  complained  of 
the  bishop.  Both  were  right.  It  was  impossible  too 
severely  to  censure  such  acts  as  were  constantly  per 
petrated  by  the  officials  of  Castilla  del  Oro,  and 
although  Quevedo  had  gone  to  Spain  on  the  more 
pleasing  errand  of  love  and  reconciliation,  he  could 
not  help  occasionally  speaking  for  truth  and  righteous 
ness,  even  while  doing  the  devil's  work  with  the  rest 
of  them.  Once  the  royal  officials  wrote  the  king  that 
the  bishop  neglected  the  conversion  of  the  Indians, 
favored  Yasco  Nunez  against  the  government,  and 

1  The  city  or  town  council,  composed,  of  the  alcalde,  regidores,  and  other 
officers  having  the  administration  or  economical  and  political  management  of 
municipal  affairs.  The  word  cabildo  has  essentially  the  same  signification  as 
ayuntamiento,  regimiento,  consejo,  municipalidad,  and  consejo  municipal.  A 
cabildo  cdesidstico  is  a  bishop's  council  or  chapter.  The  authority  invested  in 
this  body  at  Antigua  at  this  time,  to  check  Pedrarias,  was  wholly  unusual  and 
extraordinary. 


46-2        DECLINE  OF  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

discouraged  colonization  by  speaking  ill  of  the  country ; 
and  again  that  the  bishop  was  a  source  of  constant 
disturbance,  and  praying  that  a  provisor,  talented 
and  upright,  be  appointed  to  superintend  sacred  af 
fairs.2 

Before  the  sovereign,  Quevedo  spoke  disparagingly 
of  both  Pedrarias  and  Vasco  Nunez;  the  prelate 
alone  was  perfect.  But  beside  the  genuine  ring  of 
Las  Casas,  the  base  metal  of  Quevedo's  composition 
sounded  flat.  The  protector-general  was  at  this  time 
busy  at  once  with  his  colonization  scheme  and  his 
impeachment  of  the  Jeronimite  Fathers,  who,  although 
meaning  well,  were  slack  in  exacting  the  right  as 

o 

measured  by  apostolic  zeal. 

On  one  occasion,  in  the  royal  antechamber  at  Mo- 
lin  del  Hey,  while  waiting  for  the  bishop  of  Badajoz, 
one  of  the  king's  preachers,  with  whom  he  had  an 
engagement  to  dine,  Quevedo  was  bluntly  accosted 
by  Las  Casas.  "I  understand,  my  lord,  that  you  are 
the  bishop  of  Darien.  I  too  am  interested  in  the  In 
dies,  and  it  is  my  duty  to  offer  you  fellowship."  "Ah ! 
Senor  Casas,"  rudely  replied  Quevedo.  "And  from 
what  text  will  you  preach  us  a  sermon  to-day?"  "I 
have  ready  two  sermons,"  retorted  the  always  armed 
Protector,  "which,  if  you  would  listen  to  them,  might 
prove  to  you  of  higher  import  than  all  the  moneys 
which  you  bring  from  the  Indies."  "  You  are  beside 
yourself!  You  are  beside  yourself !"  was  all  the  bishop 
could  stammer  as  his  host  appeared  and  withdrew  him 
from  the  merciless  shots  of  Las  Casas.  But  Quevedo 
was  not  to  escape  so  easily.  Presenting  himself  after 
dinner  at  the  house  of  the  king's  preacher,  Las  Casas 
tortured  his  enemy  into  yet  hotter  dispute.  Young 
Charles  hearing  of  it  ordered  the  battle  of  the  priests 
to  be  continued  before  him.  This  was  the  first  audi 
ence  by  the  prince  in  matters  relative  to  the  Indies. 

2  First  by  the  hand  of  Pedrarias  deAvila,  the  governor's  nephew,  February 
16,  1515,  and  again  January  28,  1516.  See  Puente,  Carta,  in  Pacheco  and 
Cardenas,  Col  Doc.,  ii.  541-8;  Gonzalez  Ddvila,  Teatro  Ecdes.,  ii.  57. 


QUEVEDO  AND  OVIEDO  IN  SPAIN.  463 

Brought  into  the  royal  presence  Quevedo  thanked 
God  for  the  honor,  pronounced  the  first  governor  of 
Darien  a  bad  one,  the  second  much  worse,  and  the 
savages  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Las  Casas  follow 
ing  charged  the  fault  as  much  to  royal  officers  and 
clergy  as  to  hidalgos  and  lesser  subjects. 

Soon  after  this  discussion  Quevedo  presented  two 
memorials,  one  against  Pedrarias  Davila,  and  the  other 
for  restricting  the  power  of  governors  in  general,  and 
of  the  military,  and  for  the  better  protection  of  the  na 
tives.  He  pledged  himself  to  name  a  ruler  for  Castilla 
del  Oro,  meaning  Diego  Velazquez,  then  governor  of 
Cuba,  who  would  expend  from  his  own  private  means 
fifteen  thousand .  ducats  in  the  service  of  the  colony. 
Within  a  few  days  thereafter  Quevedo  was  seized  with 
an  illness  which  terminated  in  his  death;  Charles 
was  summoned  to  accept  the  imperial  crown,  and  for 
a  time  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  affairs  of  the 
Indies.3 

Another  political  agency  appeared  in  Spain  about 
this  time.  Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Oviedo  y  Valdes, 
first  chronicler  of  the  New  World,  who,  as  we  have 
seen,  came  with  Pedrarias  to  Tierra  Firme  as  super 
intendent  of  gold-melting  and  acting  notary -general, 
becoming  disgusted  with  both  the  governor  and  the 
bishop  departed  from  that  shore  in  October,  1515. 
Scarcely  had  Oviedo  arrived  at  Madrid  when  he 
received  word  of  King  Ferdinand's  death,  which  was 
a  severe  blow,  as  he  had  hoped  through  the  influence 
of  his  former  patrons  to  reorganize  the  government 
of  Castilla  del  Oro  and  place  it  on  a  better  basis. 
Proceeding  to  Flanders  he  laid  the  matter  before  the 
ministers,  and  was  referred  to  Cardinal  Jimenez,  who 
listened  and  did  nothing.  There  the  matter  rested 
until  the  death  of  the  cardinal,  when  Oviedo  again 

3  Juan  de  Quevedo  was  a  friar  of  the  order  of  St  Francis,  a  native  of  Bejori 
in  Old  Castile ;  was  consecrated  bishop  by  Leo  X. ,  and  died  December  24, 
1519.  He  was  a  double-faced  divine,  mercenary,  but  with  good-natured  pro 
clivities.  Gonzalez  Davila  who  gives  his  biography,  Tealro  Ecles. ,  ii.  58,  says 
that  he  was  defeated  in  the  discussions  with  Las  Casas.  See  also  JRemesal, 
Hist.  Chyapa,  73-6. 


4G4        DECLINE  OF  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

appeared  at  court  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  the 
appointment  of  Lope  de  Sosa  to  succeed  Pedrarias 
in  the  government  of  Castilla  del  Oro.  Satisfied 
thus  far  in  his  attempts  to  Ibenefit  the  colonists  at 
Antigua,  he  solicited  for  himself  the  government  of 
Santa  Marta.  The  appointment  was  conferred;  but 
being  refused  one  hundred  knights  of  Santiago,  who 
were  deemed  indispensable  to  the  subjugation  of  the 
country,  he  declined  the  office.  Like  Quevedo,  he 
aroused  the  enmity  of  Las  Casas,  through  his  oppo 
sition  to  the  schemes  of  the  fiery  philanthropist  in 
the  management  of  the  natives.  Nevertheless  Oviedo 
obtained  many  beneficial  decrees  for  Darien.  The 
duties  of  the  governor  were  defined  anew;  royal  offi 
cials  were  forbidden  to  trade;  the  royal  assay er  was 
required  to  give  bonds;  orders  were  issued  regulating 
the  gold -melting  house;  duties  were  abolished  for 
four  years;  the  export  duty  on  gold  was  reduced 
nearly  one  half  for  a  term  of  five  years. 

A  business  paralysis  succeeded  the  dark  days  at 
Acla.  Little  was  done  in  1518  in  the  way  of  new  ad 
venture,  though  Pedrarias  had  enough  to  occupy  him 
self  withal,  in  keeping  his  own  head  on  his  shoulders. 
More  than  one  lofty  scheme  was  cut  short  by  the 
stroke  that  laid  lifeless  Yasco  Nunez.  The  young 
and  hardy  scarcely  dared  achieve  prominence ;  the  old 
and  imbecile  could  not;  even  the  ferocious  genius  of 
Francisco  Pizarro  lay  dormant  all  through  his  fiery 
youth,  and  past  early  impatient  manhood,  unknown 
even  to  himself. 

Made  captain-general  of  the  South  Sea,  not  long 
after  the  catastrophe  at  Acla,  Espinosa  was  unable  at 
once  to  take  command  in  person  of  the  force  at  Isla 
Rica.  Though  the  licentiate  was  of  a  mild,  obedient 
disposition,  it  was  not  without  misgivings  that  Pedra- 
•rias  permitted  him  to  assume  so  important  a  trust,  the 
most  dangerous  for  purposes  of  revolt  of  any  within 
the  government  of  Castilla  del  Oro;  for  instruments 


SOUTH  SEA  ATTRACTIONS.  465 

employed  in  the  accomplishment  of  base  purposes  are 
not  apt  to  inspire  the  greatest  confidence.  But  Espi- 
nosa  was  not  a  mere  rover;  he  was  an  anchored  judge 
already  high  in  colonial  office,  whose  robberies  and 
murders,  however  unjust  and  lawless,  were  of  a  quasi 
judicial  nature;  moreover  he  was  popular  with  the 
soldiers,  for  his  legal  decisions  by  no  'means  interfered 
with  popular  rights  in  pillage  and  licentiousness.  In 
deed,  when  Pedrarias  afterward  contemplated  absence, 
the  people  of  Antigua  begged  that  Espinosa  might  be 
left  there  to  govern  them,  but  this  excited  the  jealousy 
of  the  governor,  who  refused  the  petition.* 

The  much  talked  of  interoceanic  chain  of  posts,  with 
a  commercial  city  at  either  end,  was  not  yet  an  accom 
plished  fact.  As  the  breadth,  coast-trends,  and  con 
figuration  of  the  country  became  better  known,  Acla 
was  found  situated  too  far  to  the  eastward.  The  nar 
rowest  part  of  the  Isthmus  had  been  ascertained,  as 
also  the  most  practicable  route  for  a  road,  requiring 
a  north-coast  seaport  somewhere  opposite  Panama", 
which  had  long  since  been  decided  upon  as  the  best 
site  for  a  city  on  the  southern  seaboard.  Hernan 
Ponce  de  Leon,  temporarily  stationed  there,  had 
abandoned  the  place,  so  that  both  termini  of  the 
proposed  road  must  be  founded  anew.  The  point 
selected  on  the  north  coast  was  Nombre  de  Dios. 

Before  Espinosa  was  ready  for  his  South  Sea  com 
mand,  positive  information  of  the  appointment  of  Lope 
de  Sosa  reached  Antigua.  It  now  behooved  both 
Pedrarias  and  the  licentiate  to  look  to  their  footing, 
for  it  was  not  unlikely  to  fare  hard  with  them  in 
their  coming  residencias.  It  might  be  as  well,  after 
all,  for  these  astute  and  subtle  minds  to  fall  back 
upon  the  idea  of  Vasco  Nunez — indeed,  the  cavalier's 
ideas  seemed  better  than  any  of  their  own — of  with 
drawing  beyond  the  possibly  too  restraining  influences 

4Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.  lib.  iii.  cap.  iii.,  gives  the  erroneous  impres 
sion  that,  when  Pedrarias  retired  to  Panama,  Espinosa  was  left  to  govern  at 
Antigua  as  captain-general.  Acosta,  Compend.  Hist.  Nueva  Granada,  75-6, 
copies  the  error. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    30 


466        DECLINE  OF  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

of  superior  authority,  and  establishing  themselves  in 
freer  latitudes.  The  north  coast  offered  no  further 
attractions  in  any  event.  Give  them  the  South  Sea, 
and  Sosa  might  have  the  north,  and  die  there  at 
his  convenience.  For  it  was  assuredly  the  abode  of 
death. 

Pedrarias  accordingly  determined  to  make  the 
southern  seaboard  his  future  base  of  operations,  and 
to  convey  thither  as  much  as  possible  of  what  he 
esteemed  valuable.  To  this  end  he  embarked  from 
Acla,  and  laid  before  the  council  at  Antigua  a  pro 
posal  to  abandon  that  site,  and  remove  the  capital 
to  Panama".  The  plan  was  not  regarded  with  favor, 
as  he  neither  expected  nor  desired  it  to  be;  for,  if 
Panamd  was  made  the  capital,  Sosa's  government 
would  be  there,  and  might  seriously  interfere  with 
his  projects.  Two  advantages  were,  however,  gained 
by  making  the  proposal.  By  opening  the  question 
it  unsettled  the  minds  of  residents  at  Antigua,  and 
enabled  Pedrarias  with  less  difficulty  to  enlist  recruits, 
and  it  could  not  afterward  be  said  that  he  had  sought 
to  abandon  the  government,  having  offered  to  carry 
it  with  him.  Nevertheless,  he  could  not  part  with 
the  people  and  their  council  without  a  fling  at  them ; 
so,  one  night  he  summoned  the  cabildo  to  appear  at 
his  house,  and  took  from  them  their  insignia  of  office, 
leaving  the  municipality  to  manage  as  best  it  might 
during  his  absence.  Returning  to  Acla,  he  ordered 
Espinosa  to  summon  the  forces  stationed  in  the 
province  of  Pocorosa,  and  unite  with  them  all  the 
available  troops  of  the  colony.  With  these,  and  such 
provisions  and  articles  of  trade  and  use  as  they  could 
lay  their  hands  upon,  the  governor  and  the  alcalde 
mayor  set  out  across  the  cordillera  for  the  Southern 
Sea. 

Pedrarias  was  not  altogether  satisfied  with  the 
site  of  his  proposed  Pacific  city.  On  either  side  of 
the  old  fish-drying  station  thick  tangled  woods  rose 
from  marshy  bottoms;  so  that,  while  the  spot  called 


FOUNDING  OF  PANAMA.  467 

Panama  was  obviously  malarious,  there  seemed  at 
hand  no  better  one.5  At  the  Pearl  Islands  affairs 
were  found  as  Vasco  Nunez  had  left  them.  Com- 
panon  had  proved  faithful  to  his  trust.  More  acts  of 
possession  were  now  inflicted  on  this  thrice -gulped 
wilderness,  one  on  the  mainland,  January  27,  1519, 
and  one  two  days  after,  on  the  Isla  Rica  of  Vasco 
Nunez,  called  by  Pedrarias  as  Morales  had  christened 
it,  Isla  de  las  Flores.6  Taking  the  ships  Balboa  had 
built,  the  governor  and  Espinosa  embarked  the  forces, 
and  proceeded  to  the  island  of  Taboga,7  where  Badajoz 
had  been  three  years  before,  opposite  and  some  five 
leagues  distant  from  the  proposed  settlement. 

Pedrarias  and  Espinosa  had  now  at  their  command 
about  four  hundred  men,  most  of  whom  were  opposed 
to  city-building  as  detrimental  to  the  nobler  profession 
of  plundering.  But  calming  their  fears  in  this  regard, 
Pedrarias  sought  to  secure  their  interest  in  his  scheme 
by  partitioning  the  lands  adjacent  to  Panama,  and 
giving  to  each  man  a  section.  Foraging  expeditions 
were  sent  out  at  once,  and  the  soldiers  were  encour 
aged  to  make  captures,  and  so  secure  laborers  for  their 
lands  and  means  for  the  indulgence  of  their  lusts.  Thus 

o 

every  settler  soon  had  from  forty  to  ninety  slaves,  who 
did  not  live  long,  however.  Nor  were  the  colonists  at 
Antigua  forgotten  in  this  division,  to  the  end  that  by 
offering  superior  inducements  here,  the  northern  coast 
might  the  sooner  be  depopulated. 

5  In  fact,  neither  Nombre  de  Dios  nor  Panama,  as  at  this  time  located, 
remained;  the  former,  by  order  of  Philip  II.,  being  removed  five  leagues  to 
the  westward,  to  Portobello,  and  the  city  of  Panama  being  refounded  two 
leagues  west  of  the  original  site,  each  port,  at  the  time  of  its  depopulation, 
claiming  over  40,000  Spaniards  as  victims  to  the  unwholesomeness  of  the 
climate,  during  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years.     It  was  not  until  after  these 
places  had  become  the  entrepots  for  a  large  traffic  with  Peru  and  the  north 
western  coast  that  the  changes  were  made. 

6  It  was  in  the  former  instance  that  Pedrarias  sought  to  pluralize  his  owner 
ship  by  taking  possession,  quasi  possession,  and  repossession,  as  fully  related 
in  that  curious  document  by  Mozolay,  Testimonio,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas, 
Col.  Doc. ,  ii.  549-56,  of  which  I  have  made  an  abstract  in  a  previous  chapter. 

7  A  better  anchorage,   owing  to  the  wide  stretch  of   shelving  beach  at 
Panama,  which  was  uncovered  at  low  tide.     Herrera  says  that  in  his  day 
vessels  in  summer  rode  in  the  strand,  and  in  the  winter  in  the  haven  of  Perico, 
two  leagues  from  the  port  of  Panama. 


468        DECLINE  OF  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

The  formal  act  of  founding  the  city  of  Panama*  was 
consummated  August  15,  1519 ;  the  public  notary  certi 
fying  that  Pedrarias  Davila  founded  then  and  there  a 
city,  the  name  whereof  was  Panama" ,  and  that  in  the 
name  of  God,  and  of  the  queen,  Dona  Juana,  and 
of  Don  Carlos,  her  son,  he  would  defend  the  same 
against  all  opposers.8 

Not  the  least  important  or  successful  among  the 
foraging  expeditions  at  this  time  sent  out  from  Pan 
ama  was  one  under  Espinosa,  who  with  a  hundred 
and  fifty  men  embarked  in  one  of  the  brigantines  in 
search  of  the  gold  that  Badajoz  had  lost.  Ah!  that 
gold;  the  Spaniards  could  scarcely  sleep  for  thinking 
of  it.  But  now  the  licentiate  should  judicially  recover 
it;  then  might  Panama*  have  rest. 

Dropping  westward  a  few  leagues,  Espinosa  anch 
ored  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  river  flowing  through 
the  province  of  Cutara,  called  after  the  son  of  the  late 
Paris  who  now  ruled  that  province.  Ascending  the 
river  in  canoes  the  Spaniards  surprised  by  night  the 
village,  and  no  opposition  being  offered,  the  robbers 
took  such  plate,  provisions,  cotton  cloth,  and  Indian 
weapons  as  they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  It  then 
occurred  to  the  more  ghoulish  of  the  company  to 
search  the  death-chamber  of  the  cacique  Paris,  whose 
body  was  then  lying  in  state.  And  there,  thanks  be 
to  God,  and  praise  eternal  to  Mary!  round  the  corpse 
were  not  only  the  golden  plates  before  captured,  but 
piles  of  vessels  and  ornaments  of  the  same  blessed 

8  As  Pascual  de  Andagoya,  Relation,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  406, 
says,  '  Panama  se  fund6  el  afio  de  10,  dia  de  Ntra.  Sra.  de  Agosto,  y  en  fin 
de  aquel  afio  pob!6  al  Nombre  de  Dios  un  capitan  Diego  Alvites  por  mandado 
de  Pedrarias. '  And  Herrera  writes,  dec.  ii.  lib.  iii.  cap.  iii. ,  '  Concordan- 
dose  todos  en  esto,  Ilam5  Pedrarias  a  mi  escrivano,  y  le  pidio  por  testimonio 
como  alii  de  positiva  una  villa  q  se  llamasse  Panama  en  nobre  tie  Dios  y  de 
la  Reyna  dona  luana,  y  don  Carlos  sn  hijo,  y  protestava  dela  defender  en  el 
dicho  nornbres  a  qualesqnier  cotrarios.'  See  further  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.y 
v.  200-20;  Morelli,  Fasti  Novi  Orbis,  17;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  iii.  61-4;  Gomara, 
Hint.  Ind.,.85;  Benzoni,  Hist.  Mondo  Nvovo,  51;  Du  Perier,  Gen.  Hist.  Voy., 
167  ;  Panama,  Descrip.  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ix.  89-90;  Zuazo, 
Carta,  in  id.,  xi.  312-19;  Gonzalez  Davila ,  Ttatro  Ecles. ,  ii.  56;  Purchas,  His 
Pilyrimets,  iv.  882. 


THE  STUBBORN  CABILDO.  4G9 

metal.  By  this  desecration,  gold  to  the  value  of  forty 
thousand  castellanos  was  secured,  which  made  glad 
the  heart  of  the  old  governor  at  Panama.  And  who 
shall  say  the  learned  licentiate  was  not  an  humane  and 
pious  man,  a  just  judge  and  good  Christian  withal, 
when  after  taking  the  trouble  to  drive  the  inhabitants 
of  that  village  captives  to  the  sea,  he  liberated  them 
all  at  the  entreaty  of  the  youthful  cacique,  who  had 
followed  them  wildly  wailing,  and  faithfully  promising 
a  ransom  of  as  much  more  gold  as  had  been  already 
taken  ?  On  the  way  back  the  licentiate  stopped  at  the 
landing  of  the  cacique  Biruquete,  of  whom  he  bought 
a  cargo  of  maize,  without  paying  for  it.  Lest  the 
treasure  should  fall  into  improper  hands,  half  of  it 
was  buried  at  Panama  by  Pedrarias  and  Espinosa; 
with  the  remainder  the  worthy  couple  set  out  imme 
diately  for  Antigua,  where  the  latter  paid  over  the 
king's  share,  and  then  made  preparations  for  a  voyage 
of  discovery  along  the  coast,  toward  the  north-west. 

It  occurred  to  Pedrarias  that  while  Espinosa  was 
absent  from  Darien  with  the  men  and  ships  making 
discoveries,  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  visit  Spain  and 
place  his  declining  power  on  a  firmer  basis.  But  in 
order  to  leave  he  must  have  permission  from  the  chief 
authority,  or  else  lay  down  his  office  and  submit  to  a 
residencia.  Since  the  Jeronimite  Fathers  had  made 
the  cabild.o  of  Antigua  their  agent  to  watch  Pedrarias, 
and  if  possible  keep  him  within  the  bounds  of  human 
ity  and  decency,  he  applied  to  it  for  permission  to 
leave  the  country,  and  was  refused.  It  was  very 
hard,  he  said,  that  the  king's  governor  should  be  thus 
subject  to  check  by  a  vulgar  town  council;  but  the 
friars  at  Santo  Domingo  must  be  obeyed. 

Since  he  could  not  go  to  Spain  Pedrarias  wrote  the 
royal  authorities  there,  setting  forth  what  he  had  done 
at  Panama",  soliciting  a  South  Sea  government  for 
himself,  and  the  removal  of  the  municipality  and 
cathedral  of  Antigua  to  the  new  city.  Again,  midst 


470       DECLINE  OF  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

much  storming,  he  applied  for  leave,  saying  he  had 
been  chosen  procurador  in  Castile;  and  again  he  was 
refused  permission.  Then  he  dissembled,  spoke  softly, 
and  said  he  loved  the  councilmen  as  his  children,  but 
nothing  availed. 

An  act  of  this  council,  passed  during  his  absence, 
greatly  exasperated  him,  as  tending  to  show  a  dis 
regard  for  his  authority.  This  was  the  granting  of 
a  request  by  Diego  de  Albites  to  plant  a  colony. on 
the  coast  of  Yeragua.  Fearing  that  the  friars  might 
impose  upon  him  further  restrictions  he  abruptly  broke 
off  all  conference  with  the  council  of  Antigua,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  Panama. 

There  he  found  the  soldiers  and  colonists  more  than 
ever  dissatisfied.  Provisions  were  scarce,  and  there 
was  fever  among  them,  and  they  said,  Espinosa  among 
the  rest,  if  they  were  to  become  citizens,  they  would 
prefer  the  pure  air  of  Spain  to  this  pest-hole.  "Very 
well,"  replied  the  governor,"  let  the  gold  be  unearthed, 
and  that  with  all  the  rest  returned  to  the  people  of 
Paris,  as  the  Jeronimite  Fathers  have  ordered,  arid 
let  us  return  to  Castile.  I  assuredly  can  live  there 
without  hunger."  A  threat  from  Pedrarias  to  do 
a  righteous  act  was  uncommon  and  terrifying.  The 
disaffected  were  silenced;  and  while  Pedrarias  yielded 
so  far  as  to  agree  to  the  search  for  a  more  favorable 
country  to  the  westward,  it  was  at  the  same  time 
determined  that  the  building  of  Panamd,  should  be 
proceeded  with. 

Meanwhile  the  cabildo  of  Antigua  proceeded  as  best 
it  could  with  the  establishing  of  a  northern  seaport. 
By  several  successful  raids  on  the»  north  coast,  toward 
Veragua,  Diego  de  Albites  had  accumulated  wealth, 
and  with  wealth  ambition  more  vaulting.  During  the 
war  between  Vasco  Nunez  and  Pedrarias  he  pictured 
to  himself  political  dissolution,  and  sent  to  Spain 
Andres  Nino,  a  pilot,  and  two  thousand  castellanos  to 
purchase  for  him  a  South  Sea  government.  Better 
skilled  in  navigation  than  in  diplomacy  Nino  returned 


THE  DOINGS  OF  ALBITES.  471 

without  the  office  and  without  the  money.  At  another 
time,  while  left  in  command  at  Acla  during  Vasco 
Nunez'  absence  at  the  South  Sea,  Albites  slipped 
cable  and  sailed  for  Espanola,  where  he  applied  for 
authority  to  build  a  town  at  Nombre  de  Dios  or 
establish  a  colony  on  the  coast  of  Veragua.  Referred 
by  the  friars  to  Pedrarias,  as  an  excuse  for  his 
absence  he  enlisted  sixty  men,  loaded  his  ships  with 
much-needed  provisions,  and  returned  to  receive  the 
thanks  of  the  governor  whom  he  had  sought  to  cir 
cumvent.  For  this  faithful  service  he  received  per 
mission  from  Pedrarias  to  make  an  incursion  into  the 
province  of  Veragua,  which  greatly  offended  Vasco 
Nunez;  and  when  Albites  returned  successful  from 
this  raid  the  cabildo  at  Antigua  granted  him  permis 
sion  to  establish  a  settlement  not  only  in  that  province, 
but  at  Nombre  de  Dios,  to  Pedrarias'  extreme  annoy 


ance.9 


It  was  in  1517  that  Albites  returned  to  Antigua 
from  Veragua,  Chagre,  and  Nombre  de  Dios  with 
much  gold  and  many  slaves.  According  to  Herrera 
he  attempted  an  expedition  to  Veragua  in  1518,  but 
was  driven  back  to  Nombre  de  Dios,  where  he  founded 
a  city.  Andagoya  is  correct,  however,  when  he  places 
the  settlement  of  Nombre  de  Dios  in  the  latter  part 
of  1519,  though  it  was  not  by  order  of  Pedrarias  as 
he  affirms.  Embarking  from  Antigua  in  a  brigantine 
and  caravel,  Albites  touched  at  the  isle  of  Basti- 
mentos,  and  coasted  westward  a  few  leagues,  raiding 
upon  the  natives  for  gold  with  meagre  results.  One 
of  the  ships  becoming  leaky  he  returned  to  Basti- 
mentos,  where  it  foundered.  Thence  he  was  conveyed 
by  the  cacique  in  canoes  to  Nombre  de  Dios,  and  at 
once  set  about  building  a  town. 

Two  opposite  posts  being  thus  established,  a  road 

9  Morclli,  Fasti  Novi  Orbis,  16,  states  that  Albites  entered  the  Rio  Chagre  in 
1515.  '  Didacus  Albitez  itidem  Hispanus  Chagre  fluvium  subiit.'  In  1516 
were  put  forward  his  pretensions  to  conquest  in  the  direction  of  Veragua. 
Herrera,  dec.  ii.  lib.  ii.  cap.  xi.;  Andagoya's  Nar.,  23;  Oviedo,  iii.  61-71; 
Galliano's  Discov.,  31. 


472        DECLINE  OF  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

was  constructed  from  sea  to  sea,  "  through  the  mount 
ains  overgrown  with  thick  woods  never  touched  from 
all  eternity,"  as  Peter  Martyr  expresses  it.  At  great 
labor  and  cost  both  to  the  crown  and  to  the  colonists, 
a  way  wide  enough  for  vehicles  was  cut  through 
the  thickets;  trees  were  felled  and  thrown  into  the 
marshes,  obstructing .  rocks  torn  from  their  beds,  and 
bridges  made  where  necessary.10  Thus  was  opened 
through  primeval  shades  a  passage  for  the  blessings 
and  the  curses  of  that  Atlantic  civilization  which  was 
to  illuminate  the  Pacific. 

This  same  year  the  lucky  licentiate  and  alcalde 
mayor,  Gaspar  de  Espinosa,  was  gaining  further  re 
nown  as  discoverer  and  treasure-seeker.  With  Juan 
de  Castaneda  as  pilot,  he  coasted  one  hundred  and 
eighty  leagues  toward  the  north-west,  touching  at 
Huista,  Nata,  Chiru,  Chame,  and  other  posts,  and 
returned  to  Panama  well  laden  with  maize  and  other 
provisions,  and  gold  to  the  value  of  thirty-three  thou 
sand  castellanos.  During  this  exploration  he  entered 
a  gulf  to  which  he  gave  the  name  Culebras,11  from 
the  many  snakes  of  various  colors  seen  there. 

A  stroke  of  better  fortune  than  he  deserved  like 
wise  befell  Pedrarias  not  long  after.  In  May,  1520, 
Lope  de  Sosa,  with  three  hundred  men,  arrived  and 
anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Antigua.  Pedrarias,  who 
was  there  at  the  time,  immediately  made  preparations 
to  receive  him  with  becoming  ceremony.  Having 
given  orders  concerning  his  disembarkation,  the  new 
governor  entered  his  cabin  to  dress.  While  there  he 
was  seized  with  a  sudden  illness,  from  which  he  shortly 

10  Peter  Martyr  says  the  road  was  wide  enough  to  give  passage  for  two  carts 
side  by  side,  'to  the  intent  that  they  might  passe  ouer  with  ease  to  search  ye 
secrets  of  either  spacious  Sea;'  but  at  the  writing  of  his  sixth  decade  the  road 
was  not  completed. 

11  Lying  north  of  Nicoya,  and  so  called  to-day,  that  is  to  say  Puerto  de 
Culebra.     South  of  Lake  Nicaragua,  on  Colon's  and  Bibero's  maps  we  find  G. 
deS.  ti:ir/o;  Vaz  Dourado,  b:.  de  Samtiayo.     By  some  chart-makers  the  results 
and  names  of  one  discovery  were  known,  by  others,  those  of  another;   the 
final  appellation  depended  on  circumstances. 


INOPPORTUNE  DEATH  OF  SOSA.  473 

after  expired.  With  mournful  pomp  and  outward 
demonstration  of  grief  Pedrarias  conveyed  the  body 
to  the  church  and  buried  it  before  the  altar.  Juan 
Alonso  de  Sosa,  the  son,  and  all  the  followers  of  the 
late  governor  were  treated  with  that  show  of  distinc 
tion  which  the  old  courtier  could  so  well  assume. 
Juan  Rodriguez  de  Alarconcillo,  who  came  as  alcalde 
mayor,  and  before  whom  the  residencia  of  the  outgo 
ing  governor  would  have  been  taken,  was  favored  with 
marked  consideration.  By  way  of  prudence,  some 
time  before  the  anticipated  arrival  of  his  judge  Pe 
drarias  had  sent  his  wife  to  Spain  with  all  his  gold 
and  pearls. 

Sosa's  appointment  to  supersede  Pedrarias  was  one 
of  the  reformatory  measures  which  the  chronicler 
Oviedo  claims  to  have  effected  while  in  Spain.12  For 
himself  he  had  obtained,  besides  the  offices  of  veedor 
and  escribano-general,  those  of  collector  of  chamber 
penalties  and  regidor  perpetuo  of  Antigua.  Orders 
were  issued,  furthermore,  to  all  New  World  governors 
to  furnish  him  a  truthful  report  of  all  their  acts,  so 
that  he  might  complete  the  General  History  of  the 
Indies  already  begun.  He  was  also  appointed  re 
ceiver  of  the  property  of  Vasco  Nunez  and  his  accom 
plices  which  had  been  confiscated  to  the  king.  He 
arrived  at  Antigua  with  his  wife  and  two  children 
soon  after  Sosa. 

But  the  heart  of  the  scholar  was  not  in  the  coarse 
cunning  of  Darien  politics;  he  became  discontented, 
irritable,  and  while  commanding  the  respect  of  the 
colonists  he  was  not  popular  with  them.  They  did 
not  want  reform  so  much  as  plunder.  Pedrarias  was 
his  enemy,  as  he  was  the  enemy  of  every  well-mean- 

12  Oviedo's  statements  concerning  himself  during  this  period  of  angry  ex 
citement  must  be  taken  with  duo  allowance.  The  chronicler  gives  himself 
and  his  affairs  at  great  length;  but  I  will  endeavor,  in  my  curtailment  of  his 
account,  not  to  forget  that  there  were  at  this  time,  and  before  and  after, 
twenty  equally  important  issues  of  which  there  are  less  full  records.  See 
Ovled  >,  iii.  41-56  and  72-88 ;  Jose  A  mador  de  /os  IVos,  Vida  y  Escritos  de  Ovicdo, 
in  id.,  i.  pp.  ix.-cvii.;  Herrera,  dec.  ii.  lib.  ii.  cap.  x. 


474        DECLINE  OF  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

ing  man  of  ability.  The  deaths  first  of  a  boy  and 
then  of  his  wife  did  not  tend  to  sweeten  his  disposi 
tion.  "  Many  times  would  I  have  returned  to  Spain," 
he  exclaims,  "had  not  need  and  shame  prevented  me." 

The  powers  of  the  governor  having  been  enlarged 
by  means  of  the  veedor,  Oviedo's  was  the  first  head 
on  which  they  were  visited.  The  principal  quarrel 
was  over  the  depopulation  of  the  northern  coast.  The 
veedor  protested  in  the  king's  name,  but  the  governor, 
now  lord  of  all,  Avas  determined  to  execute  his  cher 
ished  project  while  he  possessed  .  the  power.  There 
was  no  longer  any  need  of  a  north-coast  capital;  Pe- 
drarias  would  make  Panama"  his  metropolis.  Before 
introducing  further  changes,  however,  it  was  necessary 
that  his  residencia  should  be  taken.  But  this,  with 
his  experience,  need  be  nothing  more  than  an  arraign 
ment  and  trial  of  himself.  At  his  request  the  licen 
tiate  Alarconcillo  published  the  residencia  for  thirty 
days,  during  which  time  the  governor  continued  to  ex 
ercise  the  functions  of  office ;  no  one  appeared  against 
him,  and  a  certificate  of  the  proceeding  was  sent  to 
Spain.  Pedrarias  then  took  up  his  permanent  abode 
at  Panama. 

Not  long  afterward  the  veedor  and  contador  were 
obliged  to  visit  Panama"  to  weigh  some  gold  and  re 
ceive  the  royal  share,  since  the  governor  would  no 
longer  send  the  metal  to  Antigua.  The  contador 
took  up  his  residence  there,  but  Oviedo  returned  to 
Antigua,  more  than  ever  determined  to  stand  by  that 
city.  Seeing  which  Pedrarias  was  satisfied  he  could 
no  more  effectually  ruin  his  adversary  than  by  permit 
ting  him  to  have  his  own  way.  Beside,  it  were  as 
well  to  stop  the  tongue  and  pen  of  one  who  could 
make  and  unmake  governors.  So  when  next  Oviedo 
complained  Pedrarias  answered,  "  Senor  Veedor,  since 
you  know  so  well  how  to  achieve  such  desirable  re 
sults,  accept  from  me  what  power  I  possess,  and  govern 
Antigua  according  to  your  pleasure." 

After  some  hesitation  Oviedo  accepted  the  proposal, 


OVIEDO  AS  11ULER.  475 

and  presented  his  credentials  to  the  municipal  council 
in  November,  1521.  Opening  his  administration  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  a  novice,  he  straightway  set  about 
correcting  abuses.  He  forbade  blasphemy,  keeping 
mistresses,  and  selling  or  eating  meat  on  Saturday. 
He  prohibited  gambling,  and  burned  all  the  cards  in 
the  public  square.  A  dishonest  notary  was  required 
to  make  restitution  fourfold  and  be  suspended  from 
office  for  one  year.  Indian  women  must  no  longer  be 
employed  as  beasts  of  burden,  and  Indian  children 
must  not  be  sold  and  bought  as  slaves.  Certain  more 
practicable  provisions,  however,  saved  Antigua,  for  a 
time,  from  the  effects  of  a  morality  which  standing 
alone  would  have  killed  any  colony  in  the  Indies. 
The  new  ruler  bought  for  small  sums  the  houses  of 
those  leaving,  and  sold  them  to  new-comers  at  cost. 
He  erected  a  market,  opened  mines,  built  ships,  and 
sent  out  expeditions  to  smooth  the  ruffled  plumage 
of  the  savage.  He  made  of  old  iron  five  hundred 
hatchets,  which  were  sold  to  the  Indians;  and  when 
they  became  dulled,  their  owners  not  knowing  how  to 
sharpen  them,  he  placed  on  board  a  vessel  three  large 
grindstones,  covered  so  that  the  uncivilized  might  not 
steal  the  secret,  and  proceeded  along  the  coast  grind 
ing  such  implements  as  the  Indians  brought,  and 
charging  therefor  a  sum  equal  to  the  original  cost, 
which  was  cheerfully  paid.  It  is  claimed  that  more 
than  seven  thousand  castellanos  were  thus  secured 
during  one  voyage. 

A  greater  prosperity  followed  these  measures  than 
pleased  Pedrarias.  But  by  revoking  the  many  deci 
sions  of  his  deputy  that  came  up  on  appeal  from 
dissatisfied  colonists,  the  governor  was  enabled  to 
render  Oviedo's  position  one  of  little  power. 

The  staff  of  officials  was  increased  by  yet  another 
alcalde  mayor,  the  licentiate  Sancho  de  Salaya,  for 
the  South  Sea  government  particularly,  who  arrived 
at  Antigua  in  a  caravel  from  Spain,  the  1st  of  July, 
1522.  With  him  came  Rodrigo  Perez,  the  friend  of 


476        DECLINE  OF  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  NORTH  COAST. 

Vasco  Nunez,  vicar  when  sent  in  chains  to  Spain, 
but  returned  arch-deacon.13 

About  this  time  a  rebellion  broke  out  on  the  Rio 
Grande  San  Juan,  caused  by  outrages  perpetrated  by 
the  bachiller  Corral  and  Martin  Estete  during  a  for 
aging  expedition.  Heedless  of  the  warning  of  Oviedo, 
Martin  de  Murga,  visitador  of  the  InHians,  in  com 
pany  with  three  Spaniards  and  ten  friendly  Indians, 
paid  a  visit  to  Bea,  the  cacique  of  this  province,  who 
slew  the  entire  party.  Juan  de  Escaray  with  forty 
men  was  sent  against  the  revolted  chieftain. 

Soon  after  some  christianized  Indians  came  down 
from  the  mountains,  eight  leagues  distant,  and  reported 
outrages  on  them  by  the  cacique  Corobari.  Thirty- 
five  men  were  sent  to  capture  him,  and  when  brought 
in,  Salaya  sentenced  him  to  be  burned;  after  which  the 
licentiate  proceeded  to  Panamd.  Several  spies  caught 
near  Antigua  about  the  same  time  confessed  under 
torture  to  an  insurrection  contemplated  by  the  cacique 
Guaturo,  who  had  joined  Bea.  It  was  his  plan  to  fire 
the  town  and  slay  the  inhabitants.  Oviedo  in  person, 
with  forty  men,  proceeded  against  the  new  rebel,  who, 
with  several  of  the  conspirators,  was  captured  and 
hanged.  This  was  the  last  of  the  wars  of  Antigua. 

At  length  it  pleased  Pedrarias  to  depose  Oviedo, 
and  appoint  in  his  place  the  bachiller  Corral,  who  had 
shortly  before  incurred  the  anger  of  the  chronicler, 
and  had  by  him  been  sent  in  chains  to  Spain,  on  the 
charge  of  having  there  a  wife  while  living  himself  in 
the  Indies.  The  ubiquitous  bachiller  re-appeared  at 
Antigua,  however,  almost  in  a  twinkling.  Of  course, 
the  chronicler  was  very  indignant.  The  revocation 
was  read  in  council;  whereupon  Oviedo  laid  his  staff 
of  office  on  the  chair  which  he  had  occupied  as  presi 
dent,  and  took  his  seat  among  the  members,  saying, 
'This  is  my  place,  given  me  by  the  emperor;  here 

is  « From  which  it  may  be  seen,'  says  Oviedo,  'with  what  justice  Vasco 
Nunez  was  condemned,  when  his  chief  accomplice  comes  back  not  only 
acquitted  but  with  honors. ' 


OVIEDO  RETIRES.  477 

will  I  henceforth  serve  their  Majesties,  as  in  duty 
bound,  and  here  only."  Accompanying  the  revocation 
was  a  decree  from  Pedrarias,  authorizing  the  city  of 
Antigua  to  elect  a  representative  to  a  general  assem 
bly,  to  be  convened  at  Panama  for  the  purpose  of 
providing  measures  important  to  the  province,  and  to 
elect  procuradores  de  cortes,  or  members  of  Congress 
to  send  to  Spain.  Pedrarias  preferred  Espinosa  to 
represent  Antigua,  for  obvious  reasons;  but  instead 
of  sending  a  delegate  to  the  junta  at  Panama,  the 
people  of  Antigua  chose  their  own  representative  in 
the  person  of  Oviedo.  While  waiting  for  a  vessel 
Oviedo  occupied  himself  by  presenting  charges  against 
Pedrarias  before  the  new  alcalde  mayor,  Alarconcillo, 
who  had  ordered  a  second  residencia  of  the  governor, 
and  also  one  of  Espinosa.  For  this  pastime  he  not 
only  narrowly  escaped  paying  with  his  life,  at  the 
hand  of  an  assassin,  but  Pedrarias  ordered  his  late 
lieutenant's  own  residencia  to  be  taken,  and  even 
placed  him  in  irons  until  bonds  should  be  given.  The 
trial  was  passed  without  further  damage  than  a  fine 
of  twenty  castellanos  for  sending  Corral  to  Spain. 
Another  attempt  being  made  at  murder,  Oviedo  on 
the  3d  of  July,  1523,  stole  away,  embarking  ostensibly 
for  Nombre  de  Dios,  but  bearing  off,  he  directed  his 
course  toward  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  and  thence  sailed 
to  Spain.  Verily,  these  were  the  days  of  dissimu 
lation. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 
1519-1523. 

ANDRES  NINO  AND  HIS  SPICE  ISLANDS — FAILS  TO  OBTAIN  AUTHORITY  TO 
DISCOVER — APPLIES  TO  GIL  GONZALEZ  DA  VILA — AGREEMENT  WITH  THE 
KING — ROYAL  ORDER  FOR  THE  SHIPS  or  VASCO  NUNEZ — PEDRARIAS 
REFUSES  TO  DELIVER  THEM — GIL  GONZALEZ  TRANSPORTS  SHIPS  ACROSS 
THE  MOUNTAINS — EMBARKS  FROM  THE  PEARL  ISLANDS — GIL  GONZALEZ 
PROCEEDS  BY  LAND  AND  NINO  BY  SEA — VISIT  TO  NICOYA — AND  TO 
NICARAGUA  —  THE  CAPTAIN-GENERAL  CONVERTS  MANY  SOULS — AND 
GATHERS  MUCH  GOLD — FIGHT  WITH  DIRIANGEN — NICARAGUA  APOSTA 
TIZES — THE  SPANIARDS  TERMINATE  THE  DISCOVERY  AND  HASTEN  TO 
THEIR  SHIPS — NINO'S  VOYAGE  TO  FONSECA  BAY — RETURN  TO  PANAMA. 

THE  pilot  Andres  Nino  was  an  enterprising  fellow, 
not  to  be  put  down  by  any  slight  frown  of  fortune.  He 
had  lately  seen  service  with  Vasco  Nunez,  and  would, 
God  willing,  follow  the  fantasy  thence  engendered. 
If  two  thousand  castellanos  could  not  buy  a  small 
slice  of  dominion  on  the  North  Sea,  he  would  try  the 
South.  And  in  the  mind  of  Nino,  as  with  other  navi 
gators  of  that  day,  the  undiscovered  South  assumed 
fantastic  shape.  There  was  the  originally  created 
strait,  actual  though  invisible,  leading  to  the  Spice 
Islands  hard  by.  Why  should  not  one  pilot  as  well 
as  another  sail  through  that  strait  to  those  fragrant 
shores,  even  though  the  voyage  must  be  begun  by 
crossing  a  little  strip  of  cordillera? 

Such  was  New  World  geography  in  1519,  when  the 
inspired  pilot  found  himself  in  Spain,  soliciting  the 
Council  of  the  Indies  for  the  ships  of  Vasco  Nunez, 
in  which  to  make  his  voyage  to  the  Moluccas ;  for,  if  so 

(478) 


CHARACTER  OF  GIL  GONZALEZ.  479 

be  he  might  get  there  for  the  asking,  it  would  save 
him  much  trouble.  Nino  had  come  under  the  patron 
age  of  Alonso  de  la  Puente,  the  royal  treasurer,  and 
accompanied  by  Andres  de  Cereceda;  but  the  per 
suasive  eloquence  of  the  worthy  pilot  was  wanting  in 
the  soft,  seductive  tones  that  come  from  the  ring  of 
precious  metals,  and  a  second  time  Bellerophon  fell  to 
earth. 

It  happened  that  the  contador  of  Espanola,  Gil 
Gonzalez  Da"  vila,1  was  then  at  the  court  of  Spain ;  and 
it  was  suggested  to  Nino,  who  seemed  to  have  ex 
hausted  all  his  resources,  that  if  he  could  engage  that 
gentleman's  interest  in  the  enterprise,  it  would  be 
equivalent  to  its  accomplishment.  For  he  was  a  man 
of  no  small  influence,  springing  from  a  good  family  of 
Avila,  and  having  been  formerly  attached  to  the  house- 

O  */ 

hold  of  the  all-potential  bishop  of  Burgos.  Pos 
sessed  of  exceptional  ability  and  integrity,  he  had  been 
sometimes  sent  by  the  government  on  missions  of  im 
portance  and  trust,  and  was  engaged  in  one  of  them 
when  first  we  met  him  at  Santo  Domingo,  investigat 
ing  the  affairs  of  the  defaulting  treasurer,  Santa  Clara. 
His  energy  was  of  the  substantial  cast,  authoritative, 
robust,  and  direct.  He  seldom  made  mistakes,  either 
in  men  or  measures;  and  seemingly  was  strongest 
when  standing  at  ease.  Neither  so  bold  as  Vasco 
Nunez,  nor  so  cunning  as  Pedrarias,  nor  so  cruel  as  Pi- 
zarro,nor  solearned  as  Espinosa,he  was  a  man  of  deeper 
and  broader  experience  than  any  one  of  them,  with 
a  more  evenly  balanced  mind,  a  cooler,  sounder  judg 
ment,  not  always  a  warrant  for  greater  success  than 
with  a  more  senseless  recklessness,  but  on  the  whole 
much  safer  as  a  colleague,  and  more  reliable  as  a  friend. 
He  was  not  a  man  easily  diverted  by  hollow  schemes, 
however  brilliant  or  high-soaring ;  but  when  Nino  laid 
before  him  his  plans,  he  saw  at  once  that  they  were 

1  There  were  three  of  this  name  whom  we  shall  encounter,  the  contador  of 
Espariola ;  the  licenciado,  who  was  alcalde  mayor  of  the  Spanish  main  under 
Diego  de  Ordaz,  in  1530;  Simon,  Conq.  Tierra  Firme,  10G-27  ;  and  the  clergy 
man  and  chief  chronicler,  in  1655,  of  the  Indies,  and  of  both  Castiles. 


480         GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

eminently  practical.  There  were  the  ships,  and  there 
the  undiscovered  sea,  of  which  was  already  known 
that  its  shores  abounded  in  gold  and  pearls,  guarded 
by  naked  and  almost  weaponless  men — this,  and  little 
more.  What  more  was  wanted?  It  did  not  require 
a  Periander  to  tell  the  accomplished  contador  that  this 
was  no  ordinary  opportunity.  Fonseca,  who  had  al 
ways  retained  a  warm  interest  in  his  protege,  heartily 
approved  the  plan,  and  the  details  were  soon  arranged 
with  Nino.  Gil  Gonzalez  was  to  be  captain-general 
of  the  expedition;  to  him  was  given  the  habit  of 
Santiago,  and  he  was  recommended  to  the  newly 
appointed  governor  of  Castilla  del  Oro,  Lope  de  Sosa. 
Nino  was  to  be  a  partner  in  the  enterprise,  with  the 
position  of  pilot.  Cereceda  was  chosen  contador  of 
the  discovery.2 

A  royal  order3  was  issued  at  Barcelona  the  18th  of 
June,  1519,  directing  the  governor  of  Castilla  del  Oro 
to  deliver  to  Gil  Gonzalez  the  vessels  built  by  Vasco 
Nunez,  and  authorizing  an  expedition  for  South  Sea 
discovery,  the  expense  of  which  was  to  be  borne 
largely  by  the  crown.  With  this  cedula  Lope  de  Sosa 
promised  faithfully  to  comply. 

During  the  year  following  the  execution  of  these 
documents  Andres  Nino  so  bestirred  himself,  that  his 

2  The  royal  agreement  was  made  specially  with  Nino,  '  piloto  de  su  mages- 
tad  para  el  descubrimiento,'  Gil  Gonzalez  being  named  captain-general.     Nino 
was  to  explore  1,000  leagues  to  the  westward  for  spices,  gold,  silver,  pearls, 
and  precious  stones,  in  three  ships,  furnished  half  by  the  crown  and  half  by 
the  explorers,  who  were  to  receive  for  the  purpose  4,000  castellanos  de  oro, 
from  the  sums  to  the  credit  of  the  crown  in  the  hands  of  the  factor  of  Castilla 
del  Oro.     One  twentieth  of  what  God  might  thus  give  them,  after  the  king 
should  have  received  his  fifth,  was  to  be  devoted  to  pious  purposes.     The  net 
proceeds  to  be  divided  equally  between  the  crown  and  the  discoverers,  accord 
ing  to  the  amount  contributed  by  each.     Wages  paid  the  crew  to  be  counted 
in  the  costs;  or  if  they  went  on  shares,  two  thirds  should  go  to  the  king  and 
Nino,  and  one  third  to  the  captain,  officers,  and  men.     Supplies  were  to  be 
exempt  from  duty,  and  the  explorers  should  have  an  interest  in  the  lands  dis 
covered  by  them.     The  crown  agreed  to  furnish  at  Jamaica  2,000  loads  of 
cassava-root,  and  500  hogs;  also  ten  negro  slaves,  the  explorer  to  pay  the 
owners  for  ten  Indian  slaves  to  serve  as  interpreters.     For  the  faithful  per 
formance  of  these  and  other  obligations,  the  explorer  was  required  to  give 
bonds  in  the  sum  of  2,000  ducats.     Herrera,  dec.  ii.  lib.  iv.  cap.  i.v  gives  only 
a  part  of  the  contract;  inSquier's  M8S.,  i.  12-14,  is  the  document  in  full. 

3  A  copy  of  this  cedula  may  be  found  in  Squier's  MSS.,  i. 


RECEPTION  OF  A  CEDULA.  481 

captain-general  was  enabled  to  land  at  Acla  with  two 
hundred  men,  prior  to  the  arrival  at  Antigua  of  Lope 
de  Sosa.  Pedrarias  was  incensed  that  any  one  should 
presume  to  intermeddle  in  Tierra  Firme  affairs.  Gil 
Gonzalez  nevertheless  despatched  to  him  with  the 
royal  order  Juan  de  Sauce,  who  duly  delivered  it  in 
the  presence  of  the  notary  Martin  Estete.4 

It  is  worth  witnessing  the  reception  by  this  arch- 
hypocrite  of  a  royal  command.  "And  forthwith  the 
said  lieutenant-general,"  writes  the  notary,  "  took  the 
said  cedula  of  his  Highness  in  his  hands,  and  kissed  it, 
and  placed  it  on  his  head,  and  said  that  he  would  obey 
it,  and  that  he  did  obey  it  with  the  utmost  reverence 
he  could  and  ought,  as  a  letter  and  commandment  of 
his  king  and  natural  lord,  whom  may  it  please  God 
our  Lord  to  let  live  and  reign  during  many  and  long 
years,  with  increase  of  kingdoms  and  seignories;  and, 
as  to  the  fulfilment  thereof,  that  his  lordship  would 
see  to  it,  and  answer  and  provide  thereupon  as  might 
be  conducive  to  his  Highness'  service." 

In  which  pathetic  demonstration  no  one  who  knew 
Pedrarias  could  doubt  that  he  never  for  a  moment 
intended  to  do  as  he  had  said.  Rather  than  tamely 

4  In  the  Expediente  sobre  el  Cumplimiento  de  la  Cedula — see  Los  Navios 
de  VOKCO  Nunez,  in  Squier's  MSS. — is  given  at  wearisome  length  the  cere 
mony  and  sayings  at  this  delivery  and  the  results.  Briefly,  on  the  4th  of  Feb 
ruary,  1520,  Pedrarias  humbled  himself  to  the  dust  before  the  sacred  cedula; 
February  5th,  he  talked  much,  saying  that  he  had  finished  the  ships  begun  by 
Vasco  Nunez;  that  they  had  cost  more  than  50,000  ducados,  beside  sweat  and 
blood;  that  with  them  the  great  city  of  Panamd — 'la  cibdad  de  Panama' — 
with  its  gold  mines  on  one  side  and  pearl  fisheries  on  the  other,  had  been 
founded  and  the  country  thereabout  pacified,  and  that  if  the  king  knew  all 
this  he  would  not  take  the  ships  from  those  who  had  built  them  and  give  them 
to  another ;  February  7th,  Juan  del  Sauce  declared  that,  unless  the  ships  were 
surrendered,  all  the  gold,  pearls,  or  other  property  taken  in  them  would  belong, 
under  the  king's  order,  to  the  fleet  of  Gil  Gonzalez;  February  8th,  Pedrarias 
replied  that  without  the  ships  the  city  could  neither  be  sustained  nor  labor  be 
continued,  and  he  called  on  the  royal  officers  present,  Puente,  the  treasurer, 
Marquez,  the  contador,  and  Juan  de  Rivas,  factor,  to  say  that  these  things 
were  so ;  but  the  royal  officers  answered  that  Pedrarias  must  obey  the  king's 
command  and  give  Gil  Gonzalez  the  ships,  keeping  one,  perhaps,  with  which 
to  protect  the  city,  and  selling  the  others  to  Gil  Gonzalez  on  such  terms  as  he 
and  the  owners  might  arrange.  In  regard  to  withholding  the  ships  Pedrarias 
was  certainly  in  the  right,  though  it  was  dangerous,  and  he  claimed  that  he 
would  obey  and  was  obeying  the  king ;  but  when,  on  February  9th,  he  de 
manded  that  Gil  Gonzalez  should  appear  in  person  and  lay  before  him  the 
instructions  and  plans  of  the  expedition,  he  became  most  coolly  impudent. 
HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.  31 


482         GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

admit  a  new  and  dangerous  rival,  high  in  reputation 
and  royal  favor,  some  risk  might  be  run.  And  so  he 
at  first  agreed,  then  delayed,  interposing  technicalities 
and  pretexts,  and  finally  refused  to  deliver  the  ships, 
alleging  as  an  excuse  that  they  were  private  property, 
and  claimed  as  such  by  individuals.  In  vain  the  cap 
tain-general  urged  that  this  was  not  a  question  of 
rights  of  property,  but  of  royal  command,  which  to 
disobey  was  dangerous.  Pedrarias  stood  his  ground; 
and  fortune  sustained  him  in  the  death  of  Sosa,  who, 
had  he  lived,  would  have  made  all  well  for  the  expedi 
tion.  But  in  Gil  Gonzalez  the  old  governor  found  his 
match;  for  the  captain-general  was  no  less  decided 
than  he.  and  far  quicker  in  resources. 

What  Gil  Gonzalez  did  was  to  copy  the  magnificent 
performance  of  Vasco  Nunez,  under  the  circumstances 
scarcely  less  creditable  in  the  imitation  than  in  the 
original.  After  strengthening  his  command  by  re 
cruits  from  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Pedrarias  gov 
ernment,  among  whom  were  the  treasurer  Puente  and 
the  contador  Diego  Marquez,  he  dismantled  his  ships, 
packed  up  the  sails  and  cordage,  and  taking  from  the 
hulls  the  iron,  and  such  of  the  timbers  as  better  suited 
the  purpose  than  those  freshly  cut,  which  were  also 
necessary,  he  secured  the  services  of  some  Indians,  and 
transported  his  vessels  across  the  sierra  to  the  same 
Rio  Balsas  used  by  Balboa.  There  he  constructed 
and  launched  four  vessels,  but  lost  them  all  before 
reaching  the  mouth  of  the  river.5  The  party,  reduced 
in  number  more  than  one  half  since  leaving  Acla,6 
now  crossed  in  canoes  to  the  Pearl  Islands. 

A  letter  directed  to  Pedrarias  in  this  emergency 
was  productive  of  no  results.  Gil  Gonzalez  again  re 
quested  possession  of  the  vessels  of  Vasco  Nunez;  his 

5  Squier,  Dis.  Nic.,  MSS.,  13,  says  the  worms  destroyed  them,  but  Gil  Gon 
zalez  himself  only  remarks,  Carta  al  Rey,  MSS.,  1,  '  Despues  de  hechos  otros 
navios  en  la  Ysla  de  las  perlas  porque  los  4  primeros  que  se  hizieron  en  la 
tierra  firme  se  perdieron.' 

6  Some  say  from  200  to  80.     Both  numbers,  however,  should  be  larger;  for 
the  expedition  gained  men  at  Acla,  and  100  are  mentioned  as  constituting  one 
land  party  during  the  expedition.   Gil  Gonzales,  Carta  al  Rey,  MSS.,  3. 


THE  VOYAGE  NORTH-WESTWARD.  483 

messenger  brought  back  a  surly  verbal  refusal.  The 
captain-general  then  presented  himself  in  person  be 
fore  the  governor  and  demanded  at  least  men  for  the 
building  of  new  ships.  Pedrarias  dared  not  offer 
further  opposition;  and  in  time  four  small  and  poorly 
equipped  vessels  lay  at  the  Pearl  Islands  ready  for  sea.7 
"  In  all  my  experience  while  in  the  service  of  your 
Majesty,"  writes  Gil  Gonzalez  to  the  king,  "  I  have  no 
where  been  handled  so  roughly  as  in  crossing  Tierra 
Firme  with  the  men  I  had  brought  from  Castile, 
having  to  support  them  for  two  years,  and  spend  niy 
goods  and  jewels  on  them,  and  build  the  ships  twice 
over."8 

Embarking  the  21st  of  January,  1522,  having  on 
board  a  few  horses,  with  arms  and  articles  for  traffic, 
Gil  Gonzalez  struck  westward,  and  after  sailing  one 
hundred  leagues  he  was  obliged  to  beach  three  of  his 
vessels  to  save  them  from  the  worms,  while  the  fourth 
returned  to  Panama*  for  pitch  and  other  articles  for 
repairs.  New  water-casks  had  likewise  to  be  made, 
as  those  on  board  were  failing  through  the  rotting  of 
the  hoops.9  Leaving  the  ships  in  charge  of  Andres 

7  Tararequi  Island,  Galvano,  Dlscov. ,  148,  calls  it ;  others,  Terequeri  Islands. 
Gil  Gonzales  writes  plainly  enough,  CartaalRey,  MS.,  2,  *  Me  bolbi  a  la  dicha 
Ysla  de  las  Perlas  .  .  .  i  de  ai  me  parti  a  hazer  el  descubrimiento  que  V  M  me 
mando  hazer.'     The  same  authority  states  that  the  second  four  vessels  were 
built  at  the  Pearl  Islands,  the  others  having  been  'lost  in  the  river  40  leagues 
distant.' 

8  For  conflicting  statements  concerning  this,  compare  Oil  Gonzalez,  Carta  al 
Key,  MS.,  16,  36;    Andagoya's  Nar.,  31-2;    Nino,  Asiento,  MS.,  in  Squier's 
MSS.,  i.  14,  and  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col. Doc.,  xiv.  5-19;  Oviedo,  iii.  65- 
71;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.,  v.  200-4;  Hcrrera,  dec.  ii.  lib.  iii.  cap.  xv.;  dec.  ii. 
lib.  iv.  cap.  i.;  dec.  iii.  i.  cap.  xvi. ;    Helps'  Span.   Gonq.,  iii.  69,  70,  74-6; 
Gordon's  Anc.  Mex.,  ii.  204-8;  Squier'*  Dis.  Nic.,  MSS.,  7-10. 

9 1  follow  the  commander's  own  statement,  made  to  the  royal  authorities 
from  Santo  Domingo,  March  6,  1524.  Of  this,  which  I  quote  as  Carta  de  Gil 
Gonzalez  Ddvila  al  Rey,  I  have  several  copies  in  manuscript,  the  best  being  a 
part  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Squier  Collection.  This  collection,  consisting 
of  twenty-three  volumes  of  manuscripts,  beside  separate  pieces  on  various 
early  affairs  in  Central  America  and  Mexico,  fell  into  my  hands  at  the  sale 
of  the  library  of  the  late  E.  G.  Squier,  so  widely  known  as  an  antiquarian 
and  historical  writer,  a  review  of  whose  works  will  appear  in  a  subsequent 
volume.  The  opportunities  afforded  Mr  Squier  by  his  official  position  as 
charge  d'affaires  to  Central  America,  in  1 849,  and  by  his  researches,  combined 
with  a  natural  bent  as  student  and  author,  prompted  the  collection  of  books 
and  manuscripts  relative  to  Central  America,  a  large  proportion  of  which  I 


434         GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

Nino,  with  orders  to  follow  the  coast  for  eighty  or  a 
hundred  leagues,  and  there  in  some  safe  harbor  to 
await  him,  Gil  Gonzalez  with  one  hundred  men  and 
four  horses  continued  his  way  by  land.  Poor  food,  a 
hot  sun,  with  heavy  rains  and  softened  ground,  made 
the  journey  excessively  irksome.  The  wading  of 
rivers  while  the  body  was  heated  brought  upon  the 
commander  a  cramp,  so  that  he  had  to  be  carried. 
Thus  they  trudged  for  many  clays,  gathering  gold, 
and  christianizing  the  country,  meeting  no  resist 
ance. 

Presently  they  came  to  what  they  called  an  island, 
ten  leagues  in  length  by  six  in  breadth,  "  formed  by 
the  branches  of  a  river,"  which  was  no  island,  however, 
but  the  peninsula  which  forms  the  western  side  of 
the  Golfo  Dulce.10  Here  in  a  huge  wooden  shed,  as 
high  as  a  tower,  which  the  chroniclers  please  to  call  a 
palace,  dwelt  the  ruler  of  that  land,  who  was  invited 
to  retire  while  the  strangers  took  possession  in  the 
upper  part,  the  lower  being  flooded.  For  a  fortnight 
they  sheltered  themselves  from  the  falling  waters. 
One  night  the  palace  posts  began  slowly  to  sink  into 
the  softened  earth;  and  but  for  the  blessed  virgin 
they  would  have  been  lost.  The  light  before  her 
shrine  enabled  the  pious  pilferers,  by  cutting  through 
the  roof,  to  make  their  way  out,  bearing  the  com 
mander  on  their  shoulders.  They  were  then  obliged 

found  useful  in  filling  gaps  in  my  own  sixteenth-century  material.  It  seems 
that  Mr  Squier  intended  the  publication  of  a  series  of  documents  for  history, 
of  which  the  Carta  de  Pa/ado  was  printed  at  Albany,  1859,  and  mimbered  I. 
The  first  volume  of  the  Squier  Collection  of  Manuscripts  contains,  beside  the 
Carta  de  Gil  Gonzalez,  several  documents  on  Nicaraguan  discovery  certified 
by  Navarrete,  Buckingham  Smith,  and  Squier,  as  true  copies  of  the  originals 
in  the  archives  at  Seville  and  in  the  Hydrographies  Collection,  notable  among 
which  are  Real  Cedida  de  8.  M.  expedida  en  18  de  Junio  de  1519,  d  P^drarias 
Ddvila,  para  que  entrerjaxe  los  Navios  de  Basco  Nunez  a  Gil  Gonzales  de  Avila 
y  los  reqiterimtos  que  pasaron  sobre  etlo;  and  Relation  Del  Aslento  y  Capitulation 
que  sc.  tomd  con  Andres  Nino,  Piloto  de  su  Magestad  para  el  descubrimiento  que 
promrtio'  hazcr  en  el  Mar  del  Sur  con  3  Navios,  y  por  Capitan  de  ellos  d  Gil 
Gonzales  Davila. 

10  Peter  Martyr  states  that  they  passed  over  a  body  of  water  to  get  to  it; 
Herrera  and  Oviedo  both  testify  to  a  large  island,  which  we  might  believe 
The 


were  any  such  island  there.     The  truth  is,  parts  of  the  land  were  inundated 
at  this  time  by  the  heavy  rains,  so  that  the  penir 
mainland  by  the  water  made  it  appear  an  island. 


NICOYA.  485 

to  take  to  trees,  and  to  dwell*  in  them  for  several  days, 
the  commander's  quarters  being  a  blanket  stretched 
between  two  branches.  During  the  flood  were  lost 
many  weapons  and  much  plunder. 

After  this  they  proceeded,  sometimes  going  inland 
for  food,  but  groping  along  the  shore  as  best  they 
might.  Once  when  obliged  to  seek  the  ocean  ten 
leagues  away,  they  descended  a  river  on  rafts,  one 
of  which  floated  out  to  sea  in  the  dark,  but  was 
brought  to  shore  next  morning,  by  God's  grace  and 
some  expert  swimming.  Finally  after  robbing  and 
converting  a  number  of  petty  chieftains,  and  securing 
gold  to  the  value  of  forty  thousand  pesos,  they  came 
to  a  gulf11  which  Gil  Gonzalez  called  San  Vicente, 
and  where  to  his  great  joy  he  found  Andres  Nino 
with  the  ships. 

Owing  to  his  lameness  Gil  Gonzalez  would  have 
embarked  by  sea,  sending  Nino  with  the  land  party; 
but  the  men  lost  courage  at  the  prospect  of  remaining 
on  shore  without  their  leader,  because  the  caciques 
were  becoming  more  powerful.  He  accordingly  bound 
Nino  by  oath  to  explore  the  coast  with  two  ships, 
slowly  and  by  day  only,  and  reckon  the  distance  sailed, 
leaving  the  other  two  vessels  with  the  gold  in  San 
Vicente  Gulf,  while  he  himself  plunged  boldly  inland, 
determined  to  subjugate  the  people,  peaceably,  if  pos 
sible,  otherwise  by  force. 

Among  the  caciques  whom  Gil  Gonzalez  met  was 
one  most  powerful  living  near  the  northern  end  of 
the  gulf,  named  Nicoya,  who  gave  a  friendly  recep 
tion  as  a  friend,  and  presented  him  with  gold  to  the 
value  of  fourteen  thousand  castellanos.  When  told 
of  God,  and  of  the  bliss  of  heaven  and  the  pains  of 
hell,  Nicoya  very  sensibly  preferred  the  former  place, 
and  permitted  himself,  his  wives  and  subjects,  to  the 

11  Later  called  Nicoya,  from  the  cacique  of  that  country,  which  name  it 
bears  to-day.  This  was  the  San  Lucar  of  Hurtado.  See  chap.  xi. ,  note  1 1 , 
this  volume.  Kohl  thinks  it  may  have  been  the  5th  of  April,  the  day  of  San 
Vicente  Ferrer,  that  the  Spaniards  arrived  here.  Gomara  states  that  in  early 
times  it  was  also  called  Golfo  de  Ortiiia,  and  Golfo  de  Guetares ;  Goldschmidfs 
Cartography  of  the  Pacific  Coatf,  MS.,  ii.  111-13. 


486         GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

number  of  over  six  thousand  souls,  to  be  baptized. 
Furthermore  he  gave  up  six  golden  idols,  each  of  a 
span  in  length,  '"  For  being  now  a  Christian,"  said  he, 
"  I  shall  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  them."  Which 
emblems  of  perdition  the  Spaniards  did  by  no  means 
scruple  to  take. 

Nicoya  was  a  great  chief,  but  there  was  a  mightier 
than  he,  fifty  leagues  to  the  northward,  whose  name 
was  Nicaragua,  of  whom  Nicoya 'said:  "He  is  wise 
as  well  as  valiant,  and  your  little  army  will  quickly 
melt  before  his  warrior  host." 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  peaceful  policy  adopted 
in  this  expedition  had  thus  far  proved  successful  be 
yond  that  of  any  other  similar  attempt  in  the  Indies. 
The  sworcl  remained  sheathed;  and  with  the  cross  in 
one  hand  and  the  money-bag  in  the  other,  these  mis 
sionaries  militant  walked  the  land  triumphant.  The 
truth  is,  for  the  times  Gil  Gonzalez  was  an  honest  man. 
He  tells  large  stories  about  baptizing,  as  we  shall  see ; 
but  we  are  accustomed  to  some  degree  of  exaggera 
tion  where  proselyting  is  concerned,  and  Gil  Gonzalez 
really  believed  that  the  Christianity  he  gave  Nicoya 
paid  him  well  for  his  gold.  Beside  being  honest,  Gil 
Gonzalez  was  humane;  he  did  not  delight  in  blood. 
Let  us  doublemark  these  traits,  for  they  are  rare  here 
abouts. 

How  different  was  this  from  the  usual  form  with 
which  the  captains  of  Pedrarias  introduced  themselves 
to  savagism,  may  be  seen  in  the  approach  by  Gil  Gon 
zalez  to  a  people  of  doubtful  temper.  When  within 
one  day's  inarch  of  Nicaragua's  town  he  despatched 
to  that  chieftain  an  embassy  of  six  Indians  and  two 
interpreters  to  notify  him  of  his  proximity  and  char 
acter.  "Tell  him,"  said  Gonzalez,  "that  a  captain 
cometh,  commissioned  to  these  parts  by  the  great 
king  of  the  Christians,  to  tell  all  the  lords  of  these 
lands  that  there  is  in  the  heavens,  higher  than  the 
sun,  one  lord,  maker  of  all  things,  and  that  those 
believing  and  obeying  him  shall  at  death  ascend  to 


NICARAGUA.  487 

that  loftiness,  while  disbelievers  shall  be  driven  into 
the  fire  beneath  the  earth.  Tell  him  to  be  ready  to 
hear  and  accept  these  truths,  or  else  to  prepare  for 
battle." 

Nicoya  spoke  the  truth  when  he  pronounced  Nic 
aragua  a  wise  man.  There  is  great  advantage  in 
possessing  an  intellect  unclouded  by  learning.  He  was 
both  wise  and  honest  enough  to  manifest  amazement 
when  messengers  brought  to  him  things  amazing. 
"  Tell  those  who  sent  you,"  said  Nicaragua,  "  that  I 
know  not  their  king  and  therefore  cannot  do  him 
homage;  that  I  fear  not  their  sharp  swords,  but  love 
peace  rather  than  war;  gold  has  little  value,  they  are 
welcome  to  what  I  have.  In  regard  to  the  religion 
they  teach  I  will  talk  with  them,  and  if  I  like  it  I 
will  adopt  it."  Of  the  two  messages,  that  of  the  sav 
age  was  far  the  more  logical  and  sensible. 

Next  day  when  within  one  league  of  the  town  the 
Spaniards  were  met  by  four  of  Nicaragua's  principal 
men,  who  told  them  that  the  king  awaited  their 
coming  in  peace.  On  entering  the  town  they  were 
received  by  Nicaragua,  who  assigned  them  lodgings 
in  the  public  square,  and  placed  all  the  surrounding 
houses  at  their  disposal. 

After  the  presentation  of  gifts,  which,  voluntary 
or  forced,  was  always  first  in  order,  and  which  in 
this  instance  consisted  on  one  side  of  gold  to  the 
value  of  fifteen  thousand  castellanos,  and  on  the  other 
of  a  shirt,  a  red  cap,  and  a  silken  dress,  attention  was 
turned  to  spiritual  affairs.  To  a  lengthy  harangue  on 
what  the  savage  must  do  and  not  do  in  order  to  attain 
Christian  salvation,  Nicaragua  replied:  "I  see  no 
harm  in  it.  We  cannot,  however,  give  up  our  war 
paint  and  weapons,  our  gay  decorations  and  dances, 
arid  become  women!" 

Before  accepting  baptism12  Nicaragua  desired   to 

12  Which  was  received  by  9,017  natives,  large  and  small,  in  one  day,  and 
with  such  enthusiasm  that  the  Spaniards  even  wept.  This  is  as  much  as 
one  should  be  asked  to  believe  at  once;  and  we  must  beg  to  be  excused  from 
the  exercise  of  further  faith  when  the  right  honorable  Gil  Gonzalez  calls 


488         GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  KICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

ask  Gil  Gonzalez  a  few  questions.  u  You  who  know 
so  much  of  the  maker  and  of  the  making  of  this 
world,  tell  me,"  said  he,  "  of  the  great  flood;  and  will 
there  be  another?  In  the  universal  end,  will  the  earth 
be  overturned,  or  will  the  sky  fall  and  destroy  us? 
Whence  do  the  sun  and  moon  obtain  their  light,  and 
how  will  they  lose  it?  How  large  are  the  stars;  how 
are  they  held  in  the  sky,  and  moved  about?  Why  are 
the  nights  made  dark,  and  the  winters  cold;  why  did 
not  the  Christian's  God  make  a  better  world;  what 
honor  is  due  him;  and  what  rights  and  duties  has 
man,  under  whose  dominion  are  the  beasts?  Whither 
goes  the  soul  which  you  hold  to  be  immortal  when  it 
leaves  the  body?  Does  the  Pope  never  die;  and  is 
the  great  king  of  Spain  a  mortal;  and  why  do  the 
Christians  so  love  gold?"  These  and  other  questions 
of  like  import  the  savage  asked,  and  Gil  Gonzalez 
answered  them.  There  was  no  question  that  brave 
and  pious  Gil  Gonzalez  could  not  answer.  And  Peter 
Martyr  says  that  "  Cercceda,  the  king's  treasurer, 
witnessed  the  manner  in  which  Gonzalez  answered 
the  questions  of  Nicaragua."  Strange  to  say,  the  sav 
age  was  not  satisfied.  Doubtless  Gil  Gonzalez  could 
have  made  himself  better  understood  by  a  Christian. 
"Came  these  men  hither  from  heaven?"  whispered 
Nicaragua  to  the  interpreter.  "  They  came  from 
heaven,"  was  the  reply.  "  But  how?"  asked  Nicara 
gua,  "  directly  down,  like  the  flight  of  an  arrow,  or 
riding  a  cloud,  or  in  a  circuit  like  a  bent  bow?"  The 
interpreter  could  not  tell. 

Nicaragua  finally  consented  to  have  the  idols  in 
his  temple  removed,  and  the  Christian's  cross  placed 
in  their  stead.  A  specimen  of  the  worship  they 
had  adopted  was  then  given  them  with  flourish  and 
parade.  Upon  a  high  mound,  whose  summit  was 
reached  by  steps,  Gil  Gonzalez  had  planted  the  cross  on 

heaven  to  witness  that  he  told  each  man  and  woman,  apart  from  the  others, 
that  God  did  not  want  unwilling  service,  and  that  each  for  himself  expressed 
a  desire  for  it.  If  we  allow  him  15  hours  for  his  day's  work,  it  makes  Gl 
persons  an  hour,  or  one  a  minute,  who  were  examined  and  baptized. 


THE  FRESHWATER  SEA.  480 

first  entering  the  town.  A  procession  headed  by  the 
Spanish  and  the  native  leaders  now  marched  solemnly 
about  the  town,  and  ascended  the  steps  of  the  mound13 
on  their  knees,  chanting  their  hymns  of  praise  the 
while.  Proceeding  to  the  temple,  they  erected  there 
an  altar,  and  jointly  placed  upon  it  the  sacred  emblem, 
in  token  the  one  of  giving  and  the  other  of  receiving 
the  true  faith.  Such  was  the  conquest  and  conversion 
of  Nicaragua,  unique  and  spiritual. 

Nicaragua's  town  stood  on  a  large  fresh- water  sea,14 
into  which  Gil  Gonzalez  rode  his  horse  and  took  pos 
session,  drinking  of  the  water.  It  was  barely  three 
leagues  from  the  South  Sea;  but  there  was  no  con 
nection,  and  a  canoe  sent  out  upon  it  could  discover 
no  current.  "  The  pilots  I  had  with  me,"  writes  the 
commander  in  his  narrative  of  the  expedition,  "certify 
that  it  opens  into  the  North  Sea;  and  if  so  it  is  a 
great  discovery,  as  the  distance  from  one  sea  to  the 
other  is  but  two  or  three  leagues  of  very  level  road."15 
One  other  matter  claimed  the  attention  of  the  discov 
erer  at  this  juncture;  which  was  to  ascertain  whether 
the  invaders  of  Mexico,  whose  conquest  was  known 
at  Panarnd  prior  to  the  sailing  of  this  expedition,  had 
carried  their  operations  so  far  south  as  this  point. 
After  close  inquiry  among  the  natives  Gil  Gonzalez 
was  satisfied  that  they  had  not.16 

13  The  Spaniards  were  at  this  time  ignorant  of  the  use  to  which  these 
mounds  were  put.  Had  they  known  them  to  be  great  altars  upon  which 
were  sacrificed  human  beings,  the  mild  and  philosophic  Nicaragua  might 
have  had  occasion  to  prove  the  valor  of  his  warriors. 

14 '  I  digo  mar, '  says  Gil  Gonzalez,  Carta  al  Key,  MS. , '  porque  creze  i  mengua. ' 

15 '  Los  pilotos  qve  con  migo  llebaba  certifican  qve  sale  a  la  mar  del  norte ; 
i  si  asi  es,  es  mui  grand  nueba,  porqve  abra  de  viia.  mar  a  otra  2  o  3  legvas  de 
camino  mui  llano.'  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  question  of  interoceanic 
communication  attracted  the  attention  of  the  first  Europeans  who  saw  Lake 
Nicaragua,  and  this  very  naturally;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  Gil  Gon 
zalez  was  in  search  of  a  strait  or  passage  through  the  continent,  and  if  per 
chance  he  should  find  the  Moluccas  thereabout,  his  whole  object  would  be 
attained. 

115  The  word  Nicaragua  was  first  heard  spoken  by  Europeans  at  Nicoya, 
where  Gil  Gonzalez  had  been  notified  of  the  country  and  its  ruler.  In  the 
earliest  reports  it  is  found  written  Nicaragua,  Micaragua,  Nicorragua,  and 
Nlcarno.  Upon  the  return  of  Gil  Gonzalez  the  name  Nicaragua  became 
famous,  and  beside  being  applied  to  the  cacique  and  his  town,  was  gradually 
given  to  the  surrounding  country,  and  to  the  lake.  It  was  by  some  vaguely 


490         GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

April  of  this  year,  1522,  was  now  at  hand,  and  Gil 
Gonzalez,  well  satisfied  thus  far,  must  determine  what 
next  to  do.  Before  he  was  aware  of  it,  baptism  had 
become  the  rage  in  all  that  region.  His  stay  at  Nica 
ragua  had  been  for  eight  days.  Then  he  went  forward 
north- westwardly  six  leagues  into  the  next  province, 
and  found  there  a  cluster  of  six  towns,  of  two  thou 
sand  inhabitants  each,  all  the  towns  being  less  than 
two  leagues  apart.  These  people,  jealous  lest  Nica 
ragua  should  secure  to  himself  all  the  efficacies  of  the 
mysterious  rite,  came  forward  in  multitudes  to  receive 
it,  freely  giving  the  Spaniards  gold  and  food  and 
slaves. 

Yet  farther  before  the  visitors  spread  their  fame, 
until  a  powerful  cacique,  called  Diriangen,  came  in  great 
state  from  some  distance  to  meet  them.  To  make 
the  most  imposing  appearance  possible,  when  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  Spaniards  Diriangen  halted, 
and  arranged  his  train.  Five  hundred  unarmed  men 
advanced,  each  carrying  one  or  two  turkeys,  whose 
gay  plumage  made  brilliant  the  spectacle.  After 
them  came  ten  banner-men,  their  flags  yet  furled. 
Then  followed  seventeen  women  nearly  covered  with 
plates  of  gold;  after  which  were  five  trumpeters;  and 
lastly,  the  chief  men  of  the  nation,  bearing  on  their 
shoulders  a  palanquin  richly  adorned  with  colored 
cloths  and  feathers,  in  which  sat  the  potentate.  The 
cortege  then  moved  forward  and  entered  the  village 
where  the  Spaniards  were  encamped,  drawing  up  in 
perfect  order  before  the  commander's  quarters.  The 

used  to  designate  the  whole  region  behind  and  between  Hibueras  and  Ver- 
agua.  Later  there  was  the  Provincia  de  Nicaragua,  beside  El  Nuevo  Reyno 
de  Leon.  Herrera  and  many  others  mention  the  Indian  pueblo  by  the  lake. 
For  a  time  the  lake  was  known  as  the  Mar  Duke.  Thus  Colon  lays  it 
down  on  his  map,  in  1527,  as  the  mar  duce,  and  the  town  or  province  mica- 
ragua.  Ribero,  1529,  calls  the  lake  mar  duke  and  the  town  mcaragua. 
Munich  Atlas,  No.  vi.,  gives  only  micaragua,  which  No.  vii.  makes  nica- 
ragna.  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  iii.  455,  gives  Nicaragva  as  a  province.  Mercator 
m  his  Atlas  of  1574,  gives  the  town  of  Nicaragua.  ludocus  Hondius,  in 
Brakes  World  Encomp.,  applies  the  term  Nicaragva  to  a  province  or  large 
extent  of  country.  Ogilby,  Dampier,  De  Laet,  and  other  contemporary 
and  later  authorities  extend  the  name  to  the  lake. 


DIRIANGEN.  491 

litter  was  placed  on  the  ground,  the  ten  white  banners 
were  unfurled,  and  the  trumpeters  blew  a  shrill  mel 
ody.  Presently  Diriangen  ordered  the  musicians  to 
cease,  and  approaching  Gil  Gonzalez  he  touched  his 
hand.  Then  turning  to  the  women,  he  ordered  the  gold 
to  be  presented,  including  two  hundred  golden  hatch 
ets,  which  amounted  altogether  in  value  to  eighteen 
thousand  castellanos.  The  five  hundred  Indians  now 
came  forward,  and  after  severally  touching  the  hand 
of  the  commander,  presented  the  fowls  to  him.  "For 
what  purpose,"  asked  Gil  Gonzalez  of  the  chieftain, 
"have  you  come  so  far  to  meet  me?"  Diriangen  an 
swered:  "Having  learned  that  a  wonderful  people, 
bearded  and  riding  upon  beasts,  had  arrived  in  this 
land,  I  come  that  with  my  own  eyes  I  may  behold 
them,  and  offer  such  hospitality  as  is  in  my  power." 
Gil  Gonzalez  thanked  the  chieftain  courteously,  pre 
sented  him  some  European  articles,  and  after  further 
conversation  asked  him  if  he  did  not  wish  to  become 
a  Christian,  and  a  subject  of  the  king  of  Spain.  Diri 
angen  intimated  that  it  would  give  him  great  pleasure 
to  accept  both  of  these  flattering  proposals,  but  that 
he  first  desired  to  confer  with  his  women  and  priests; 
he  would  return  answer  within  three  days. 

Now  Diriangen  was  a  wily  lord,  who  cared  not  a  jot 
for  the  king  of  Spain,  or  for  his  religion.  He  wished 
to  see  this  spectacle,  and  he  was  willing  to  pay  royally 
for  admission  to  it.  The  faith  his  fathers  had  held 
was  sufficient  for  him,  and  he  preferred  ruling  himself 
rather  than  being  subject  to  another.  He  believed 
he  could  vanquish  that  little  company;  at  all  events 
he  would  try.  With  these  reflections  he  bid  the 
Spaniards  a  warm  adieu,  mounted  his  litter,  and  was 
carried  away.  This  was  on  the  14th  of  April. 

Three  days  after,  while  the  clergyman  of  the  expe 
dition  was  absent  at  a  neighboring  town  whither  he  had 
gone  mounted  on  the  best  horse  and  attended  by  two 
valiant  men,  to  preach,  and  the  Spaniards  were  tak 
ing  their  mid-day  siesta,  Diriangen  came  down  upon 


492         GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

them  with  three  thousand17  men,  armed  with  flint- 
toothed  swords,  lances,  and  arrows,  and  mailed  in  coats 
of  wadded  cotton,  and  was  within  a  cross-bow  shot 
of  them  before  the  alarm  was  given.  Gil  Gonzalez 
sprang  upon  one  of  the  three  remaining  horses,  and 
shouted  to  his  men  to  rally  in  front  of  his  dwelling, 
which  faced  the  square.  He  then  placed  one  third  of 
his  force  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  fearful  lest  the 
enemy  should  fire  it,  for  it  contained  all  their  gold. 
By  this  time  the  square  was  filled  with  Diriangen's 
warriors,  who  gave  immediate  battle,  hand  to  hand. 
The  swift  death-blows  of  the  Spaniards  seemed  to 
carry  no  special  terror  with  them,  and  for  a  time  it 
was  extremely  doubtful  how  the  fight  would  turn. 
The  Indians  brought  six  Spaniards  to  the  ground,  and 
captured  one,  whom,  however,  they  manifested  no  dis 
position  to  kill.  Finally,  upon  a  charge  of  the  com 
mander  and  the  two  other  horsemen  with  their  lances, 
the  enemy  gave  way  and  were  driven  out  of  the  town. 
Gil  Gonzalez  recklessly  pursued,  until  wearied  with 
killing,  and  alone,  he  turned,  when  there  fell  on  him  a 
shower  of  stones  and  darts  which  hurried  him  back  to 
his  people.  Diriangen  had  kept  in  the  background 
during  the  battle,  and  disappeared  immediately  it  was 
over.  None  of  the  Spaniards  were  lost.  The  captive 
was  recovered;  the  priest  returned  in  safety,  and  the 
Indians  were  finally  permitted  to  carry  off  their  dead. 
Luckily  Gil  Gonzalez  had  taken  the  precaution  to  in 
crease  the  number  of  bearded  men  by  cutting  hair 
from  the  heads  of  Spaniards  and  fixing  it  to  the  chins 
of  twenty-five  young  natives  of  his  company. 

After  clue  consultation  it  was  decided  to  terminate 
the  exploration  at  this  point  and  return  to  Panama. 
They  had  obtained  a  large  amount  of  gold,  and  had 
baptized  many.  The  feats  of  conversion,  however, 
might  with  better  grace  have  been  magnified  into 
miracle,  had  not  the  most  promising  disciples  aposta- 

17  The  narrative  says  3,000  or  4,000;  I  name  the  lowest  number,  giving  the 
reader  the  right  of  reducing  at  pleasure. 


RESULTS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION.  493 

tized  before  their  back  was  fairly  turned.  As  the 
Spaniards  entered  the  province  of  Nicaragua,  on  the 
way  to  their  ships,  a  plan  of  that  sapient  ruler  was 
revealed  to  Gil  Gonzalez,  none  other  than  to  repeat 
the  experiment  of  Diriangen.  Immediately  sixty 
Spaniards,  all  who  were  at  present  sound,  formed 
into  a  hollow  square,  so  as  to  act  defensively  and 
offensively  while  marching,  having  the  invalids  and 
treasure  in  the  centre,  and  at  each  corner  a  horseman 
and  an  arquebusier.  As  they  passed  by  Nicaragua's 
town  the  natives  cried  out  to  the  carriers,  who  had 
been  lent  the  Spaniards  by  Nicaragua,  to  throw  down 
their  loads.  To  this  the  Spaniards  made  no  reply; 
but  when  the  natives  attempted  by  force  to  accom 
plish  their  purpose,  Gil  Gonzalez  hurried  forward  the 
weakest  of  his  force,  and  placed  himself  with  seven 
teen  men  in  the  rear.  A  desultory  fight  was  kept 
up  for  some  distance,  during  which  the  cargo-bearers 
managed  to  throw  down  their  loads  and  escape,  to 
the  unutterable  disgust  of  the  Spaniards,  who  were 
thus  obliged  to  carry  them.  Gaining  nothing  by 
this,  but  rather  losing,  the  natives  made  peace.  Nic 
aragua,  by  his  messengers,  disclaimed  any  agency  in 
the  attack,  but  the  Spaniards  had  recognized  some  of 
his  principal  men  among  the  assailants.  At  length 
they  reached  the  gulf  of  San  Vicente  in  safety,  eight 
days  after  the  return  of  the  party  discovering  by  sea. 
Nino  had  coasted  three  hundred  and  fifty  leagues 
north-westerly,  reaching,  according  to  some  estimates, 
the  very  southern  limit  of  Cortes'  conquests.  Hardly 
any  details,  however,  are  given  beyond  the  statement 
that  he  discovered  a  large  bay  which  Gil  Gonzalez 
named  Fonseca,  in  honor  of  his  friend  and  patron  the 
bishop  of  Burgos.  To  an  island  within  this  bay  he 
gave  the  name  of  his  own  niece,  Petronila.18  Return 
ing,  the  expedition  reached  Panama  June  25,  1523, 

18  The  name  of  the  bay  remains;  that  of  the  island  is  lost.  The  early 
names  of  the  islands  in  this  bay  were  S.  Miguel  fa  Possession,  La  Possession, 
and  Esposetcion;  Amapalla,  Amapala,  or  /  del  Tigre;  y.  de  flecheros,  Man- 
f/era,  or  Manyucra.  Jefferys  calls  the  bay  Fonseca  or  Amapalla.  East  of 


494         GIL  GONZALEZ  IN  COSTA  RICA  AND  NICARAGUA. 

with,  gold  in  value  to  112,000  pesos,  half  of  which  was 
of  inferior  quality.  According  to  his  reckoning  Gil 
Gonzalez  had  coasted  six  hundred  and  fifty  leagues, 
travelling  by  land  three  hundred  and  twenty-four 
leagues,  and  converting  to  Christianity  thirty -two 
thousand  souls.19 

b:  de  fomsequa  Vaz  Dourado  places  the  wood  monic.  Mercator  locates  the 
town  Canicol  on  the  southern  shore.  Ogilby  places  the  town  Xcres,  De  Laet 
Xerez,  near  B.  de  Fonseca.  On  one  map  there  is  Xcres  or  Chvluteca,  on  the 
eastern  shore,  and  El  viejo  las  Salinas  river  flowing  into  the  bay. 

19  Further  references  to  this  voyage,  unimportant,  however,  are  made  in 
Galvano's  Discov. ,  148-9,  where  it  is  stated  that '  Nigno '  reached  '  Tecoantepec ;' 
Pachcco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  i.  440 ;  Ogilby 's  A  m. ,  238 ;  Crowe's  Cent.  A  m. , 
58;  Gordon's  Anc.  Mex.,  ii.  204-8;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vi.  cap.  ii.-v.;  Conder's 
Mex.  and  Guat.,  ii.  301;  Juarros,  Guat.,  passim;  Pirn's  Gate  of  Pacific,  34; 
Morelli,  Fasti  Novi  Orbis,  18;  Andagoya's  Na,r.y  31-2. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  ROUND  PANAMA  BAY. 
1521-1526. 

EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  WEST  COAST  or  AMERICA — PROGRESS  OF 
PANAMA — LAWS  RESPECTING  SPANISH  SETTLEMENTS  IN  AMERICA — FINAL 
ABANDONMENT  OF  ANTIGUA — ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEA  GOV 
ERNMENT — PIRACY  UPON  PRINCIPLE — PASCUAL  DE  ANDAGOYA  EXPLORES 
SOUTHWARD— CONQUERS  BIRU — RETURN  TO  PANAMA — COLONIES  OF  VER- 
AGUA  AND  CHIRIQUI — THE  CHIEFTAIN  URRAC!  TAKES  UP  ins  ABODE 
IN  THE  MOUNTAINS  AND  DEFIES  THE  SPANIARDS — PIZARRO,  ESPINOSA, 
PEDRARIAS,  AND  COMPANON  IN  VAIN  ATTEMPT  HIS  OVERTHROW — BUILD 
ING  OF  NATA — COMPANON  AS  GOVERNOR — HURTADO  COLONIZES  CHIRI 
QUI — CONSPIRACY — CAPTURE  AND  ESCAPE  OF  URRAC! — SEVERAL  YEARS 
MORE  OF  WAR. 

AT  length  we  find  on  the  Pacific  seaboard  a  Euro 
pean  settlement,  in  the  aboriginal  fishing-station  of 
Panamd,  the  germ  of  a  Spanish  city,  the  first  on  the 
western  side  of  the  American  continent  from  Pata 
gonia  to  Alaska,  the  first  on  the  Isthmus  which 
remains  to  the  present  day.  And  there  was  much 
about  it  which  the  befogged  but  in  many  respects  far- 
seeing  adventurers  of  the  time  could  foretell.  There 
was  wealth  on  this  shore,  but  to  what  extent  they 
knew  not,  as  Peru  stood  yet  unrevealed.  Unless 
some  strait  should  be  found,  or  some  narrower  thread 
of  Ticrra  Firme  offering  superior  advantages,  Panama 
would  become  the  great  entrepot  of  South  Sea  traffic ; 
but  wild  as  were  their  speculations  in  some  respects, 
in  others  the  imagination  was  as  far  behind  the  facts. 
Even  in  their  wildest  dreams  they  had  not  seen  rest 
ing  on  their  broad-stretching  beach  ships  from  the 
north  and  the  south,  and  the  far  western  east,  laden 

(493) 


490          SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  ROUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

with  the  wealth  of  half  a  world,  and  in  the  streets  of 
their  sun-beaten  city  gold  and  silver  stacked  in  bricks ; 
and  spices,  and  precious  merchandise  waiting  trans 
portation  over  the  cordillera  to  Nombre  de  Dios, 
where  cargoes  of  European  goods  in  like  manner  waited 
carriage  southward. 

To  the  importance  of  this  city,  even  at  this  early 
day,  the  Council  of  the  Indies  was  by  no  means  blind; 
and  beside  the  regulations1  of  a  general  nature  regard- 

1  In  making  settlements,  as  in  all  things  relating  to  the  New  World,  it  was 
the  aim  of  the  Spanish  government  to  reduce  details  to  law.  At  p.  19,  vol.  ii. 
et  seq. ,  llecop.  de  Itidlas,  we  find  the  ordenanzas  de  la  poblacion  de  ciudades 
y  villas  begun  by  Charles  V.,  in  1523,  and  continued  by  Philip  II.,  Felipe  III., 
and  Felipe  IV.,  down  to  1G56.  Therein  it  was  ordered  that  in  choosing  a  site 
for  settlement,  which  always  implied  the  building  of  a  town  or  city,  care 
must  be  taken  that  the  place  be  suitable  in  every  respect.  It  should  be 
ascertained  if  it  was  a  healthy  locality,  if  the  young  natives  were  well  and 
strong,  if  many  of  the  people  attained  old  age,  if  the  country  was  favorable  to 
agriculture  or  mining,  and  of  easy  access  by  land  and  sea;  if  by  the  sea,  there 
should  be  a  good  harbor,  and,  if  possible,  the  town  must  be  placed  by  a  river. 
Open  pueblos  must  not  be  built  on  the  seashore  because  of  corsairs.  The  site 
being  chosen,  a  plan  of  the  place  must  be  made,  the  squares  formed,  and  the 
streets  and  lots  laid  out,  and  measured  by  cord  and  rule.  The  location  of  the 
plaza,  or  public  and  official  square,  was  of  primary  import,  since  from  it  to  the 


principal  entrances  ran  the  most  important  streets.  After  the  land  had  been 
set  apart  for  town  lots  and  ejidos,  or  commons,  the  country  adjacent  was  to  be 
divided  into  four  parts,  one  of  them  for  the  person  making  the  settlement, 
and  the  remainder  to  be  assigned  by  lot  to  the  settlers.  In  inland  settlements, 
the  church  should  be  located  at  a  distance  from  the  plaza,  and  on  the  street 
running  from  the  plaza  to  the  church  were  to  be  placed  the  casas  realcs,  or 


THE  SOUTH  SEA  METROPOLIS. 


407 


ing  settlement  and  city -building  which  began  now  to 
be  enacted,  Panama  was  the  recipient  of  special  royal 
favors. 

offices  and  dwelling  of  the  crown  officials,  the  cabildo,  consejo,  or  the  city- 
hall,  the  aduana,  or  custom-house,  and  the  atarazana,  or  arsenal.  Or  the 
church  was  placed  on  one  side  of  the  plaza ;  the  royal  houses  and  the  municipal 
house  on  another ;  the  custom-house  on  the  third ;  while  the  remaining  side 
might  be  devoted  to  business  houses  or  dwellings.  Thus  a  stranger  entering 
any  Spanish  town  could  find  without  direction  all  the  principal  places.  Mar 
keting-stalls,  usually  with  an  awning,  were  admitted  in  the  plaza.  If  a  sea 
board  town,  the  church  must  be  so  placed  that  it  could  be  seen  on  entering  the 
harbor,  and  so  constructed  as  to  serve  for  purposes  of  defence.  In  this  case 
the  plaza  must  be  at  the  landing;  if  inland,  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  In 
form  it  must  be  a  parallelogram,  the  length  to  be  at  least  one  and  a  half  times 
the  width,  as  the  best  shape  for  feats  of  horsemanship;  its  size  should  be, 
according  to  population,  not  less  than  200  by  300  feet,  nor  more  than  800  by 


532  feet,  a  good  size  being  600  by  400  feet.  From  the  plaza,  whose  corners 
stood  toward  the  four  cardinal  points,  issued  four  principal  streets,  one  from 
the  middle  of  each  side,  and  two  smaller  streets  from  each  corner.  In  cold 
countries  the  streets  had  to  be  wide;  in  hot  countries,  narrow.  Houses  not 
to  be  built  within  300  pasos  or  750  feet,  of  the  walls  or  stockade.  Town  lots 
and  lands  not  distributed  to  settlers  belonged  to  the  king,  and  were  reserved 
for  future  settlers.  Then  the  law  states  how  first  settlers  must  hasten  with 
their  house-building,  after  having  planted  and  assured  themselves  of  food  for 
the  season,  building  with  economy  and  strength,  and  throwing  round  the 
town  palisades  and  intrenchments.  The  houses  must  be  uniform,  and  with 
good  accommodations  for  horses. 

Any  ten  or  more  married  men  might  unite  to  form  a  new  settlement,  and 

might  elect  annually  from  among  themselves  alcaldes  ordinaries  and  other 

municipal  officers.    When  it  was  possible  to  establish  a  villa  de  Espafloles  with 

a  council  of  alcaldes  ordinarios  and  regidores,  and  there  was  a  responsible 

HIST.  GEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    32 


498          SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  ROUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

We  have  seen  how  Pedrarias,  by  fair  means  and 
foul,  labored  to  depopulate  Antigua;  and  it  was  a 
good  work,  though  at  the  time  he  was  not  fully  aware 

person  with  whom  to  make  an  agreement  for  settlement,  the  agreement  was 
to  be  as  follows:  Within  a  time  specified  there  must  be  from  ten  to  thirty 
settlers,  each  with  one  horse,  ten  milch  cows,  four  oxen,  one  brood  mare,  one 
sow,  twenty  ewes  of  Castile,  six  hens,  and  a  cock.  A  clergyman  must  be  pro 
vided,  the  first  incumbent  to  be  named  by  the  chief  of  the  colony,  and  his  suc 
cessors  in  accordance  with  the  royal  right  of  patronage.  A  church  must  be 
built,  which  the  founder  of  the  settlement  supplied  with  ornaments,  and  to 
which  were  granted  lands.  Any  one  agreeing  to  form  a  settlement,  and  con 
forming  to  the  regulations,  had  given  him  land  equivalent  to  four  square 
leagues,  distant  at  least  five  leagues  from  any  other  Spanish  settlement;  and 
he  was  himself  to  enter  into  agreement  with  each  enrolled  settler  to  give  a 
town  lot,  lands  for  pasturage  and  cultivation,  and  as  many  peonian,  or  shares 
of  foot-soldiers,  and  caballerias,  or  shares  of  cavalrymen,  as  each  would  obligate 
himself  to  work,  provided  that  to  no  one  was  to  be  given  more  than  five  peo- 
nias  or  three  caballerias.  The  principal  with  whom  an  agreement  for  settling 
was  made,  to  hold  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  in  first  instance,  during 
life,  and  for  that  of  one  son  or  heir,  and  from  him  appeal  might  lie  to  the 
alcalde  mayor  or  the  audiencia  of  the  district.  He  might  appoint  alcaldes  or- 
dinarios,  regidores,  and  other  municipal  officers.  Those  going  from  Spain  as 
first  settlers  were  exempted  from  the  payment  of  almojarifazgo,  or  export 
duty,  or  other  crown  dues,  on  what  they  took  for  their  household  and  main 
tenance  during  the  first  voyage  to  the  Indies.  Bachelors  should  be  persuaded 
to  marry. 

When  a  colony  was  about  to  leave  a  city  to  make  a  settlement,  the  justicia 
and  regimiento  should  file  with  the  escribano  del  consejo  a  list  of  the  persons 
migrating;  and  lest  the  mother  city  should  be  depopulated,  those  only  were 
eligible  who  had  no  town  lots  or  agricultural  lands.  The  number  of  colonists 
being  complete,  they  were  to  elect  officers,  and  each  colonist  to  register 
the  sum  he  intended  to  employ  in  the  enterprise.  And  even  after  the  settle 
ment  had  been  begun,  whether  as  colonia,  that  is,  colonists  in  voluntary 
association,  or  adeiantamiento,  alcaldla  mayor,  corregimiento,  enterprises 
headed  respectively  by  an  adelantado,  alcalde  mayor,  or  corregidor,  or 
villa,  or  lugar,  the  fathers  of  it  were  forbidden  to  wholly  leave  the  people  to 
themselves. 

Discoverers,  pacificators,  first  settlers  and  their  immediate  descendants, 
possessed  advantages  over  others.  They  were  made  hrjosdalgo  de  solar  cono- 
cido,  with  all  the  honors,  according  to  law  and  custom,  of  hijosdalgo  and 
gentlemen  of  Spain.  They  might  bear  arms,  by  giving  bonds,  before  any 
justice,  that  they  would  use  them  solely  in  self-defence.  And  that  it 
might  be  known  who  were  entitled  to  reward,  viceroys  and  presidents  of 
audiencias  were  directed  to  examine  into  the  merits  of  cases,  and  see  that  a 
book  was  kept  by  the  escribano  de  gobernacion,  in  which  were  recorded  the 
services  and  merits  of  every  person  seeking  preferment. 

For  the  government  of  the  settlement,  the  governor  in  whose  district  it 
might  be,  had  to  declare  whether  it  was  to  be  ciudad,  villa,  or  lugar,  that  is 
to  say,  a  town  less  than  a  villa,  and  greater  than  aldea.  A  ciudad  metropoli- 
tana,  or  capital  of  the  province,  to  have  ajucz  with  the  title  of  adelantado,  that 
is  to  say,  a  military  and  political  governor  of  a  province;  or  alcalde  mayor,  gov 
ernor  of  a  pueblo  not  the  capital  of  the  province;  or  corregidor,  a  magistrate 
with  criminal  jurisdiction  only;  or  alcalde  ordinario,  mayor  with  criminal 
jurisdiction.  This  juez  was  to  have  jurisdiction  in  solidum,  and  jointly  with 
the  regimiento.  The  administration  of  public  affairs  was  vested  in  two  or 
three  treasury  officials,  twelve  regidores,  or  members  of  the  town  council,  ap 
pointed,  not  elected;  two  fides  ejecutorcs,  or  regidores  having  charge  of 


ABANDONMENT  OF  ANTIGUA.  499 

of  it.  Fortune  had  favored  him  in  many  ways  of 
late,  and  the  rewards  of  his  rascalities  were  truly 
gratifying.  Not  to  mention  the  deaths  of  Vasco 
Nunez  and  Lope  de  Sosa,  the  successes  of  Espinosa 
and  other  gold-hunting  captains,  or  the  discomfiture 
of  Gil  Gonzalez,  it  was  a  fine  stroke  of  policy  making 
the  licenciado  Alarconcillo  his  lieutenant  at  Antigua; 
for  the  fraudulent  residencias  taken  by  him,  under 
the  artful  management  of  the  governor's  wife  in 
Spain,  did  Pedrarias  and  Espinosa  good  service  at 
court.  Nor  was  there  any  practical  inconvenience  to 
the  governor  in  the  royal  orders  prohibiting  complex 
legal  proceedings,  that  the  truth  might  be  simply  and 
inexpensively  arrived  at  in  cases  of  dispute,  and  per 
mitting  appeals  from  Castilla  del  Oro  to  the  audiencia 
of  Santo  Domingo;  for  the  one  gave  his  power  a 
wider  range,  while  the  other  could  be  easily  regu 
lated  so  as  to  work  him  no  prejudice.  Las  Casas 
likewise  had  failed  in  his  effort  to  displace  Pedra 
rias,  the  privileges  granted  in  Tierra  Firme  limiting 
him  to  territory  outside  of  the  jurisdiction  of  this 
governor. 

The  abandonment  of  Antigua  began  in  1521,  and 
was  consummated  in  September,  1524,  Diego  Ribero, 
the  last  survivor,  being  massacred  with  his  entire 
family  by  his  own  Indians,  who  afterward  burned 
the  town.  Thus  the  streets  wherein  had  been  acted 
so  many  stirring  scenes  were  vacant,  and  the  coun 
try,  after  a  struggle  of  fifteen  years  and  the  loss  of 
thousands  of  lives,  lapsed  into  its  original  savagism. 
By  royal  decree  issued  at  Burgos  September  15,  1521, 
Panama"  was  made  a  city,  and  received  royal  priv- 

weights;  in  each  parish  twojurados,  who  saw  that  people  were  well  provided, 
especially  with  provisions;  a  procurador  general,  attorney  with  general  powers; 
a  mayordomo,  having  charge  of  public  property;  an  escribano  de  consejo, 
notary  of  the  council;  two  escribanos  publicos;  one  escribano  de  minas  y  regis- 
tros;  a,pregonero  mayor,  official  vendue-master;  a  corredor  de  lonja,  merchants' 
broker,  and  two  porteros,  or  janitors  of  the  town  council.  If  the  city  was 
diocesana,  or  sufragdnea,  it  must  have  eight  regidores,  and  the  other  officers 
in  perpetuity;  villas  and  lugares  only  to  have  an  alcalde  ordinario,  say,  four 
regidores,  an  alguacil,  or  bailiff,  an  escribano  de  consejo  y  pubtico,  and  a 
mayordomo. 


500         SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  ROUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

ileges  and  a  coat  of  arms,  in  further  ennoblement,2 
The  regidores  should  enjoy  the  title  of  veinticuatros, 
as  in  Seville  and  Cordova.  For  the  first  ten  years  the 
city  had  to  pay  only  a  tithe  on  gold;  the  eleventh 
year,  one  ninth;  the  twelfth,  one  eighth,  and  so  on 
to  the  fifteenth  when  the  usual  fifth  would  be  due. 
Hitherto  the  currency  consisted  of  pieces  of  gold  cut 
into  various  weights;  now  silver  and  copper  money 
were  employed. 

The  first  regidores  of   Panamd  were  Gonzalo  de 

O 

Badajoz,  Bodrigo  Enriquez  de  Colmenares,  Bogel  de 
Loris,  Pascual  de  Andagoya,  Martin  Estete,  Benito 
Hurtado,  Luis  de  la  Bocha,  and  Francisco  Gonzalez. 
The  alcalde  mayor,  Hernando  de  Salaya,  was  made 
lieutenant  of  Pedrarias  in  Panama",  with  a  salary  of 
150,000  maravedis,  Espinosa  having  turned  his  atten 
tion  almost  exclusively  to  military  matters.  The  royal 
officers  formerly  at  Antigua  as  a  rule  held  their  places 
in  Panamd.  These  were  Alonso  de  la  Puente,  the  treas 
urer;  Diego  Marquez,  the  contador;  Miguel  Juan  de 
Bibas,  factor.  To  some  of  these  Pedrarias  was  obliged 
to  give  repartimientos  as  an  inducement  to  move. 

More   difficulty   was   experienced    in    having   the 
episcopal    see    transferred   to    Panamd,    but    it   was 

2  The  title  was    'Nueva  Ciudad 
de  Panama.'    Deccidas,  in  Pachcco 
and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  viii.    16. 
A  second  decree,  dated  from  Lisbon 
g-    December  3,  1581,  added  to  the  title 
g      '  muy  noble  y  mny  leal. '   Panamd, 
™     Descrip.,  in  id.,  ix.  80.    A  half -page 
i     representation  of  the  arms  is  given 
H     in  Gonzalvz  Ddvila,  Teatro  Ecles. ,  ii. 
W      56 — shield  on  golden  field  divided; 
on  the  right  a  handful  of  gray  arrows 
M      with  blue  points  and  silvery  feathers, 
^     and  a  yoke,  the  device  of  the  Cath- 
o     olic  kings.     On  the  left  three  cara 
vels,  significant  of  Spice  Island  or 
£r     other  commerce,  over  which  shines 
|3      the  north  star.     Above  the  golden 
g     field  a  crown,  and  round  the  field  a 
^    border  of  castles  and  lions.     '  Tam- 
bien  le  dio  los  Honores,  y  Titulos  de 
muy  Noble,  y  muy  Leal,  y  que  sus 
Regidores  gozen  del  Titulo  de  Vein- 
tiquatros. ' 


GOVERNMENT.  501 

finally  accomplished ;  the  royal  order  to  move  it,  with 
the  clergy  and  paraphernalia  of  the  church  as  well 
as  the  vecinos  and  the  hospital,  bearing  date  the 
same  as  the  order  making  Panama"  a  city,  namely, 
September  15,  1521.  On  the  death  of  the  first 
bishop  of  Darien,  Juan  de  Quevedo,  a  successor  was 
appointed  in  the  person  of  Fray  Vicente  de  Peraza. 
Salaya  and  the  Archdeacon  Perez  came  out  together 
in  1522;  Peraza  came  later,  Salaya  being  commis 
sioned  to  superintend  ecclesiastical  affairs  until  the 
bishop's  arrival.  And  when  he  did  arrive  he  appeared 
in  no  haste  to  move,  and  was  still  at  Antigua  in 
1524.  There,  finally,  Pedrarias  went  and  exercised 
upon  him  his  softest  blandishments.  The  governor 
could  make  himself  quite  pleasing  to  one  who  did  not 
know  him.  The  bishop  had  not  been  long  in  Panama" 
before  his  eyes  were  opened,  and  then,  indeed,  forever 
closed ;  for  one  day,  while  the  bishop  and  the  governor 
were  at  cards,  they  had  a  quarrel,  during  which  the 
latter  was  treated  badly  with  words,  and  soon  after 
the  bishop  died.  Then  with  Salaya  the  governor 
employed  sharp  words,  saying,  if  he  did  not  mind  he 
would  cut  off  his  head.  "More  than  one  head  you 
have  wrongfully  cut  off,"  Salaya  retorted,  "but  he 
who  cuts  off  my  head  must  have  a  better  head  than 
mine,  and  that  you  have  not."  Then  they  were 
friends  again.  Nevertheless  Salaya  died.  Both  these 
men  were  poisoned;  suspicion  pointed  to  Pedrarias, 
though  he  was  never  formally  charged  with  the  crime. 
For  the  building  of  churches  in  Castilla  del  Oro, 
the  king  gave  large  alms;  his  annual  donation  to  the 
hospital  was  three  hundred  pesos,3  while  the  royal 

3  The  prior  of  Lora,  chaplain  of  the  king  in  1522,  was  proposed  to  the  pope 
for  the  office  of  bishop  of  the  country  lying  between  Nombre  de  Dios  and 
Higueras.  '  Siruenla  cinco  Digniclades,  y  dos  Canonigos,  tres  Capellanes :  y  ocho 
Colegiales  del  Colegio.  Tiene  Sacristan  Mayor  con  carga  de  Sochantre  en  el 
Coro ;  y  tiene  vna  sola  Parroquia  en  ella,  y  su  comarca. '  Gonzalez  Ddvila,  Teatro 
Ikle*.,  ii.  56.  This  author,  as  well  as  Alcedo  in  Die.  Univ.,  iv.  33,  gives  a  list 
of  bishops,  but  both  are  incorrect.  It  was  somewhat  later,  the  time  of  which 
is  written  in  Purchas,  //is  Pilgrimes,  iv.  882.  '  The  limits  of  the  Counsell  of 
Panama,  which  was  first  called  Camilla  del  Oro,  and  afterwards  Terra  Fir  me,  are 
very  small;  for  the  Couiisell  is  principally  resident  there,  for  the  dispatch  of  the 


502          SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  ROUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

treasury  covered  the  cost  of  an  organ  and  a  clock 
for  the  Panama"  cathedral.  About  the  time  of  the 
removal,  Francisco  de  Lizaur,  procurador  of  the  new 
settlement  for  providing  the  Indians  as  well  as  the 
Spaniards  with  food,  procured  an  order  requiring 
the  governor  to  attend  to  planting;  likewise  barter 
must  be  opened  with  the  natives,  and  negro  slaves 
were  not  allowed  to  accompany  expeditions.  The 
boundaries  of  the  municipality  extended  about  forty- 
five  leagues  in  every  direction  from  the  three  leagues 
of  city  lands  in  the  centre. 

The  natives  of  the  New  World,  and  they  alone, 
were  expected  to  support  the  new  city,  and  through 
Panamd  to  send  great  wealth  to  Spain.  The  object 
of  the  Spaniards  was  not  agriculture,  except  to  save 
themselves  from  hunger;  nor  even  mining,  except  as 
they  could  force  the  natives  to  dig;  it  was  unadulter 
ated  robbery,  with  only  the  lame  excuses  of  civiliza 
tion  and  Christianity,  and  Panama"  was  but  a  pirates' 
nest. 

By  no  means  the  worst  of  the  band  was  Pascual  de 
Andagoya,  who  but  for  the  bad  company  he  kept 
might  have  been  pronounced  an  honest  man.  He 
assisted  Pedrarias,  and  acted  as  the  forerunner  of 
Pizarro,  but  when  it  came  to  wholesale  infamies  he 
had  no  zeal  for  them. 

A  faithful  retainer  of  the  governor,  he  was  in  1522 
sent  by  him  to  explore  the  southern  coast  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  discovery  of  Vasco  Nunez.  Landing  at 
the  gulf  of  San  Miguel,  Andagoya  visited  a  province 
called  Chochama,  where  he  was  informed  that  during 
the  periods  of  the  full  moon,  a  fierce  people  infested 
its  shore,  driving  the  inhabitants  from  their  fisheries, 
slaying  them  if  they  resisted,  and  spreading  terror 

Fleetes  and  Merchants,  which  goe  and  come  to  Ptru:  it  hath  in  length  East 
and  West  about  ninetie  leagues. '  Further  reference,  Morelll,  Fasti  Novi  Orbis, 
96;  Oviedo,  iii.  57-117;  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  i.  cap.  xvi. ;  CartadelaAudiencia 
de  Santo  Domingo,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  CoL  Doc.,  i.  413;  Enciso,  Suma 
de  Geografm,  57. 


EXPEDITION  OF  ANDAGOYA.  503 

generally.  This  people  came  from  a  province  called 
Bini,  which  name  was  corrupted  by  the  Spaniards  into 
Pirii,  and  finally  into  the  Peru  of  Francisco  Pizarro. 
Chochama  begged  Andagoya  to  protect  his  subjects 
from  this  scourge,  and  having  obtained  reinforcements 
from  Panamd,  Andagoya  set  out  in  company  with  his 
host  and  his  warriors  for  the  dreaded  region.  Ascend 
ing  a  large  river  for  twenty  leagues,  the  Spaniards 
found  a  number  of  villages  and  caciques,  and  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  province,  near  the  junction  of  two 
rivers,  they  discovered  a  strong  native  fortress,  well 
garrisoned,  which  on  being  attacked  was  defended 
with  skill  and  bravery.  But  superior  tactics  soon 
prevailed,  and  after  a  struggle  the  stronghold  was 
reduced  and  the  inmates  wTere  brought  to  terms. 

The  subjugation  of  Biru  being  thus  effected,  Anda 
goya  continued  his  voyage,  the  ships  keeping  well  off 
shore,  while  the  commander  reconnoitred  the  coast 
in  canoes  navigated  by  friendly  Indians.  It  happened 
one  day,  while  thus  employed,  that  his  boat  was 
caught  in  the  surf  and  overturned.  He  was  saved 
by  the  brave  efforts  of  one  of  the  natives  whose  cause 
he  had  espoused;  but  a  rheumatic  fever  which  fol 
lowed  determined  him  to  abandon  the  discovery, 
and  on  the  following  day  he  turned  his  face  toward 
Panamd,  where  he  arrived  in  safety  with  a  few  cap 
tives.4 

*  As  a  discoverer,  his  talents  were  unequal  to  the  attempt.  As  a  writer, 
Andagoya  figured  withOviedo,  Enciso,  and  other  noted  men  in  the  retinue  of 
the  unscrupulous  Pedrarias.  Born  in  Alava  province,  he  came  to  the  Isthmus 
in  1514,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  various  expeditions  for  its  subjugation 
and  settlement.  Through  the  favor  of  Pedrarias,  whose  wife's  maid  he  married, 
he  rose  to  encomendero,  to  regidor  of  Panama,  and,  in  1522,  to  inspector-general 
of  the  Isthmus  Indians.  The  present  expedition,  which  brought  back  wonder 
ful  reports  of  the  Inca  empire,  might  have  gained  him  the  gloiies  of  that 
conquest,  or  at  least  he  might  have  shared  them  with  Pizarro,  had  his  health 
not  broken  down.  As  it  was,  he  merely  acquired  wealth  as  agent  for  the 
Peruvian  hero,  and  although  he  rose  afterward  to  adelantado  and  governor  of 
New  Castile,  his  integrity  and  comparative  want  of  audacity  prevented  him 
from  reaping  the  benefits  within  reach  of  less  scrupulous  rivals.  The  original 
of  his  well-written  narrative,  relating  the  history  of  the  Isthmus  and  ad 
joining  region  in  connection  with  his  career,  was  found  by  Navarrete  in  the 
Seville  Archives,  and  published  in  his  Col.  de  lr luges,  iii.  393-459,  from  which 
source  Markham  made  the  translation  issued  in  1865  by  the  Hakluyt  Society. 
Oviedo's  account  of  Andagoya's  career,  from  a  different  source,  iv.  120-32,  con- 


504          SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  KOUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

Permission  was  then  given  to  Juan  Basurto  to 
continue  the  discovery  of  Andagoya;  but  his  sud 
den  death  cut  short  the  preparations,  and  there  the 
matter  rested  until  taken  up  by  Francisco  Pizarro. 

Leaving  for  the  moment  affairs  to  the  southward, 
let  us  return  to  the  western  side  of  Panama  Bay. 
There  was  a  cacique  named  Urraca,  whom  the  Span 
iards  sought  to  kill,  whose  domain  was  the  sierra  of 
Veragua,  and  whose  crime  was  the  love  of  liberty. 
Indeed  so  villainously  depraved  was  this  savage  that 
he  would  not  accept  Spanish  salvation  and  domina 
tion  when  offered  him  in  return  for  his  gold;  he  even 
thought  to^kill  the  good  men  who  invaded  his  terri 
tory  to  kill%im.  Urracd,  was  fierce  and  strong;  his 
mountains  were  rugged,  and  his  home  almost  inac 
cessible  to  the  hostile  invader.  Therefore  he  must  be 
approached  with  caution,  and  his  conversion  intrusted 
only  to  picked  men.  As  he  was  reported  rich,  and 
worth  the  trouble,  two  companies  were  fitted  out 
against  him,  one  by  water  under  Espinosa,  and  one 
by  land  under  Francisco  Pizarro.  The  former  em 
barked  at  Panamd  in  two  vessels,  and,  after  touching 
at  the  island  of  Cebaco,  passed  over  toiihe  mainland 
of  Veragua  and  began  his  march  on  the  redoubtable 
mountaineer.  Urracd  was  not  afraid  of  him,  and 
after  placing  the  women,  the  children,  and  the  aged 
of  his  people  in  safety,  with  his  warriors  he  marched 
boldly  out  against  the  enemy.  He  first  encountered 
the  Indian  vanguard  of  Espinosa,  and  falling  on  them 
slew  them  to  a  man.  Then  he  fiercely  attacked  the 
horsemen,  of  whom  there  were  two  or  three,  and  the 
foot-soldiers,  fighting  with  such  determination  that 
but  for  Hernando  de  Soto,  who  with  thirty  men 
had  been  sent  forward  by  Pizarro  to  seek  a  pass,  the 
licentiate  would  have  been  cut  to  pieces.  Pizarro, 

firms  the  general  exactness  of  his  narrative,  although  Acosta,  Comp.  Hist. 
Nueva  Granada,  383,  declares  it  colored  with  a  view  to  advocate  his  claim  to 
the  governorship  of  New  Castile.  Helps'  Span.  Conq. ,  iii.  426,  and  March  y 
Labores,  Marina  Espanola,  ii.  121,  give  Andagoya's  voyage. 


BRAVERY  OF  URRACA.  505 

who  was  near  at  hand,  had  not  reached  the  place  with 
out  hard  fighting.  And  now  Urracd  defied  them  all. 
With  every  advantage  of  a  rugged  and  well-known 
country  on  his  side,  he  rallied  his  men  and  attacked 
the  combined  force  with  such  desperate  energy  that 
when  night  came  the  Spaniards  endeavored  to  with 
draw  secretly  to  the  open  plain.  To  this  Urraca 
objected.  He  permitted  them  to  break  up  camp,  it  is 
true,  and  to  begin  their  march;  but,  when  within 
the  darkest  pass,  he  was  on  them  again  like  a  trap, 
and  from  the  black  craggy  defile  they  could  not  move, 
except  against  the  lances  and  war-clubs  that  hemmed 
them  in.  With  morning  the  question  faced  them, 
whether  they  should  die  there  or  escape  ?^Lnd  thus 
the  captains  placed  the  matter  before  the  i^m.  Sum 
moning  all  their  strength,  they  threw  their  united 
force  against  the  living  obstructions  at  the  opening 
toward  the  sea,  and,  treading  down  the  enemy,  escaped 
to  their  ships,  and  spreading  sail  directed  their  course 
toward  Panamd.  But  it  would  not  do  to  return 
empty-handed.  So  landing  at  Borrica  they  plundered 
the  town,  and  took  the  inhabitants  captive,  though 
the  licentiate  finally  released  the  women.  While  Es- 
pinosa  with  th^biain  body  of  his  troops  proceeded  to 
Natd,  Francisco  Companon  with  fifty  men  surprised 
by  night  a  peaceful  village  in  the  neighborhood.  It 
was  palisaded,  and  the  Spaniards  were  repulsed.  Hid 
ing  themselves,  they  waited  until  the  inhabitants  had 
come  forth  in  the  morning,  and  had  scattered  them 
selves  about  the  fields.  At  a  signal  they  sprang  upon 
them.  The  poor  natives  ran  for  shelter  from  the 
merciless  steel,  and  arriving  at  the  gateway  in  a  body 
they  so  blocked  it  as  to  be  easily  butchered.  Those 
not  killed  were  carried  captives  to  Natd. 

The  native  village  of  Natd  was  situated  on  an  open 
plain,  most  beautiful,  with  a  fertile  soil  and  whole 
some  air.  We  have  seen  how  on  former  occasions  it 
had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Spaniards.  They 


50G          SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  HOUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

had  long  desired  to  found  there  a  settlement,  and,  the 
present  expedition  having  proved  a  failure,  Espinosa 
sent  messengers  to  Pedrarias  asking  permission  to 
remain  and  form  a  colony.  The  governor  acquiesced, 
but  ordered  Espinosa  with  the  ships  to  Panama,  leav 
ing  at  Natd  only  fifty  men  under  Companon. 

The  new  seaport  lay  nearer  to  Urracd  than  the 
island  of  Cebaco,  although  Espinosa  began  his  march 
against  this  province  at  a  point  on  Azuero  Peninsula, 
opposite  the  island,  more  than  thirty  leagues  from 
Natd,  by  sea. 

It  was  near  enough,  at  all  events,  for  the  wary 
Urraca  to  follow  the  Spaniards  with  his  vindictive 
eye.  Tjg^chieftain,  by  his  emissaries,  knew  when 
Espinosa^mnded  there,  what  he  and  the  others  did, 
when  they  went  away,  and  how  many  remained. 
Peeping  in  on  Companon  he  thought  he  could  manage 
fifty  men.  He  would  try  it.  Collecting  his  forces  ho 
made  preparations  to  attack  the  Spaniards  by  night. 
On  approaching  their  quarters  he  came  to  a  house  at 
some  distance  from  the  others,  in  which  three  men 
were  sleeping.  One  of  them  the  savages  killed  with 
a  spear;  one  they  captured;  the  third  eluded  them 
until  he  had  secured  his  arms,  whe^phe  sprang  up 
and  shouted  as  if  to  some  companions  near.  Single- 
handed  he  then  attacked  them  and  put  them  to  flight; 
after  which  he  released  his  captive  comrade,  and  the 
two  sought  their  commander.  Companon  immedi 
ately  sent  messengers  to  Pedrarias,  informing  him  of 
the  attack. 

It  was  not  praiseworthy  on  the  part  of  Urracd  to  al 
low  his  multitude  of  brave  warriors  to  be  defeated  by  a 
single  Spaniard ;  probably  he  never  knew  how  easily  he 
was  beaten ;  and  now  confederating  with  his  neighbors 
he  confined  the  Spaniards  so  closely  in  their  quarters 
that  they  began  to  suffer  for  food.  The  opportune  ar 
rival  of  Hernando  Ponce  de  Leon  with  forty  men,  and 
shortly  afterward  of  the  governor  himself  with  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  placed  Companon  at  ease  again. 


THE  ARMY  PENETRATES  THE  STRONGHOLD.  507 

It  is  true;  the  old  governor  is  in  the  field  again! 
War,  at  home  or  abroad,  is  his  natural  element.  This 
bold  mountain  chieftain  must  be  put  down;  and  who 
so  fitting  to  do  it,  who  so  capable,  as  the  governor? 
Appointing  Francisco  Pizarro  as  second  in  command, 
with  his  entire  available  force,  among  which  are  some 
horses  and  small  cannon,  Pedrarias  sallies  forth. 

Urracd  is  ready  to  receive  him.  He  has  joined 
forces  with  a  neighbor  named  Exquegua,  and  awaits 
the  Spanish  governor  just  beyond  the  strongest  pass. 
He  hopes  a  second  time  to  entangle  the  enemy 
amongst  the  craggy  steeps  to  him  so  familiar.  The 
fox  enters  the  trap.  The  governor  must  choose 
either  to  fight  at  great  disadvantage,  or  retire  and 
leave  the  country  to  its  aboriginal  lord.  Urracd, 
is  powerful,  sagacious,  and  brave.  Occupying  in  his 
retreat  the  most  elevated  part  of  the  cordillera  where 
it  cuts  Veragua,  and  being  about  midway  between  the 
two  oceans,  he  can  draw  supplies  and  reinforcements 
from  either  side.  So  pernicious  is  the  influence  he 
exerts  that  he  can  prevent  the  pacification  of  west 
ern  Castilla  del  Oro:  hence  the  importance  of  his 
extermination. 

The  old  governor  harangues  his  army.  After  the 
stale  fashion  of  Xerxes  and  the  Scipios  he  sneers  at 
the  enemy,  and  praises  his  own  men.  It  is  not  com 
mon  to  hear  Pedrarias  praise  any  one.  "  You  see  the 
necessity  of  this  chieftain's  death,"  he  concludes;  "let 
it  never  be  said  of  Spaniards  that  they  left  alive  a 
rich  heathen."  A  charge  is  then  ordered.  The  battle 
lasts  till  nightfall.  It  is  renewed  the  next  day  and 
the  day  following.  Before  such  unparalleled  obstinacy 
the  Spaniards  grow  faint.  Even  the  fire-belching  can 
non,  with  its  reverberating  roar  and  its  balls  sweeping 
down  men,  splitting  rocks  and  trees,  and  tearing  up 
the  earth,  confounds  them  but  for  a  moment.  For 
five  days  the  engagement  continues,  much  of  the  time 
in  a  desultory  manner,  the  Spaniards  fighting  from 
under  cover  like  the  Indians. 


508          SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  ROUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

Urracti  at  length  resorts  to  stratagem.  Withdraw 
ing  his  forces  as  if  in  abandonment  of  the  fight,  he 
retires  toward  the  river  Atra,  the  rendezvous  of  the 
confederates  from  both  sides  of  the  cordillera.  Pe- 
drarias  follows,  thinking  in  some  open  spot  to  scatter 
the  foe  and  kill  them.  Seeing  which,  Urraca  calls  to 
him  several  wise  warriors,  and  instructs  them  to  play 
the  part  of  men  of  the  country,  and  when  Captured  by 
the  Spaniards  to  direct  them  to  their  ruin.  Through 
this  ruse  Diego  de  Albites  falls  into  ambush,  at  one 
time  with  forty  men,  at  another  with  sixty,  narrowly 
escaping  destruction. 

Determined  never  to  abandon  the  country  until  his 
purpose  is  accomplished,  Pedrarias  sends  out  parties 
against  the  villages  of  the  confederates  individually. 
Two  caciques,  Bulaba  and  Musa,  are  captured,  but  on 
accepting  terms  of  peace  are  set  at  liberty.  Urracd, 
avoids  another  general  engagement,  and  Pedrarias  re 
turns  to  Natd.  The  lands  and  captives  are  divided 
among  such  soldiers  as  are  willing  to  remain  as  colo 
nists  under  Diego  de  Albites,  who  is  left  there  as 
the  governor's  lieutenant.  Sixty  elect  to  remain,  who 
begin  to  build  and  plant.  Thus  is  established  the 
town  and  settlement  suggested  by  Espinosa,  which 
is  called  Natd  after  the  cacique,  and  which  name  it 
still  retains,  and  next  after  Panamd  on  the  Pacific 
seaboard,  Natd  assumes  importance  as  a  Spanish  set 
tlement. 

All  the  same  it  is  exceedingly  hard  on  the  poor 
aboriginal,  drudgery  or  death.  Those  enslaved  under 
the  fatherly-protection  system  endeavor  by  every 
means  to  escape;  failing  in  which,  if  they  do  not  kill 
themselves,  they  soon  die  from  hard  treatment.  Urracd, 
never  ceases  narrowly  to  watch  the  Spaniards,  attack 
ing  them  as  opportunity  offers.  Albites  retaliates  with 
frequent  incursions ;  but  unable  to  overthrow  Urracd 
he  finally  makes  peace  with  him.  This  displeases 
Pedrarias,  who  thereupon  recalls  Albites  and  appoints 
Francisco  Companon  governor  of  Natd.  Under  the 


NATA  AND  CHIRIQUI.  509 

new  regime  hostilities  are  yet  more  vigorously  pressed, 
but  in  almost  every  instance  to  the  discomfiture  of  the 
Spaniards. 

Beyond  the  domain  of  Urracd,  toward  the  west,  in 
Veragua,  was  the  province  of  Chiriqui.  Thither  Pe- 
drarias  sent  Benito  Hurtado  to  establish  a  colony. 
The  country  being  thinly  populated  was  easily  taken 
and  held.  Indeed,  the  caciques  of  Chiriqui,  Vareclas, 
and  Burica,  the  chief  rulers  within  an  area  of  one  hun 
dred  leagues,  obeyed  without  resistance,  and  for  two 
years  the  colony  of  Chiriqui  was  unmolested.  But 
the  more  submissive  the  people,  the  more  exacting  the 
conquering  race.  The  crushing  weight  of  servitude 
becoming  unbearable,  the  men  of  Chiriqui  at  length 
rose  to  arms.  They  were  joined  in  a  general  revolt 
by  Urraca".  Unable  to  vanquish  this  chieftain,  Com- 
panon  determined  to  capture  him  by  fair  means  or 
foul.  Overtures  were  begun  by  presents  and  fair 
promises,  and  at  length,  under  the  most  solemn  assur 
ances  of  liberty  and  safety,  TJrracd,  was  induced  to 
visit  the  governor  at  Nat/a".  No  sooner  had  he  en 
tered  the  town  than  he  was  seized  and  ironed.  I  am 
disposed  to  praise  the  perfidious  Companon  for  not 
burning  his  captive,  or  giving  him  to  the  dogs;  he  only 
sent  him,  in  violation  of  his  sacred  pledge,  a  prisoner 
to  Nombre  de  Dios,  with  the  intention  of  shipping 
him  off  to  Spain.  Before  the  sailing  of  a  ship,  how 
ever,  the  brave  cacique  managed  to  burst  his  fetters 
and  escape.  Breathing  vengeance  he  roused  the 
mountains,  organized  a  yet  more  powerful  confeder 
ation,  and  marched  against  Nata".  Long  and  bloody 
warfare  ensued,  with  alternate  success.  One  of  the 
most  disastrous  conflicts  occurred  early  in  1527,  in  an 
expedition  against  a  rebel  chief  named  Trota,  under 
Captain  Alonso  de  Vargas,  with  forty  soldiers,  prin 
cipally  men  newly  arrived  from  Spain.  The  pro 
testations  of  some  of  Trota's  adherents,  who  entered 
the  camp  with  humble  mien  but  active  eyes,  induced 


510          SPANISH  DEPREDATIONS  ROUND  PANAMA  BAY. 

the  captain,  at  the  recommendation  of  a  veteran 
comrade,  to  send  Pocoa,  an  allied  chief  and  guide, 
with  offers  of  peace.  The  fellow  was  no  sooner  out 
of  sight  than  he  cast  the  olive  branch  to  the  winds, 
and  joining  cause  with  Trota,  advised  him  to  seize 
so  advantageous  an  opportunity  for  glory  and  revenge, 
when  the  force  before  him  was  weak  and  inexperi 
enced  and  the  commander  ailing.  Four  days  later 
five  hundred  warriors  fell  upon  the  camp,  led  by 
Pocoa  in  a  glittering  breastplate  of  gold.  Although 
taken  by  surprise,  the  soldiers  fought  desperately, 
but  the  numbers  were  overwhelming,  and  Vargas 
succumbed  with  half  his  men.  This  blow  was  one 
more  incentive  for  the  Spaniards  to  exert  themselves 
in  retaliation  and  conquest.  The  country  adjacent 
to  the  settlement  being  open  and  level,  horses  and 
cannon  could  be  used  with  advantage;  while  on  the 
other  hand,  to  make  up  for  lack  of  skill,  were  numbers, 
drawn  from  a  great  distance  around,  with  the  pro 
tecting  mountains  in  which  to  nurse  declining  ener 
gies.  Thus  for  nine  years  the  war  continued,  until 
the  chieftain  Urracd,  yielded  up  his  life,  though  not, 
after  all,  to  arquebuse  or  bloodhound:  he  died  in 
bed,  among  his  own  people,  but  lamenting,  with  the 
last  breath,  his  inability  to  drive  out  the  detested 
Christians. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  WARS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 
1523-1524. 

OVTEDO  IN  SPAIN — HE  SECURES  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF  PEDRO  DE  LOS  Rios 
AS  GOVERNOR  or  CASTILLA  DEL  ORO — PEDRARIAS  DETERMINES  TO 
POSSESS  NICARAGUA  —  HE  SENDS  THITHER  C6RDOBA,  WHO  FOUNDS 
BRUSELAS,  GRANADA,  AND  LEON — AND  CARRIES  A  SHIP  ACROSS  THE 
LAND  FROM  THE  PACIFIC  TO  LAKE  NICARAGUA — HE  MAKES  A  SURVEY 
OF  THE  LAKE — INFORMED  OF  SPANIARDS  LURKING  THEREABOUT — DE 
VELOPMENT  OF  THE  SPANISH  COLONIAL  SYSTEM — GIL  GONZALEZ  ESCAPES 
WITH  HIS  TREASURE  TO  ESPANOLA — DESPATCHED  CERECEDA  TO  SPAIN 
WITH  INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIS  DISCOVERY — SAILS  FROM  SANTO  DOMINGO 
TO  THE  COAST  OF  HONDURAS — ARRIVES  AT  PUERTO  CABALLOS — FOUNDS 
SAN  GIL  DE  BUENA VISTA — ENCOUNTERS  HERNANDO  DE  SOTO — BATTLE — 
CRIST6BAL  DE  OLID  APPEARS — FOUNDS  TRIUNFO  DE  LA  CRUZ. 

SCARCELY  were  the  fair  provinces  of  the  Southern 
Sea  brought  under  the  yoke  of  the  Christians,  when 
the  conquerors  began  contending  among  themselves. 
For  it  must  be  confessed  that  neither  their  culture 
nor  their  religion  prevented  them  from  behaving  very 
much  like  the  wild  beasts  and  the  wild  men  to  whom 
they  regarded  themselves  superior.  In  following  these 
disputes  we  will  now  accompany,  in  a  second  visit  to 
Spain,  the  author  and  veedor,  and  withal  the  maker 
of  governors,  Fernandez  de  Oviedo,  whom  we  left  in 
July,  1523,  fleeing  the  wrath  of  Pedrarias. 

At  Cuba  the  veedor  was  entertained  by  Diego 
Velazquez,  the  governor;  at  Espanola  he  was  invited 
by  Diego  Colon  to  take  passage  with  him  for  Seville, 
where  he  arrived  in  November.  After  presenting 
himself  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  at  Burgos,  he 
went  to  Vitoria,  where  the  court  was  residing.  Vested 

( 511 ) 


512  THE  WARS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 

with  full  power  to  act  for  the  city  of  Antigua,  Oviedo 
set  forth  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  entered  his  com 
plaints  against  Pedrarias,  and  urged  the  appointment 
of  a  new  governor.  In  this  measure  he  was  opposed 
by  the  bachiller  Corral,  whom  he  had  made  an  effort 
to  send  in  chains  to  Spain,  and  by  Isabel,  wife  of 
Pedrarias.  Through  their  influence  he  was  involved 
in  litigation  which  lasted  two  years;  and  for  his 
1  treatment  of  the  bachiller  he  was  fined  one  hundred 
thousand  maravedis,  which  he  was  obliged  to  pay. 
But  in  the  end  the  veedor  triumphed  in  displacing 
Pedrarias,  and  in  securing  the  appointment  of  Pedro 
de  los  Bios,  of  C6rdova,  as  governor  of  Castilla  del 
Oro,  and  of  the  licenciado  Juan  de  Salmeron  as  alcalde 
mayor  and  judge  of  residencia. 

The  prospect  of  speedy  displacement  in  office,  no 
less  than  the  success  of  Gil  Gonzalez  at  the  fresh 
water  sea,  determined  Pedrarias  to  secure  a  footing 
in  Nicaragua  before  the  arrival  of  the  new  governor 
of  Castilla  del  Oro.  No  one  knew  better  than  him 
self  that  by  the  customs  of  discovery  and  occupation, 
which  were  now  fast  becoming  laws,  he  had  not  the 
slightest  right  there,  having  neither  contributed  to 
the  discovery  of  Gil  Gonzalez,  nor  even  sanctioned  it. 
As  an  act  preliminary  to  taking  possession  of  this 
discovery,  Pedrarias  despatched  thither  his  lieutenant, 
Francisco  Hernandez  de  C6rdoba — not  he  who  dis 
covered  Yucatan,  though  of  the  same  name — and 
captains  Gabriel  de  Bojas,  Francisco  Companon,  and 
Hernando  de  Soto,  who  embarked  from  Panamd  in 
1524. 

Landing  at  the  gulf  of  Nicoya  C6rdoba  founded  a 
settlement  at  Urutina,  on  the  east  side,  which  he 
called  Brusdlas,  but  which  existed  only  three  years, 
being  dismantled  by  order  of  Diego  Lopez  Salcedo  in 
1527.  Thence  Cordoba  proceeded  northward  thirty 
leagues,  to  Nequecheri,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Nicara 
gua,  where  he  founded  a  city  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  Granada,  building  there  a  fortress  and  a  church. 


CORDOBA  IN  NICARAGUA. 


513 


In  the  province  of  Nagrando1  he  established  another 
city  which  he  called  Leon.  While  at  Granada  Cor 
doba  drew  one  of  his  brigantines  ashore,  and  taking 
it  apart  conveyed  the  pieces  overland  to  Nicaragua 


Lake.  After  rebuilding  he  made  a  circuit  round  the 
shore  of  the  Freshwater  Sea,  and  discovered  its  outlet 
in  the  Rio  San  Juan,  though  he  did  not  descend  the 
stream,  on  account  of  the  rocks  and  rapids.  With 


1  Called  by  Herrera,  Ymabitc,  and  by  Juarros,  Guat, , 
following  him,  Imabite.     '  Y  poblo  en  medio  de  la  pro- 
vincia,  de  Ymabite,  la  cm  dad  de  Leon,  con  templo,  y 
fortaleza. '  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  xii.    See  also  Relation  de 
Andatjoya,  inNavarrete,  Col.  de  Viayes,  iii.  413;  E.rpo- 
sicioit.  a  S.  M.  por  la  justecia  y  rec/imiento  de  In  ciudad 
de  Granada,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  vii. 
555-6 ;  Relation  de  lo  que  escriben  lox  oidores,  in  id. ,  xiv. 
39;  fiemetsal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  104;  Oyiedo,  iii.  113-14, 119, 
iv.  100-1.    Fray  Gil  Gonzalez  Ddvila,  in  Teatro  Edes.,  i. 
233,  gives  a  representation  of  what  he  calls  the  'armas 
de  la  civdad  de  Nicaragva, '  consisting  of  a  shield  bearing 
in  its  field  a  rampant  lion  with  the  left  paw  resting  on 
a  globe.     The  shield  is  surmounted  by  a  crown.    In  view  of  the  usual  remote 
ness  of  this  writer  from  the  truth,  we  may  apply  the  term  city  of  Nicaragua 
to  any  city  in  Nicaragua,  notwithstanding  he  affirms  it  to  be  the  place  dis 
covered  by  Gil  Gonzalez  in  1522,  and  peopled  by  Hernandez  and  Pedrarias. 
HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    33 


614  THE  WARS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 

this  leader  had  come  many  friars  and  religious  men, 
some  of  whom  were  quite  expert  in  performing 
miracles,  and  by  this  means  was  excited  among  the 
natives  a  furor  for  baptism  scarcely  inferior  to  the 
divine  manifestation  under  the  swift  instructions  of 
Captain  Gil  Gonzalez.  Cordoba  sent  Pedrarias  a  full 
account  of  his  proceedings  thus  far.  He  also  in 
formed  him  that  a  band  of  Spaniards  was  lurking 
thereabout,  though  as  yet  he  had  not  encountered 
them,  but  he  had  sent  Hernando  de  Soto  to  learn 
who  they  were. 

The  colonial  system  of  Spain  as  it  unfolded  in  the 
New  World  seemed  at  this  time  to  assume  the  form 
of  a  political  tripod  whose  three  props  were  the  sub 
jugator,  the  sovereign,  and  the  executive  vicegerent, 
each  contributing  to  the  support  of  the  others,  though 
in  .a  manner  oppugnant  and  contradictory.  It  was 
something  wholly  new  in  the  polities  of  nations  for 
royalty  thus  to  delegate  so  much  and  so  varied 
power  at  such  a  distance;  and  royalty  was  troubled 
for  itself  in  consequence,  and  regarded  with  jealousy 
and  mistrust  such  of  its  servants  as  it  was  obliged  to 
confide  in.  Ashamed  of  his  suspicions,  the  sovereign 
attempted  to  cover  them  by  the  application  of  chi 
cane  to  a  system  of  balancing,  placing  one  agent  to 
watch  another,  and  counteracting  the  power  of  one 
deputy  by  the  power  of  another  deputy.  The  dis 
coverer  on  returning  from  his  perilous  voyage  must 
wear  away  the  remainder  of  his  life  importuning  for 
the  promised  recompense ;  and  often  he  was  compelled 
to  lose  beside  his  services  the  costs  advanced  by 
himself.  The  conqueror  must  be  frowned  upon  in 
the  moment  of  his  triumph,  lest  he  should  forget 
himself,  or  rather  forget  his  master.  He,  without 
whose  adventurings  the  monarch's  realm  could  scarcely 
find  enlargement,  must  immediately  on  the  attain 
ment  of  new  territory  be  diverted  by  the  intrusion 
of  some  professional  governor,  who  between  law, 
selfishness,  and  despotism  usually  managed  to  defeat 


SPANISH  COLONIAL  SYSTEM.  515 

the  aims  of  both  king  and  conqueror,  and  attain  his 
own  end  in  ruin  and  disgrace.  Thus  it  was  on  Es- 
panola,  and  thus  it  is  again  on  Tierra  Firme.  Had 
Columbus  been  less  incompetent  as  the  beginner  in 
this  colonization,  and  as  governor;  had  he  with  wise 
statesmanship  founded  one  New  World  colony  on  firm 
and  liberal  principles,  the  whole  Spanish- American 
colonial  system  during  the  following  three  centuries 
might  have  been  something  quite  different.  Had  the 
monarch  found  on  trial  that  his  deputies  were  trust 
worthy,  he  would  have  trusted  them.  Had  he  not, 
they  would  have  compelled  him.  As  it  was  they  com 
pelled  him  to  treat  them  as  unreliable  and  unjust,  as 
indeed  they  were,  that  is  to  say  such  'of  them  as 
were  competent.  While  the  monarch  was  far  less 
blamable  than  his  representatives,  while  as  a  rule  he 
sought  with  honest  and  pious  purpose  the  best  wel 
fare  of  his  subjects,  civilized  and  savage,  it  seemed  his 
fate  thus  far  to  keep  the  colonies  always  in  a  ferment, 
every  man's  hand  against  his  neighbor,  and  under 
such  poisonous  and  perverting  stimulus,  that  the  vilest 
elements  attained  success,  while  the  noblest  were 
consumed  to  cinders.  Witness  Christopher  Colum 
bus  and  Bartolome  his  brother  as  against  Bobadilla 
and  Ovando;  Vasco  Nunez  beside  Pedrarias;  and  now 
Pedrarias  and  Gil  Gonzalez. 

Upon  the  return  to  Panama  in  June,  1523,  of 
Andres  Nino  and  Gil  Gonzalez,  from  their  discovery 
of  Nicaragua,  Pedrarias  undertook,  as  we  have  seen, 
at  once  to  secure  for  himself  every  benefit  of  their 
adventure.  And  this  without  a  shadow  of  right  or 
reason.  The  pilot  and  the  contador  had  acted  under 
authority  direct  from  the  king;  they  had  imperilled 
their  lives  and  had  exhausted  their  private  fortunes; 
while  the  governor  had  not  only  contributed  nothing, 
but  actually  disobeyed  the  king  in  refusing  to  deliver 
the  ships  of  Vasco  Nunez,  and  in  withholding  men 
and  means  for  the  expedition.  A  grand  achievement 


51G  THE  WARS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 

had  been  consummated  by  a  handful  of  men,  poorly 
equipped  and  in  small  unseaworthy  vessels,  whose  con 
sequent  sufferings  were  in  a  measure  caused  by  the 
inherent  wickedness  of  the  governor,  now  the  first  of 
all  to  clutch  at  the  gold.  He  would  have  the  honor 
of  paying  the  king's  fifth  into  the  royal  treasury,  for 
he  could  make  it  advantageous  for  himself. 

Gil  Gonzalez  would  cheerfully  have  turned  over  the 
treasure  to  the  king's  officers,  for  his  blood  was  up, 
and  he  wished  to  return  immediately  and  chastise  the 
impudent  caciques,  Diriangen  and  Nicaragua.  But, 
when  under  his  letters  patent  he  demanded  aid  for 
that  purpose,  the  governor  promised  it  only  on 
condition  that  he  went  as  his  lieutenant,  and  that 
the  war  should  be  conducted  in  his  name.  This  the 
contador  refused  to  do.  Pedrarias  then  said  that  he 
would  undertake  the  further  pacification  of  Nicaragua 
on  his  own  account,  and  plant  a  colony,  perhaps,  at 
the  gulf  of  Fonseca;  that  a  southern  expedition  which 
he  had  planned  would  be  directed  north,  in  view 
of  the  superior  attractions  appearing  in  the  reports  of 
the  late  discoveries.  Upon  this  Gil  Gonzalez  deter 
mined  to  hasten  from  Panama"  with  the  king's  gold, 
which  had  been  melted  down  by  the  assay er,  and  lay 
the  matter  before  the  audiencia  at  Santo  Domingo, 
thence  going  to  Spain  if  necessary. 

There  was  a  caravel  lying  at  Nombre  de  Dios, 
which  Gil  Gonzalez  purchased  for  one  thousand  cas- 
tellanos,  and  stealing  from  Panamd  he  escaped  with 
the  gold,  and  set  sail  for  Espanola  just  as  Pedrarias 
in  hot  pursuit  appeared  upon  the  shore  with  a  requi 
sition  and  order  of  arrest. 

The  royal  authorities  at  Santo  Domingo  listened 
with  favor  to  their  former  contador;  on  comparing 
his  actions  with  his  instructions  they  found  that  he 
had  acquitted  himself  creditably.  They  deemed  it 
unnecessary  for  him  to  go  to  Spain,  and  thought  he 
could  better  serve  the  king  by  continuing  his  impor 
tant  discovery.  He  might  proceed  at  once  to  the 


GIL  GONZALEZ  AGAIN.  517 

eastern  shore  of  Tierra  Firme,  and  search  for  the 
strait  communicating  with  the  Freshwater  Sea,  or  its 
outlet,  which  was  sure  to  exist;  or,  failing  in  that, 
enter  the  territory,  pass  over  to  the  Freshwater  Sea 
by  land,  found  there  a  colony  and  build  a  town.  To 
this  end  the  audiencia  promised  to  aid  him  in  raising 
three  hundred  men  and  fifty  horses,  which,  with  the 
ship  he  had  brought  from  N  ombre  de  Dios,  would 
give  him  a  fair  equipment.  Distributing,  therefore, 
the  royal  share  of  the  treasure2  among  five  ships 
lying  at  Santo  Domingo,  according  to  the  royal  reg 
ulations,  Gil  Gonzalez  despatched  by  Antonio  de 
Cereceda,  treasurer  of  the  Nicaraguan  expedition, 
the  famous  letter  which  I  have  so  frequently  quoted, 
and  a  map  of  the  coast  from  Panamd,  to  the  Gulf  of 
Fonseca,  made  with  great  care  by  the  pilots  of  the 
expedition.  In  this  letter,  after  giving  an  account 
of  the  discovery  and  presenting  his  plans,  the  writer 
begs  the  sovereign  that  his  pay  as  captain  be  made 
over  to  his  wife  at  Seville,  for  the  support  and  edu 
cation  of  his  children ;  that  the  limits  of  his  discovery 
may  speedily  be  defined,  and  other  conquerors  and 
rulers  forbidden  to  intrude;  that  letters  patent  may 
be  granted  him  with  the  title  of  Admiral  of  the 
Freshwater  Sea,  together  with  a  tenth  of  the  king's 
revenue  within  the  territory.  Were  it  not  that  his 
majesty  might  deem  it  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
discoverer  to  call  attention  to  himself  he  could  tell 
much  more;  but  this  he  would  say  of  five  things 
done  by  him,  namely — no  other  Spaniard  ever  before 
discovered  so  many  leagues  on  foot  with  so  few  men 

'-Consisting  of  gold  from  12  to  18  carats  by  actual  assay,  amounting  to 
17,000  pesos  de  oro;  of  an  inferior  quality,  known  as  hachas,  15,363  pesos;  in 
rattle-shaped  pieces,  said  to  be  of  no  standard  value,  G,  182  pesos.  Gil  Gonzalez 
Ddrila,  Carta  al  Rey,  MS.  There  were  likewise  145  pesos  worth  of  pearls, 
of  which  80  pesos'  worth  were  obtained  from  the  Pearl  Islands.  Relation  del 
viage  que  hizo  Gil  Gonzalez  Ddvila,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  xiv. 
20-24.  This  document  gives  in  detail,  beside  the  quantity  of  pearls  secured, 
the  distance  journeyed,  the  dimensions  of  the  islands,  the  names  of  the  prov 
inces  through  which  they  passed,  with  their  caciques,  the  gold  taken  from 
each,  and  the  souls  baptized.  There  are  also  here  given,  5-20,  id.,  Andres 
Nino,  Relation  del  asiento,  or  agreement  with  the  king ;  Relation  de  lo  que  vd 
eji  la  armada,  with  the  cost  of  outfit,  etc. 


518 


THE  WARS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 


so  poorly  equipped;  no  man  ever  converted  so  many 
souls  to  Christ  in  so  short  a  time;  no  discoverer  as 
yet  had  brought  so  much  gold;  none  had  fought  so 
many  Indians  without  the  loss  of  a  man ;  and,  finally, 
no  one  before  him  had  ever  returned  from  a  voyage 
of  discovery  without  having  lost  to  the  adventurers 
the  cost  of  the  outfit.  Cereceda  and  the  letter  were 
graciously  received  by  the  emperor,  who  ordered  Gil 
Gonzalez  to  continue  his  discoveries. 


But  without  waiting  instructions  from  Spain  Gil 
Gonzales  had  hastened  to  occup}^  what  he  had  dis 
covered,  before  others  should  arrive  to  dispute  posses 
sion  with  him.  He  sailed  from  Santo  Domingo  in  the 
spring  of  15243  for  the  eastern  coast  of  Nicaragua, 

8  The  10th  of  March,  1524,  the  royal  officers  at  Espanola,  Miguel  de  Pasa- 


ADMIRAL  OF  THE  FRESHWATER  SEA.  519 

intending  to  cross  to  the  Freshwater  Sea,  by  way  of 
its  outlet,  and  thereby  avoid  collision  with  the  gov 
ernor  at  Panama;  but  he  steered  too  far  to  the  right, 
and  struck  the  continent  on  the  north  side  of  Hon 
duras,  about  twenty  leagues  east  of  Golfo  Dulce. 
Obliged  by  a  storm  to  throw  overboard  some  horses 
to  save  his  ship,  he  gave  the  name  of  Caballos4  to 
the  port  from  which  he  had  under  the  circumstances 
to  turn  away.  From  this  point  he  was  driven  by  the 
wind  westward  to  Golfo  Dulce.  Finding  himself  in 
a  strange  mountainous  country,  and  at  a  loss  whither 
to  proceed,  he  deemed  it  safe  in  any  event  to  take 
possession  and  plant  there  a  colony,  and  to  this  he 
gave  the  name  San  Gil  de  Buenavista.  Leaving 
there  a  portion  of  his  men  he  coasted  eastward,  to  a 
point  between  capes  Honduras  and  Camarones,  and 
although  still  far  from  his  destination  he  disembarked 
the  troops  and  marched  southward  in  search  of  his 
Freshwater  Sea. 

Continuing  on  this  course  Gil  Gonzalez  in  due  time 
approached  the  territory  of  Nicaragua,  but  only  to 
encounter  Hernando  de  Soto,  sent  by  C6rdoba  to 
ascertain  who  were  the  rival  settlers.  Gil  Gonzalez 
first  learned  of  the  presence  of  Cordoba  in  that 
quarter  while  passing  through  the  valley  of  Olancho. 
There  was  but  one  way  to  settle  rival  claims  under 
such  circumstances,  the  old  brutal  way,  practised  by 
both  savage  and  civilized  from  the  beginning,  and  in 
vogue  to-day  among  our  most  Christian  and  cultured 
nations — the  weaker  must  give  way  to  the  stronger. 

The  two  companies  met  at  a  place  called  Toreba. 
The  savage  method  of  warfare  was  adopted.  Just 

monte  and  Alonso  Davila,  write  the  king  that  Captain  Gil  Gonzalez  Davila  is 
there  about  to  embark  '  to  seek  the  strait  from  north  to  south ' — '  Torna  agora  a 
buscar  el  Estrecho  de  Norte  a  Sur. '  Packeco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  i.  440. 
4 '  El  mal  tiempo  echo  a  la  mar  algunos  de  los  cavallos  quo  llevava,  de  donde 
le  quedo  elnombre.'  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  xii.  Oviedo  mentions  the 
death  of  a  horse  which  was  buried  with  great  secrecy,  lest  the  natives  should 
learn  they  were  mortal.  Fernando  Colon,  in  1527,  writes  a:  de  ka/ttdUos;  Ribero, 
in  1529,  C:.  de  caunllo*;  Vaz  Dotirado,  1571,  p:.  de  caualo*,  with  the  name  tri- 
gueste  next  west;  DeLaet,  1G33,  P°  deCavallox;  Ogilby,  1671,  Pta  d.  Cavallos; 
Jefferys,  1770,  Pto  Cavallos;  and  to-day  as  in  the  text. 


520  THE  WARS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 

before  dawn,  as  Soto  lay  wrapped  in  slumber,  Gil 
Gonzalez,  with  a  portion  only  of  his  command,  crept 
into  the  enemy's  camp,  and  raising  the  war-cry,  "  San 
Gil !  kill  the  traitors !"  began  a  furious  onslaught  upon 
his  countrymen.  Soto  commanded  the  superior  force, 
and  although  taken  at  a  disadvantage  he  was  soon 
disputing  for  the  victory  with  every  prospect  of  suc 
cess.  The  engagement  lasted  some  time,  and  several 
Spaniards  on  both  sides  were  killed.  At  length  Gil 
Gonzalez,  fearing  defeat,  cried  out,  "  Peace!  peace, 
Seiior  capitan,  in  the  emperor's  name!"  And  al 
though  Soto  was  urged  by  his  associates  to  follow  up 
the  advantage,  he  ceased  hostilities  and  prepared  for 
an  amicable  adjustment  of  differences. 

Thus  matters  remained  for  several  days.  But  Gil 
Gonzalez  had  no  intention  of  abandoning  the  field,  as 
his  actions  and  words  implied.  He  only  wished  to 
gain  time  and  bring  up  the  remainder  of  his  force. 
This  effected,  he  again  suddenly  sprang  upon  the 
enemy,  and  after  a  short  but  severe  engagement 
drove  him  from  the  field,  securing  his  treasure,  to 
the  value  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  castel- 
lanos.5 

Satisfied  with  this  success,  and  unprepared  to  meet 
a  superior  force  under  Cordoba,  Gil  Gonzalez  disarmed 
the  enemy,  and  retired  to  Puerto  Caballos,  where  he 
was  informed  that  a  fleet  had  arrived  from  Mexico  in 
command  of  Cristobal  de  Olid,  one  of  the  captains  of 
Hernan  Cortes. 

After  the  defeat  of  Soto,  Cordoba  took  measures 
to  strengthen  his  position  at  Leon,  building  there  a 
strong  fortress.  Cristobal  de  Olid,  of  whom  I  shall 
speak  presently,  founded  a  settlement  on  the  north 
coast  of  Honduras,  fourteen  leagues  east  of  Puerto 
Caballos,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Triunfo  de  la 
Cruz.6  Thus  for  the  territory  now  embraced  within 

5Oviedo,  iii.  114,  says  that  two  or  three  days  afterward  Soto  and  his  com 
panions  were  released  upon  parole,  and  their  arms  restored  them. 

6  Town,  port,  and  cape.     Some  English  charts  still  retain  the  name  Cape 


HONDURAS  AND  NICARAGUA.  521 

the  boundaries  of  Nicaragua  and  Honduras,  there 
appeared  three  claimants — Gil  Gonzalez,  who,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  crown,  claimed  for  himself  as  the 
discoverer;  Francisco  Hernandez  de  Cordoba,  who 
claimed  for  Pedrarias;  and  Cristobal  de  Olid,  who 
claimed  for  Cortes  and  himself. 

Triunfo.  Ribero  writes  fufo  de  la  cz;  Vaz  Dourado,  triumfo  delicti,  the  next 
name  west  being  piita  de  la  call,  and  next  to  this,  rio  de  pochi,  which  Ribero 
calls  7?:.  d'  pechi.  Next  west  of  this  name  Ribero  places  p:.°  de  hellados. 
Ogilby,  DeLaet,  Jefferys,  and  others  give  Triumpho  or  Triumfo  de  la  Cruz. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

COLONIZATION  IN  HONDURAS. 
1524-1525, 

CORTES  IN  MEXICO — EXTENSION  OF  HIS  CONQUESTS — FEARS  OF  ENCROACH 
MENTS  ON  THE  PART  OF  SPANIARDS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA — CRISTOBAL 
DE  OLID  SENT  TO  HONDURAS — TOUCHING  AT  HABANA,  HE  is  WON 
FROM  ALLEGIANCE  TO  CORTES  —  TRIUNFO  DE  LA  CRUZ  FOUNDED  — 
OLID  AS  TRAITOR  —  MEETING  WITH  GIL  GONZALEZ  —  THE  WRATH  OF 
CORTES — CASAS  SENT  AFTER  OLID — NAVAL  ENGAGEMENT  IN  TRIUNFO 
HARBOR  —  CASAS  FALLS  INTO  THE  HANDS  OF  OLID,  WHO  is  SOON 
CAPTURED  BY  THE  CAPTIVE  —  DEATH  OF  OLID  —  RETURN  OF  CASAS  TO 
MEXICO — TRUJILLO  FOUNDED  —  INTERFERENCE  OF  THE  AUDIENCIA  OF 
SANTO  DOMINGO. 

WHILE  certain  of  the  Spaniards  were  settling 
themselves  in  possession  of  the  Isthmus  and  parts  of 
Central  America,  others  were  engaged  in  like  manner 
elsewhere.  Among  the  latter  was  Hernan  Cortes, 
who  sailed  from  Cuba,  in  1519,  for  the  conquest  of 
Mexico,  which  was  accomplished  in  1521.  So  great 
was  the  glory  of  this  achievement,  complete  details 
of  which  will  be  given  in  a  later  volume  of  tliis 
work,  that  fresh  hordes  flocked  to  the  banner  of 
its  hero,  whose  further  efforts  toward  conquest  in 
different  directions  were  little  more  than  triumphal 
marches.  On  nearly  every  side  his  captains  found 
rich  provinces  and  populous  settlements  which  prom 
ised  flattering  rewards  in  tributes,  plantations,  and 
submissive  slaves;  or  their  ears  were  filled  with 
reports  of  still  greater  cities,  still  richer  territories, 
further  on.  From  such  substance  rumor  blew  its 
gaudy  bubbles,  which  danced  in  iridescent  hues  and 
ever  increasing  size  before  the  eyes  of  the  conquerors, 

(522) 


OUTLOOK  FROM  MEXICO.  523 

luring  them  on  into  the  depths  of  mysterious  regions 
beyond.  Insatiate,  a  world  apiece  would  scarcely 
satisfy  them  now. 

Of  the  several  points  toward  which  expeditions 
were  sent  out  from  the  Mexican  capital  by  its  con 
queror,  the  southern  regions  seemed  in  some  respects 
the  most  alluring.  Information  came  to  Cortes  of 
the  high  culture  of  the  inhabitants  in  that  quarter, 
of  their  manifold  wealth,  their  palaces  and  great  cities, 
all  magnified  by  mystery  and  distance.  Further  than 
this,  the  possibility,  nay,  the  certainty  that  Span 
iards  moving  northward  from  the  Panama  region 
would  soon  be  in  possession  there  if  not  forestalled, 
made  delay  seem  dangerous.  Hence  it  was  that 
Oajaca  and  Chiapas  were  quickly  made  to  open 
their  portals;  and  now  the  redoubtable  Pedro  de 
Alvaraclo,  second  only  to  Cortes  himself,  was  enter 
ing  Tehuantepec  to  rend  the  veil  which  enfolded  the 
Quiche  kingdom,  and  to  disclose  the  splendor  of 
Utatlan. 

Likewise  the  northern  seaboard  to  the  south  of 
Yucatan  claimed  attention.  This  could  scarcely  now 
be  called  an  undiscovered  country,  for  Spaniards  as 
well  as  natives  poured  into  the  conqueror's  ears  the 
sure  truth  of  what  might  be  expected.  There  were 
pilots  whose  course  had  led  them  along  the  coast  of 
Plibueras,  or  Honduras,1  and  who  charmed  their 
hearers  with  tales  of  gold  so  abundant  that  fishermen 
used  nuggets  for  sinkers.  In  this  there  was  nothing 
startling  to  Cortes,  however,  for  since  his  first  entry 
into  Mexico  he  had  received  such  information  touch 
ing  this  Honduras  country,  particularly  two  provinces, 
that  were  but  one  third  true,  "they  would  far  exceed 
Mexico  in  wealth,  and  equal  her  in  the  size  of  towns, 
in  the  number  of  inhabitants,  and  in  culture."2 

These  reports  could  not  be  disregarded.    An  expe- 

1  See  chapter  iv.,  note  6,  this  volume. 

2  'Una  que  llaman  Hueitapalaii  y  en  otra  lengua  Xucutaco ocho  6  diez 

jornadas  de  aquella  villa  de  Trujillo. '  Cortes,  Carlos,  4C9.     '  Higueras  y  Hodu- 
ras,  que  teuiau  fama  de  inucho  oro  y  buena  tierra.'  Gomara,  hist.  ALex.y  233. 


524  COLONIZATION  IN  HONDURAS. 

dition  to  this  region  would  also  be  able  to  meet  that 
of  Alvarado,  and  crowned  with  success  the  two  could 
then  carry  conquest  onward,  till  sullen  ocean,  east, 
and  west,  and  south,  alone  might  bar  the  progress 
of  their  arms.  Great  would  be  also  the  reward  in 
wealth  and  souls.  Another  wish,  the  discovery  of  a 
strait,  ruled  Cortes  with  equal  strength.  It  was  now 
known  how  short  a  distance  lay  between  the  two 
oceans,  and  this  long  narrow  strip  of  intervening 
land  might  in  some  one  of  its  many  inlets  hide  the 
passage,  though  it  was  toward  the  north  that  the 
conquistador  looked  chiefly  for  it.  The  subject  had 
been  specially  commended  to  him  by  the  emperor. 
"Knowing  the  desire  of  your  Majesty,"  writes  Cortes, 
"to  discover  the  secret  of  this  strait,  and  the  great 
benefit  which  your  royal  crown  will  derive  therefrom, 
1  shall  leave  all  other  interests  and  gains  to  follow 
this  course."3  As  an  earnest  of  his  intention  Cortes 
had  begun  to  build  vessels  at  Zacatula,  on  the  South 
Sea,  as  early  as  1522,  and  with  these  he  would  explore 
the  coast  northward  till  the  passage  was  found,  or 
proved  not  to  exist.  In  the  North  Sea  also  fleets 
were  prepared  to  coast  northward  to  Newfoundland, 
and  southward  to  the  Isthmus. 

The  expeditions  were  all  delayed,  the  first  by  con 
flagration,  the  others  by  incidents  at  Pa"nuco  which  for 
a  time  diverted  all  available  forces.  The  latter  diffi 
culty  over,  Cortes  reverted  to  his  pet  project,  and  the 
Atlantic  fleet,  which  had  been  for  several  months  at 
considerable  expense  waiting  orders  for  sailing  south, 
was  now  reinforced  to  muster  six  vessels  fully  equipped, 
with  nearly  four  hundred  Spaniards  and  thirty  horses.4 

So  important  an  expedition  called  for  a  lieutenant 
not  only  brave  and  able,  but  trustworthy.  Amongst 

*Cartas,  315,  letter  of  13  Oct.,  1524.  The  letter  of  the  emperor  com 
manding  him  to  search  both  coasts  is  dated  6  June,  1523. 

4  Soldiers,  370,  including  100  archers  and  arquebusiers,  and  22  horses,  says 
Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  176.  'Por  todos  9inco  navios  gruessos  6  caravelas 
<§  un  bergantin.'  Oviedo,  iii.  459. 


DEPARTURE  OF  OLID.  525 

tl-e  three  or  four  thus  esteemed  by  the  great  conqueror 
was  Cristobal  de  Olid,5  before  mentioned,  who,  owing 
to  his  prominent  position  under  Governor  Velazquez 
of  Cuba,  aac!  been  appointed  captain  under  Corte's 
when  he  set  out  for  the  subjugation  of  Montezuma's 
empire.  His  devotion,  courage,  and  ability  had  made 
him  a  favorite,  and  at  the  fall  of  Mexico  he  had  been 
rewarded  with  an  ample  share  of  the  treasures  and 
encomiendas.  While  lacking  in  sincerity  and  depth 
of  thought,  and  being  less  fit  for  the  council,  he  pos 
sessed  qualities  which  made  him  an  admirable  execu 
tive  officer.  He  was  at  this  time  about  thirty-seven, 
of  powerful  physique  and  stentorian  voice,  which  con 
tributed  not  a  little  to  his  success  as  a  leader.6 

Several  of  the  old  campaigners,  but  lately  ensconced 
in  snug  plantations  where  they  were  enjoying  a  post- 
bellum  repose,  were  called  to  aid  Olid.  This  they  did, 
though  not  always  consenting  with  cheerful  faces. 
Among  the  number  was  Captain  Briones,  a  turbulent 
fellow,  who  had  brought  some  scars  from  the  wars  in 
Italy,  and,  after  airing  his  profane  vocabulary  as  com 
mander  of  brigantines  during  the  siege  of  Mexico, 
had  nursed  a  hatred  against  Cortes  for  services  that 
he  fancied  to  have  been  ill  paid.7  Two  priests,  with 
crosses  and  images,  were  added  to  the  expedition. 

Olid  was  instructed  to  direct  his  course  to  Cape 
Hibueras,  and  after  founding  a  fortified  settlement  to 
despatch  the  three  largest  vessels  to  Cuba  for  supplies, 
while  the  three  smaller,  under  command  of  Hurtado 
de  Mendoza,  the  cousin  of  Cortes,  were  to  search  for 
a  strait  as  far  as  Darien,  exploring  first  the  gulf  there- 

5  Also  written  Oli,  Olit,  Olite,  Dolid,  Dolit.     A  hidalgo  of  Baeza.  Oviedo, 
iii.  188.     See  chap.  vi.  vol.  i.,  Hist.  Mexico,  this  series. 

6  Bernal  Diaz  describes  him  as  a  well-formed,  strong-limbed  man,  with  wide 
shoulders  and  a  somewhat  fair  complexion.     Despite  the  peculiarity  of  a 
groove  in  the  lower  lip,  which  gave  it  the  appearance  of  being  split,  the  face 
was  most  attractive.     '  Era  un  Hector  en  el  esf uerpo,  para  combatir. '     He  was 
married  to  a  Portuguese,  Felipa  de  Araujo,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter.  Hist. 

Verdad.,  176,  177,  240.     Further  references  in  chap.  vi.  vol.  i.,  Hist.  Mexico, 
this  series. 

7  The  lobes  of  his  ears  were  shorn  by  captors,  he  said,  of  a  fortress  which 
he  had  aided  too  obstinately  in  defending.     Bernal  Diaz  appears  to  doubt  this 
explanation.  Hist.  Verdad.,  176,  177. 


526  COLONIZATION  IN  HONDURAS. 

about,  that  is  the  Bahia  de  la  Ascension,  as  the  in 
structions  read,  from  which  "many  pilots  believe  a 
strait  to  lead  into  the  other  sea."  The  fleet  left  San 
Juan  de  Chalchiuhcuecan,  the  present  Vera  Cruz,  Jan 
uary  11,  1524,  for  Habana,  where  an  agent  of  Cortes 
was  then  purchasing  additional  arms,  horses,  and  stores, 
for  Olid.8 

Let  traitors  beware  of  treachery.  Cortes  had  been 
untrue  to  Governor  Velazquez :  by  what  law  of  compen 
sation  could  he  expect  subordinates  to  be  true  to  him  ? 
Scarcely  was  the  fleet  adrift  before  Briones  was  whis 
pering  his  commander  treason.  And  when  on  landing 
at  Habana  the  Cuban  governor,  with  all  the  hatred  of 
foiled  ambition,  joined  the  foes  of  Cortes  to  work  upon 
the  fidelity  of  his  captain,  Olid  was  shaken.  "  Mexico 
by  right  is  mine,"  argued  the  governor.  "  It  is  I  wrho 
am  your  rightful  chief,  and  I  absolve  you  from  the 
miscreant  you  follow.  Strike  out  from  him,  as  did  he 
from  me ;  I  will  furnish  men  and  money,  and  the  king 
shall  know  of  your  conduct  and  reward  it."9 

Ere  the  fleet  left  Cuba  Olid  had  decided  on  his 
course.  He  had  learned  prudence,  however,  under 
his  wily  chief,  and  resolved  to  do  nothing  decisive, 
until  he  found  himself  strong  enough,  and  had  learned 
whether  the  country  was  worth  the  risk.10  On  land- 

•8The  agent,  Alonso  de  Contreras,  had  received  8,000  pesos  de  oro  for 
the  purpose,  in  order  that  the  expedition  should  not  be  hampered  for  want 
of  means,  nor  be  obliged  to  prey  at  once  upon  the  natives.  Oviedo,  iii.  459. 
Cortes  estimates  the  total  cost  of  the  expedition  at  over  50,000  ducats.  Mem., 
in  Doc.  In6d.,  iv.  227;  Inslruc.,  in  Pacheco  and  Cdrdencw,  Col.  Doc.,  xiii.  5; 
Gastos,  in  id.,  xii.  386,  with  details  of  expenses.  The  purchases  were  made 
ere  the  presence  of  the  fleet  should  raise  prices  at  Habana,  and  yet  a  fanega 
of  maize  cost  two  pesos  de  oro,  a  sword  eight  pesos,  a  crossbow  twenty,  and 
a  firelock  one  hundred;  while  a  shipmaster  received  eight  hundred  pesos  a 
month.  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  243. 

9  '  Se  habia  confederado  el  tal  Crist6bal  Dolit  con  Diego  Velazquez,  y  q\ie 
iba  con  voluntad  de  no  me  obedecer,  antes  de  le  entregar  la  tierra  al  dicho 
Diego  Velazquez  y  juntarse  con  el  contra  mi.'   Cortes,  Cart-as,  337.     'Cocer- 
taro  .  .  q  entre  el,  y  Christoval  de  Oli,  tuviessen  aquella  tierra  de  Higueras  .  .  . 
y  q  el  Diego  Velazquez  le  proveeria  do  lo  q  huviesse  menester. '  Bcrnal  Diaz, 
Hist.  Vcrdad,,  177;  Oviedo,  iii.  113;  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  243. 

10  If  not,  he  would  return  to  Mexico  to  his  wife  and  estates,  and  affirm 
before   Cortes  that   his   agreement  with   Velazquez  was  subterfuge  on  his 
part  to  obtain  stores  and  men.   Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  177. 


GIL  GONZALEZ  AND  OLID.  527 

ing,  therefore,  some  fourteen  leagues  east  of  Caballos, 
the  3d  of  May,  he  not  only  took  possession  in  the 
name  of  Cortes,  but  appointed  the  officials  named  by 
him.  The  papers  of  possession,  however,  bore  Olid's 
name.11  To  the  town  here  founded  was  given  the 
name  of  Triunfo  de  la  Cruz,  from  the  day  of  landing.12 
Olid  was  not  long  in  openly  declaring  his  inten 
tions.  Most  of  his  company  acquiesced;  a  few  did 
not.  These  latter  to  the  number  of  three  score,  un 
der  an  officer  named  Valenzuela,  after  robbing  the 
town  during  the  absence  of  the  men  in  the  interior, 
seized  one  of  •the  vessels  and  set  sail  for  Mexico,  but 
only  to  meet  shipwreck  and  starvation  at  Cozumel 
Island.13  All  thoughts  of  searching  for  a  strait  had 
been  abandoned,  and  Olid  determined  to  hasten  for 
ward,  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  country, 
and  secure  possession.  It  was  not  many  days  before 
he  came  upon  the  bands  of  Spaniards  whom  we  have 
seen  there  fighting  each  other,  and  Olid's  presence 
among  them  tended  in  no  wise  to  lessen  complications. 

Gil  Gonzalez  was  not  in  condition  to  meet  so  pow 
erful  an  opponent  as  Olid,  especially  with  a  threaten 
ing  avenger  in  the  near  west;  and  so  he  thought  it 
prudent  to  retire  until  he  might  secure  to  his  own 
interests  at  least  one  side  by  an  alliance.  Nor  was 
Olid  just  then  strong  enough  openly  to  brave  a  well 
known  Spanish  leader.  He  therefore  met  the  ad 
vances  made  him  by  Gil  Gonzalez  in  a  friendly  spirit, 
and  sought  by  artful  letters  to  lull  suspicions  regard 
ing  his  true  motives. 

Surely  they  were  not  in  vain,  the  lessons  he  had 
learned  under  the  astute  Cortes.  Watching  an  op- 

11  '  Con  que  comen96  a  entender  que  se  yua  apartando  de  la  obediencia 
de  Cortes.'  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  xii. 

ia  Juarroa,  Guat.,  42-3.  It  was  soon  abandoned.  See  chap,  xvi.,  note  5, 
this  volume. 

13  This  according  to  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  269,  and  Cortts,  Carton,  4G7,  who 
do  not,  however,  clearly  indicate  that  Valenzuela  was  one  of  Olid's  officers. 
Informed  of  the  wreck,  by  Casas  probably,  Cortes  sent  a  vessel  for  them,  which 
was  also  wrecked,  on  the  Cuban  coast.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.  208,  alludes 
to  this  party  as  twenty-five  men  sent  to  kidnap  Indians. 


528  COLONIZATION  IN  HONDURAS. 

portunity,  when  Gil  Gonzalez  had  confidingly  divided 
his  forces,  he  sent  Briones,  his  maestro  de  campo,  to 
surprise  them  in  detail,  while  he  himself  prepared 
with  another  body  to  descend  in  two  caravels  on  the 
coast  settlements.  Early  next  morning,  as  Olid  awoke 
pluming  himself  over  his  well  laid  plans,  a  page 
rushed  in,  announcing,  "  Two  sails  in  the  offing,  senor 
capitan!"  Olid  hastened  to  the  shore  not  without 
misgivings  that  this  might  be  a  Mexican  expedition, 
bearing  perhaps  his  injured  chief. 

It  so  happened  that  while  the  renegade  Olid  was  at 
Habana,  the  royal  factor,  Salazar,  had  arrived  there 
en  route  for  Mexico  to  assume  office,  and  learned  only 
too  clearly  what  was  brewing.  Nor  was  he  the  only 
one  to  carry  the  news.  Cortes  heard  it  with  dis 
tended  nostrils,  and  the  characteristic  swelling  of  his 
veins14  indicated  the  anger  which  the  next  moment 
found  utterance.  "  Villain!  whom  I  have  reared,  and 
honored,  and  trusted;  by  God  and  St  Peter  he  shall 
rue  it!"1  Unable  to  enter  in  person  upon  the  deter 
mined  chastisement,  the  general  sent  Francisco  de  las 
Casas,  a  resolute  man  of  no  mean  ability,  married  to 
a  cousin-german16  of  his,  and  therefore  regarded  with 
greater  confidence.  He  relied  also  on  the  many  warm 
adherents  in  the  rebel  camp  who  could  require  no 
very  strong  appeal  to  return  to  their  leader.  For 
this  reason  four  vessels,  two  of  them  quite  small,17  and 

14 '  Cum  narium  et  venarum  gutturis  summo  tumore  prse  ira,  ssepe  dcdit 
de  tanta  aninii  perturbatione  signa,  neque  a  verbis  id  significantibus  ab- 
stinuit.'  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  viii.  cap.  x. 

13  Corte"s  did  not  overlook  the  application  of  the  act  to  his  own  esca 
pade  with  Velazquez.  In  complaining  to  the  emperor,  he  assumes  that  many 
will  regard  it  as  a  pena  peccati,  but  explains  that  Olid  had  no  share  in 
this  expedition,  as  he  himself  had  had  in  the  one  from  Cuba.  With  respect 
to  the  present  fleet,  he  regretted  not  so  much  the  loss  of  40,000  pesos  de 
oro  as  the  injury  the  rebellion  must  cause  the  imperial  interest,  in  delay  of 
exploration  and  settlement  and  in  excesses  against  Indians.  Further, 
he  remarks  pointedly,  such  revolts  will  deter  loyal  and  enterprising  men 
from  embarking  their  fortune  in  the  service  of  the  crown.  Cartas,  337. 

1(5  Herr<ra,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  xiii.  Cortes,  Cartas,  336,  calls  him  '  primo,' 
which  may  bear  the  same  interpretation.  Oviedo,  iii.  517,  calls  him  brother- 
in-law. 

''  Fitted  out  with  sails  and  rigging  of  vessels  seized  from  traders,  and 


CASAS  SENT  AFTER  OLID.  529 

one  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  deemed  a  sufficient 
force  to  subjugate  the  usurper. 

As  the  fleet  approached  Triunfo  a  boatman  was 
captured  who  gave  information  of  the  state  of  affairs, 
and  on  entering  the  harbor  Casas  hoisted  a  flag  of 
peace  with  the  hope  that  friendly  overtures  might 
bring  about  a  revolution  of  sentiment,  among  a  por 
tion  of  the  rebels,  in  favor  of  his  chief.  Olid,  however, 
who  had  at  once  suspected  the  character  of  the  ar 
rival,  knew  the  danger  of  a  parley,  particularly  since 
the  greater  part  of  his  force  was  absent.  Brave  and 
resolute,  he  ordered  his  two  caravels  to  be  manned, 
and  opened  fire  to  prevent  a  landing.  Finding  his 
overtures  disregarded  Casas  replied  with  equal  spirit, 
covering  at  the  same  time  the  operations  of  the  boats 
which  he  sent  off.  It  was  an  original  spectacle  in 
these  parts,  Spaniards  fighting  Spaniards,  in  regular 
naval  engagement;  and  as  the  hissing  projectiles  flew 
out  from  the  smoke  over  the  still  waters,  followed 
now  and  then  by  a  crash,  the  noise  of  battle  reverber 
ating  over  the  forest-clad  hills,  the  dusky  spectators 
who  lined  the  shore  should  have  been  exceedingly 
grateful  for  this  free  exhibition  of  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  European  civilization  that  had  come  so  far 
to  instruct  them  in  such  a  fashion.18  Presently, 
amidst  the  boom  of  cannon  and  dimly  belching  flames, 
cries  of  distress  were  heard,  followed  not  long  after 
by  shouts  of  victory.  Olid's  gunners  had  found  their 

with  pressed  crews ;  the  fleet  was  ordered  to  intercept  any  communication 
and  aid  for  Honduras.  Testimonio,  in  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc.,  xii. 
274-7.  They  were  all  the  vessels  that  could  be  obtained,  it  seems.  One  or 
both  of  the  small  craft  deserted  and  took  refuge  in  Cuba,  there  to  leave  testi 
mony.  See  also  Relation  de  los  Oidores,  in  id.,  xiv.  43;  Cortes,  Cartas,  336. 
Bernal  Diaz  places  the  number  of  vessels  at  five  and  the  soldiers  at  100,  naming 
3  conquistadores.  Hist.  Verdad.,  194.  Out  of  the  150  the  soldiers  probably 
did  number  100,  and  there  may  have  been  five  vessels,  for  Herrera  states  that 
Corte"s  sent  a  ship  with  stores  under  Pedro  Gonzalez  to  follow  Casas.  Off  the 
very  coast  of  Honduras  he  was  overtaken  by  a  storm  which  drove  him  back  to 
Ptinuco  with  the  belief  that  the  fleet  must  have  perished,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap. 
xiii.  Gomara,  Hixt.  Mex.,  243,  mentions  only  two  vessels. 

18 '  Assi  estuuieron  todo  aquel  dia,'  says  Herrera,  loc.  cit.,  who  leaves  the 
reader  to  suppose  that  at  one  time  the  advantage  leant  to  Olid's  side  and 
caused  Casas  to  hoist  a  flag  of  truce  which  was  disregarded ;  but  other  au 
thorities  do  not  take  this  view. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    34 


530  COLONIZATION  IN  HONDURAS. 

match.  One  of  his  caravels  was  sinking,  and  the 
attacking  boats  were  approaching  the  second.  Hur 
riedly  sounding  the  recall  he  sought  the  shore,  with 
the  loss  of  a  few  men,19  sending  meanwhile  a  boat  to 
the  victor  with  a  proposal  for  truce,  on  condition  that 
no  landing  should  be  effected  till  the  negotiations  for 
surrender  were  completed.  Casas  consents ;  and  Ares 
dons  the  mask  of  Pallas.  The  first  act  of  Olid 
on  sighting  the  fleet  had  been  to  despatch  a  mes 
senger  to  his  lieutenant  Briones,  summoning  him  in 
all  haste  to  his  assistance.  Time  might  now  be 
gained  by  parley.  But  to  the  same  lieutenant  went 
another  messenger  from  Casas  with  the  most  alluring 

O  O 

promises  for  active  or  passive  aid.  And  in  this 
Casas  was  so  far  successful  that  Olid  waited  in  vain 
for  succor,  while  his  opponent,  under  further  prospect 
of  support  in  the  camp  itself,  lay  confidently  at 
anchor  waiting  the  dawn.20 

It  was  a  golden  chain  of  treachery  thus  lengthen 
ing  itself  from  the  capital  of  the  Indies  through 
Mexico  and  into  the  wilderness  of  Central  America; 
Velazquez  revolts  from  Diego  Colon,  Cortes  from 
Velazquez,  Olid  from  Cortes,  and  Briones  from  Olid. 
But  what  avails  the  cunning  of  man  against  the  gods ! 
That  night  a  storm  burst  upon  the  harbor,  and  within 
an  hour  the  late  victor  found  himself,  with  the  loss  of 
his  vessels  and  some  forty  men,  upon  the  shore  swear 
ing  allegiance  to  the  enemy.21  Buffeted  to  exhaus 
tion  by  the  waves,  and  without  arms,  Casas  was  thus 
fished  in  by  the  exultant  Olid. 

The  next  step  was  to  secure  the  fleeing  Gil  Gon- 

19  Four  soldiers.  Bcrnal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad. ,  194 ;  without  loss,  says  Herrera. 

0 '  O  esperando  con  intencio  de  se  ir  a  otra  baia  a  desembarcar, '  is  one  of 
the  suppositions  of  Berried  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  194.  '  Briones  ...  en  teniendo 
auiso  de  Francisco  de  las  Casas,  se  aparto  de  Christoual  de  Olid,  y  tom6  la  voz 
de  Cortes.'  Herrera,  ubi  sup.  It  appears  that  Briones  had  by  this  time  gained 
an  advantage  over  Gil  Gonzalez,  capturing  over  50  of  his  men ;  but  he  now 
released  them  under  certain  conditions.  Cortes,  Cartas,  459.  Bernal  Diaz 
assumes  that  Briones'  revolt  occurred  later  and  that  he  set  out  for  Mexico. 

al  After  convincing  him  by  means  of  two  or  three  days  of  exposure  and 
starvation,  as  Bernal  Diaz  and  Gomara  seem  to  intimate.  Herrera  assumes 
that  he  won  him  by  kind  treatment. 


OLID  CAPTURES  HIS  ENEMIES.  531 

zalez,  who  was  surprised  at  Choloma  and  brought 
to  headquarters,22  which  had  meanwhile  been  removed 
to  Naco,  a  fertile  and  salubrious  valley  about  twenty 
leagues  from  Caballos,  occupying  a  central  position 
and  abundantly  supplied  with  means  of  subsistence. 
Olid  was  a  generous  jailer.  He  was  haunted  by 
none  of  the  suspicious  fear  which  resorted  to  mana 
cles  and  shackles.  Casas  and  Gil  Gonzalez  were 
treated  rather  as  guests  than  a£  prisoners;  they  were 
given  seats  at  Olid's  own  table,  and  allowed  to  share 
in  every  conviviality.  They  enjoyed  in  fact  every 
liberty,  except  that  of  crossing  the  limit  fixed  for 
their  movements.  Finding  the  host  so  lenient  Casas 
began  to  plead  also  for  release.  He  wished  to  pre 
sent  himself  before  Cortes  and  justify  his  conduct. 
Olid  of  course  would  not  consent.  "  You  are  too 
pleasant  a  companion  for  me  to  lose,"  he  smilingly 
said  to  his  captive.  "Ah,  well!  your  worship,"  Casas 
replied,  "pray  God  I  prove  not  so  pleasant  as 
some  day  to  kill  you."  The  prisoners  had  not  failed 
to  improve  the  opportunities  which  their  trusting 
host  provided,  and  finding  that  Briones  held  out  as  a 
rebel,  they  gained  sufficient  confidence  to  form  a  con 
spiracy.  On  a  certain  evening  seats  at  table  were 
secured  for  two  accomplices,  while  near  at  hand  were 
others  awaiting  the  appointed  signal.  Ever  a  most 
agreeable  companion,  on  this  occasion  Casas  outdid 
himself;  and  had  not  Olid  been  of  so  unsuspecting  a 
nature  he  would  have  seen  through  the  veil  of  affec 
tation  that  enveloped  the  conversation.  When  the 
table  was  cleared  and  the  attendants  had  withdrawn, 
the  conspirators  exchanged  glances;  whereupon  one 
of  them,  Juan  Nunez  de  Mercado,  passed  behind 

22  After  the  defeat  by  Briones,  Gil  Gonzalez  seems  to  have  become  be 
wildered.  Leaving  a  few  followers  at  Nito  under  Diego  de  Armenta,  he  em 
barked  in  three  vessels,  touched  at  San  Gil  to  hang  Francisco  Kiquelme  and  a 
clergyman  for  having  led  a  revolt,  and  thence  proceeded  to  Choloma.  Owing 
to  Briones'  defection  his  capture  was  intrusted  to  Juan  Ruano.  Herrera,  dec. 
iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  xiii.  The  seizure  was  effected  with  the  loss  of  his  nephew  Gil 
de  A  vila  and  eight  soldiers.  Bcrnal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  194;  Cortes,  Cartas, 
459.  Oviedo  assumes  that  Gonzalez  was  entrapped  by  false  promises,  iii.  188. 


532  COLONIZATION  IN  HONDURAS. 

Olid,  and  seizing  his  head  pulled  it  back,  while 
Casas,  who  was  seated  beside  him,  rose  and  grasping 
him  by  the  beard,  began  to  slash  at  his  throat  with  a 
pocket  knife,23  crying,  "Tyrant!  the  earth  shall  no 
longer  endure  thee."  Gil  Gonzalez  was  instantly  on 
the  other  side  of  Olid  stabbing  him  in  the  breast. 
Yet  with  all  their  advantage  they  made  slovenly 
work  of  it,  cutting  up  the  old  hero.  He  was  a 
powerful  man,  and  in  a  moment  had  recovered  himself 
and  was  hurling  his  assailants  right  and  left.  He 
called  to  his  guard,  but  these  were  quickly  secured 
by  the  conspirators.  Olid  made  his  escape,  however, 
and  sought  a  thicket  where  he  fell,  fainting  from  loss 
of  blood.  The  conspirators  shouted  lustily,  affirming 
that  he  was  dead,  and  called  on  all  present,  in  the 
name  of  the  emperor  and  of  Cortes,  to  rally  round 
Casas.24  None  cared  to  refuse. 

Meanwhile  Cristobal  de  Olid,  one  of  the  proudest 
of  Mexico's  proud  conquerors,  felt  that  the  knives  of 
these  assassins  had  been  too  much  for  him.  He  who 
had  so  many  times  faced  death  for  mighty  cause 
must  now  die  of  dastardly  blows  inflicted  by  country 
men.  True,  he  was  a  rebel.  But  so  was  his  master. 
And  who  of  those  present  would  not  cast  off  any 
allegiance  the  moment  their  interests  demanded  it  ? 
The  cold  grasp  of  death  was  on  him.  Of  what  avail 
at  this  moment  were  the  hardships  endured,  and  the 
infamies  so  lately  inflicted  in  the  crushing  of  Monte- 
zuma  and  his  people  ?  Crawling  to  an  Indian  hut  he 
begged  shelter  and  secrecy,  offering  all  his  wealth  for 
these  favors,  and  for  yet  another,  that  a  priest  should 
be  summoned.  How  many  of  this  race  had  begged 
of  him,  and  begged  in  vain !  The  owner  of  the  hut 
went  out  upon  his  mission.  It  was  almost  impossible 
that  the  dying  conquistador  should  not  thereby  be 
discovered,  but  to  die  unshriven  was  death  thrice 

23  '  Con  un  cuchillo  de  escribanias,  que  otra  arma  no  tenia .  .  .  diciendo : 
"  Ya  no  es  tiempo  de  sufrir  mas  este  tirano."  '  Cortes,  Cartas,  460. 

1 '  Aquia  del  E,ey,  e  de  Cortes  contra  este  tirano,  que  ya  no  es  tiempo  de 
mas  sufrir  sus  tiranias.'  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  195. 


THE  DEATH  OF  OLID.  533 

over.  Closely  upon  the  priest's  heels  like  thirst 
ing  bloodhounds  followed  the  assassins,  who,  now 
that  their  noble  quarry  was  stricken,  plucked  up  the 
courage  to  cut  off  his  head  by  law.  Dragging  forth 
the  dying  man,  a  court  was  formed,  which  that  night 
declared  him  traitor,  and  doomed  him  to  death.  As 
if  to  favor  them,  life  lingered  with  the  prisoner  until 
morning,  when  he  was  brought  into  the  plaza,  his  eyes 
half  closed  in  death,  to  receive  his  sentence.  There 
and  then  the  hideous  mockery  was  completed ;  and  as 
the  head  was  severed  not  one  voice  was  heard,  not 
one  hand  moved  in  sympathy  for  the  gallant  soldier 
who  had  so  often  led  his  men  to  victory,  and  whose 
hand  had  been  as  free  to  give  as  was  his  voice  to 
cheer.26 

Being  now  master  of  the  situation,  Casas  made 
some  necessary  changes  among  the  officials  to  insure 
the  fruits  of  victory.  Triunfo  having  proved  unsafe, 
it  was  decided  to  form  a  settlement  in  a  more  secure 
harbor.  Nearly  four  score  enrolled  themselves  as 
settlers  and  a  municipality  was  appointed,  with  the 
recommendation  to  select  a  site  at  Puerto  de  Caba- 
llos,  if  found  suitable,  and  to  name  the  town  Trujillo, 
after  the  native  town  of  Casas.26  Eager  to  relieve 
the  anxiety  of  Cortes  and  to  consult  with  him,  Casas 
did  not  stay  to  see  this  carried  out,  but  selecting 
Juan  Lopez  de  Aguirre,  originally  treasurer,  as  his 
lieutenant,  aided  by  the  new  alcaldes,  Mendoza  and 
Medina,  the  latter  also  contador,  he  set  out  on  his 
return  to  Mexico.  A  large  number  accompanied  him, 
leaving  but  a  little  more  than  a  hundred  adherents  of 

*3  According  to  Herrera,  the  confessor,  awed  by  the  proclamation,  revealed 
the  hiding-place,  after  exacting  a  promise  that  no  harm  should  befall  his 
protege.  The  promise  was  disregarded  011  the  principle  that  '  dead  man  wages 
no  war, '  and  although  Olid  teas  dead  when  the  hour  came  for  execution,  yet 
the  corpse  was  publicly  beheaded,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  xii.  Other  authorities 
do  not  state  how  lie  was  discovered  or  arrested.  '  Otro  dia  por  la  maiiana, 
hecho  su  proceso  contra  el,  ambos  los  capitanes  (Casas  and  Gonzalez)  junta- 
mente  le  sentenciaron  a  nraerte.'  Cortes,  Cartas,  460.  'Assi  feuecio  su  vida, 
por  toner  en  poco  su  contrario.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex,,  244.  His  brother,  An 
tonio  de  Olid,  sought  justice  before  the  Consejo  de  Indias  against  Casas  and 
Gonzalez  for  the  murder.  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  x.  cap.  xi. 

~26  In  Estremadura. 


534  COLONIZATION  IN  HONDURAS. 

Cortes  in  the  province.27  Among  those  who  went 
was  Gil  Gonzalez,  too  dangerous  a  man  to  leave  be 
hind,  who  must  appear  before  Cortes  and  arrange 
with  him  as  to  what  share  in  the  province  he  might 
keep,  if  any.  Meanwhile  his  men  appear  to  have 
been  left  in  possession  of  the  Nito  district.28  The 
route  taken  led  through  Guatemala,  the  later  high 
way  to  Mexico.  On  the  road  they  came  upon  Briones, 
who  fancied  that  his  desertion  of  Olid  entitled  him  to 
consideration  on  the  part  of  Olid's  enemy.  But  no 
body  liked  the  man,  and  regarding  him,  furthermore, 
as  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  Honduras,  they  took  the 
precaution  of  hanging  him. 

Lieutenant  Aguirre  conducted  his  party  to  Ca- 
ballos,  as  instructed,  but  the  site  did  not  meet  with 
general  approval,  and  a  vessel  arriving  with  a  glowing 
description  of  Puerto  de  Honduras,  it  was  decided 
to  go  there.  The  vessel  was  chartered  and  Aguirre 
went  on  board  with  nearly  forty  men,  a  number  of 
native  servants,  and  the  stores  and  other  articles 
which  the  party  proceeding  by  land  could  not  con 
veniently  carry.  When  the  land  expedition  reached 
the  port  no  vessel  was  there.  An  anxious  search 
being  instituted  for  the  possible  evidence  of  a  ship 
wreck,  an  inscription  by  Aguirre  was  found  bidding 
the  men  not  to  grieve;  he  had  sailed  on  for  supplies 

27  '  Hallaronse  ciento  y  diez  hombres  que  clijeron  que  querian  poblar,  y  los 
demas  to  Jos  dijeron  que  se  querian  ir  con  Francisco  delas  Casas.'  Cortes,  Car- 
tow,  460.     See  also  Informe,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ii.  131,  141. 
These  did  not  comprise  Gonzalez'  followers,  but  may  have  been  all  of  Olid's 
and  Casas'  men  who  cared  to  remain  in  Honduras ;  yet  it  seems  strange  that 
the  latter  should  have  allowed  so  large  a  number  to  abandon  a  province  which 
they  had  been  sent  to  occupy. 

28  Oviedo  assumes  that  Casas  would  brook  no  rival  after  his  triumph,  and 
made  Gonzalez  a  prisoner,  '  e  llevolo  en  grillos  ;i  la  Nueva  Espana.'  iii.  188-9, 
518.     The  last  assertion  is  even  less  likely.     Affairs  had  meanwhile  changed 
in  Mexico,  and  like  Casas  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  Cortes'  enemies,  who  were 
at  first  intent  on  their  execution,  but  xiltimately  sent  both  to  Spain  for  trial. 
One  of  the  charges  was  the  murder  of  Olid.     Gonzalez  was  wrecked  on  Fayal 
Island,  but  reached  Seville  in  April,  1526,  only  to  be  confined  in  the  atara- 
zana,  or  arsenal.     Released,  on  parole,  as  a  knight  commander  of  Santiago,  he 
returned  to  his  home  at  Avila,  and  there  died  not  long  after,  says  Oviedo, 
deeply  repentant  of  his  sins.   Ddvila,  Testimonio,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas, 
Col.  Doc.,  xii.  362-7. 


THE  SANTO  DOMINGO  AUTHORITIES.  535 

and  would  soon  return.  The  mockery  of  this  mes 
sage  was  only  too  apparent,  and  bitterly  did  they 
denounce  the  deserters  who  had  carried  off  not 
only  treasure  and  effects,  but  abandoned  them  on  a 
strange  shore  with  but  scanty  armament.  The  horses 
were  now  their  main  reliance.  Although  poorly  pro 
vided  they  remained,  and  electing  Alcalde  Medina  to 
the  captaincy,  proceeded  on  May  18,  1525,  to  found 
Trujillo  and  install  officers.29 

One  morning,  not  long  after,  a  caravel  was  seen 
approaching,  and  eagerly  the  officials  set  out  to  meet 
her.  But  it  was  not  theirs.  The  audiencia  of  Santo 
Domingo  had  heard  of  the  threatened  collision  of 
rival  factions  in  Honduras,  and  of  the  fuel  Casas  was 
bringing  to  the  flame.  They  were  desirous  that  their 
authority  should  be  felt  in  these  parts.  They  would 
bend  the  spirit  of  these  turbulent  governors.  On 
this  occasion  Fiscal  Pedro  Moreno,  a  better  trader 
than  judge,  had  been  sent  by  the  grand  tribunal  to 
Honduras  to  order  away  Casas,  to  enjoin  Cordoba 
and  Alvarado  not  to  meddle,  to  impose  on  Olid  and 
Gil  Gonzalez  the  authority  of  the  audiencia,  with 
injunctions  to  peaceably  occupy  only  that  part  of 
which  they  had  been  the  first  to  take  possession,  and 
to  surrender  to  the  fiscal  the  royal  fifth.  To  cover 
the  expenses  of  the  commission  the  chartered  caravel 
had  been  loaded,  for  account  of  the  crown,  with 
arms  and  stores,  which  were  to  be  distributed  among 
the  needy  colonists  at  a  profit.  If  the  adventure 
proved  successful  the  judges  might  make  a  part  of 
the  profit  their  own;  if  unfortunate,  who  so  well 
fitted  to  bear  the  loss  as  the  sovereign! 

Medina  related  to  Moreno  the  troubles  of  the 
colonists,  including  the  desertion  of  Aguirre,  and  ap 
pealed  to  him  for  redress.  He  also  asked  for  arms. 
Moreno  offered  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  colony 

29  Gomara,  Hist.  Max. ,  245.     A  minority  soon  after  attempted  to  replace 
Medina  by  the  alguacil  Orbaneja.  Pac/ieco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ii.  133-5. 
,  Testimony  on  the  foundation  of  Trujillo,  in  id.,  xiv.  44-7. 


536  COLONIZATION  IN  HONDURAS. 

only  on  condition  that  it  should  transfer  allegiance 
from  Cortes  to  the  audiencia,  as  agents  for  the  em 
peror,  and  accept  for  captain  Juan  Ruano,  one  of 
Olid's  officers,  as  had  been  done  by  Gil  Gonzalez' 
men.30  Pressed  by  necessity  the  colonists  acquiesced. 
One  of  the  first  acts  in  connection  with  the  transfer 
was  to  change  the  name  Trujillo  to  Ascension.  After 
a  kidnapping  raid  on  a  neighboring  pueblo,  Moreno 
departed  with  about  forty  slaves,  promising  soon  to 
return  with  a  force  strong  enough  to  hold  the  prov 
ince.31  Hardly  had  his  sails  disappeared  when  the 
colonists  restored  the  standard  of  Cortes,  and  sent 
Ruano  to  follow  his  patron,  with  the  reminder  that 
his  moderation  and  efforts  in  their  behalf  had  alone 
saved  his  neck. 

s°Herrera  states  that  Ruano,  who  captured  Gonzalez,  had  gone  to  Cuba 
after  Casas'  triumph,  but  the  testimony  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc., 
ii.  127,  etc.,  shows  that  he  had  been  picked  up  by  Moreno  at  San  Gil. 

31  He  himself  being  the  probable  captain.  Some  sixteen  slaves  were  kid 
napped  here,  and  the  rest  at  San  Gil.  The  account  of  Moreno's  proceedings, 
by  different  witnesses,  is  to  be  found  in  Information  kechapor  tirden  de  He-man 
Cortes  sobre  cxcesos  por  Moreno,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  ii.  127-79 ; 
and  in  Relation  de  los  Oidores,  in  id. ,  xiv.  39,  etc.  When  the  emperor  learned 
of  the  kidnapping,  he  angrily  ordered  the  release  of  the  slaves,  and  their  good 
treatment  pending  an  investigation.  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  x.  cap.  xi.  Cortes 
intimates  that  Ruaiio  had  used  persuasion  with  Moreno  to  obtain  the  command. 
Cartas,  462-3. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 
1524-1525. 

DOUBTS  CONCERNING  CASAS  —  CORTES  TIRED  OF  INACTION — DETERMINES 
TO  Go  IN  PERSON  TO  HONDURAS — SETS  OUT  WITH  A  LARGE  PARTY — 
ARRIVES  AT  GOAZACOALCO — THE  GAY  ARMY  SOON  COMES  TO  GRIEF — 
THE  WAY  BARRED  BY  LARGE  RIVERS  AND  DEEP  MORASSES — SCARCITY 
OF  PROVISIONS — SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  SOLDIERS — THE  TRICK  OF  THE 
MERCHANT-CACIQUE — KILLING  OF  THE  CAPTIVE  KINGS — APOTHEOSIS  OF 
A  CHARGER — FEARS  OF  REBELLIOUS  SPANIARDS  DISSIPATED  ON  NEARING 
NITO. 

INORDINATE  covetings  had  never  been  character 
istic  of  Cortes;  but  when  a  man  attains  eminence  in 
wealth,  power,  or  fame,  it  seems  natural,  it  is  rather 
expected,  that  he  should  become  sordid,  grasping, 
callous  to  human  sympathy,  indifferent  to  noble 
sentiment,  the  slave  of  avarice  and  ambition.  Greed 
constitutes  no  small  part  of  grandeur. 

Northward  from  the  Mexican  capital  were  limit 
less  lands;  Cortes  could  not  tell  how  much  there 
might  be  to  the  west;  hence  one  would  think  he 
might  well  leave  to  his  countrymen  in  the  south 
something  for  their  pains;  that  he  might  even  give 
his  captains  independent  governments  without  dimi 
nution  of  his  manliness. 

But  insignificant  to  Cortes  as  was  this  Honduras 
country,  and  petty  as  were  the  bickerings  of  its  occu 
pants,  they  were  nevertheless  objects  of  solicitude 
to  the  great  chief.  No  sooner  had  Casas  left  the 
Chalchiuhcuecan  shore,  than  Cortes  began  to  doubt 
the  wisdom  of  his  course  in  sending  one  servant  after 

(537) 


538  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HOXDURAS. 

another.  The  more  he  reflected  on  the  popularity  of 
Olid  and  the  number  of  his  men,  the  comparatively 
untried  ability  of  his  opponent,  and  the  reputed 
wealth  of  the  country,  the  more  he  feared  for  the 
result,  and  wished  to  be  present  there  in  person.1 
Not  to  mention  the  itching  palm  for  power,  this 
desire  was  increased  by  the  petty  espionage  to  which 
the  imperial  officers  subjected  his  every  movement. 
He  longed  to  roam  with  kindred  spirits  in  the  wilds 
of  the  south,  wherein  native  tradition  located  stately 
cities  and  treasure-filled  palaces.  He  longed  to  meet 
a  worthy  foe.  As  he  nursed  the  dream,  the  glow 
increased  within  him  at  the  prospect  of  penetrating 
unknown  regions,  overcoming  toil  and  danger,  and 
discovering  something  new,  something  startling;  per 
chance  he  might  find  the  long-sought  strait. 

A  hint  in  this  direction  was  sufficient  to  rouse  the 
anxiety  of  friends  and  enemies  alike.  He  was  the 
guiding  spirit  of  all  undertakings,  and  the  protecting 
shield.  All  would  return  to  chaos  were  he  to  with 
draw;  and  the  still  wavering  natives  who  respected 
and  feared  Malinche,  as  Cortes  was  called  by  the 
Mexicans,  above  any  host  of  soldiers,  might  rise  and 
overwhelm  them. 

So  urgent  and  general  were  the  representations 
to  this  effect  that  he  yielded,  or  pretended  to  yield.2 
But  the  spirit  of  the  Castilian  explorer  once  aroused 
could  not  be  repressed.  He  felt  that  he  had  been 
too  long  idle,  so  he  \vrote  his  sovereign,  and  must  do 

1  Herrera  assumes  stronger  reasons,  the  arrival  of  the  supply  vessel  sent 
after  Casas  with  the  report  that  the   latter  could  not  have  escaped   the 
storm  which  drove  her  back  to  Mexico,  and  the  rumored  victory  of  Olid  over 
both  his  opponents.     But  it  is  pretty  certain  that  Cortes  heard  nothing  of  the 
latter  affair,  at  least  while  he  was  in  Mexico,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  xiii. 

2  The  safety  of  Mexico  was  above  other  considerations ;  the  road  to  Hon 
duras  was  unknown  and  full  of  danger;  the  emperor  would  punish  Olid.    Such 
were  the  arguments  used.     Cortes  replied  that  unless  prompt  chastisement 
was  inflicted  others  would  follow  the  example,  and  disorder  must  follow, 
with  loss  to  himself  of  respect  and  territory.     The  crown  officials  demanded 
in  the  emperor's  name  that  he  should  remain.   Gomara,  Hist.  Mex. ,  245.    Cortes 
yielded,  and  wrote  to  the  emperor  that  lie  had  intended  to  march  through 
Guatemala  but  would  remain,  especially  since  he  expected  news  from  Hon 
duras  within  two  months.  Carta,  Oct.  15, 1524    A  few  days  later  he  began  his 
march. 


PERSONNEL  OF  THE  ARMY.  539 

something  in  the  service  of  his  Majesty.3  Prepara 
tions  were  accordingly  resumed  under  pretence  that  a 
disaffection  in  the  Goazacoalco  region  required  his 
personal  attention. 

He  set  out  from  Mexico  in  the  latter  part  of  Octo 
ber,  1524,4  leaving  the  government  in  charge  of  men 
whose  flattery  had  blinded  him  to  their  insidious 
designs.  The  party  consisted  of  about  one  hundred 
horsemen,  half  of  them  with  extra  animals,  some  forty 
archers  and  arquebusiers,  and  three  thousand  native 
warriors  and  servants,5  the  latter  chiefly  under  the 
leadership  of  the  three  deposed  sovereigns,  Quauhte- 
motzin  the  last  emperor  of  Mexico,  Tetlepanquetzal 
king  of  Tlacopan,  and  Cohuanococh  king  of  Tezcuco, 
and  five  or  six  captive  caciques,  whom  it  was  regarded 
unsafe  to  leave  behind.6 

Among  the  leading  officers  in  the  train  were  the 
alguacil  mayor,  Sandoval,  Ocampo,  Ircio,  Saavedra, 
Grado,  and  a  number  who  acted  as  household  officials 
and  gentlemen  in  wraiting  to  the  leader.  There  were 
also  a  retinue  of  pages,  youths  of  good  family,  among 
them  young  JViontejo,  later  conqueror  of  Yucatan, 
and  a  number  of  musicians,  jugglers,  tumblers,  and 

3  Cartas,  Sept.  3,  1526,  395-6. 

4  In  the  letter  from  Honduras  he  says  October  12,  but  this  very  generally 
accepted  date  must  be  a  misprint,  since  in  one  of  the  two  letters  dated  at 
Mexico  within  the  following  three  days,  he  writes  to  the  emperor  that  he  would 
not  leave.     He  could  hardly  dare  to  reveal  that  he  had  gone,  while  writing 
that  he  was  still  at  Mexico ;  but  he  was  on  the  way  before  November. 

5 '  Saco  de  aqui  ciento  y  veinte  de  caballo  y  veinte  escopeteros  y  otros 
tantos  ballesteros  y  gente  de  pie",'  besides  4,000  to  5,000  Indians.  Carta  de 
Albornoz,  in  Icazbalcela,  Col.  Doc.,  i.  485.  A  number  of  Spaniards  at  least 
were  added  on  the  way  to  Goazacoalco,  where  review  was  held,  showing, 
according  to  Bernal  Diaz,  upward  of  250  soldiers,  beside  arrivals  from  Spain, 
130  being  horsemen,  and  3,000  warriors  from  different  parts  of  the  country, 
beside  servants  of  caciques.  Hist.  Vcrdad.,  195-7.  This  agrees  with  Gomara's 
150  cavalry,  150  infantry,  3,000  warriors,  and  a  number  of  servant- women. 
Hist.  Mex.,  251.  Cortes,  at  this  same  review,  mentions  only  93  horsemen 
with  150  horses,  and  30  and  odd  foot-soldiers.  Carta*,  398. 

6Prescott,  whose  account  of  this  famous  expedition  and  its  connecting 
incidents,  indicates  both  a  want  of  authorities  and  an  imperfect  study, 
mentions  only  the  sovereigns  of  Mexico  and  Tlacopan.  Helps  follows  him. 
But  Gomara  names  also  the  king  of  Tezcuco,  besides  a  number  of  caciques, 
and  gives  their  tragic  fate,  as  does  Ixtlilxochitl  with  greater  detail.  Horribles 
Crueldades,  79. 


540  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HOOT)URAS. 

clowns.7  Cortes  had  a  natural  bent  for  pomp,  the 
pomp  that  gracefully  adorns  the  truly  great.  The 
church  was  represented  by  a  clergyman  and  three 
friars;  chief  among  interpreters  was  Marina,  the 
Mexican  maiden,  whose  clear  head  and  devoted  heart 
had  more  than  once  saved  the  Castilian  invaders,  and 
preserved  their  leader  to  her  love. 

The  march  was  directed  to  Espiritu  Santo,  the 
place  of  review,  not  far  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Goazacoalco.  On  the  way  the  party  was  made  the 
object  of  a  series  of  demonstrations,  and  the  settlers 
of  Goazacoalco,  including  the  'true  historian,'  Bernal 
Diaz,  came  forth  in  procession,  with  fireworks  and 
masquerade,  to  conduct  the  mighty  conqueror  under 
triumphal  arches  and  amid  salvos  to  his  quarters. 
The  joy  was  mingled  with  misgivings,  however,  for 
the  small  force  and  still  smaller  equipment  awakened 
a  fear  that  a  levy  might  be  made.  This  proved  only 
too  true,  and  while  some  joined  of  their  own  will, 
dazzled  by  the  lustre  of  the  leader's  name,  others, 
happy  with  a  repartimiento  of  Indians,  who  existed 
only  to  attend  their  wants,  were  not  so  quick  to  fall 
into  line.8  The  chiefs  of  the  neighborhood  were 
summoned  to  give  information,  and  showed  a  surpris 
ing  acquaintance  writh  the  country  as  far  south  even 
as  the  domain  of  Pedrarias.  They  also  prepared  a 
map  on  cloth,  depicting  minutely  the  different  rivers, 
mountains,  and  pueblos  on  the  route  to  Nito,9  some 
of  them  ravaged  by  Spaniards,  and  now  deserted. 
The  manuscript  representation  of  this  vast  region, 
filled  with  great  cities  and  rich  provinces,  determined 
Cortes  to  advance  toward  Honduras  direct,  and  aban- 

7  Bemal  Diaz  names  a  number  of  the  officers  and  staff  servants,  as  Carranza, 
mayorctomo ;  lasso,  maestresala,  or  chief  butler;  Salazar,  chamberlain;  Licen- 
ciado  Pero  Lopeza,  doctor,  a  vintner,  a  pantler,  a  butler,  etc. ;  2  pages  with 
lances,  8  grooms,  and  2  falconers ;  5  musicians,  etc. 

8  Bernal  Diaz  relieves  his  feelings  in  a  loud  grumble,  which  softens  as  he 
recalls  the  consolation  to  his  pride  in  being  given  for  a  time  a  petty  command. 
Hi*f.  rerdad.,  197. 

tt'Yaun  hasta  Nicaragua y  hasta  dode  residia  Pedrarias.'  Gomara, 

Hist.  Mex.,  250. 


A  GAY  COMPANY.  541 

don  the  idea  once  entertained  of  going  through  Gua 
temala.10  Both  the  map  and  the  imagination  failed, 
however,  adequately  to  picture  the  vast  morasses 
and  miry  sloughs  alternating  with  and  bordering  the 
countless  rivers  which  served  for  highways  to  the 
natives.  The  lithe,  unencumbered  Indian  could  not 
clearly  grasp  the  difficulties  herein  presented  to  the 
heavy  cavalry,  for  in  his  light  canoe  he  could  speed 
along  the  mighty  streams,  pass  up  the  tributary 
branches,  and  penetrate  far  and  wide  by  means  of 
the  more  shallow  creeks  into  the  primeval  forests. 

After  a  week's  stay  the  expedition  advanced.  Tum 
bler  and  fiddler  led  in  the  van  a  merry  dance,  perhaps 
to  death;  in  the  rear  was  a  herd  of  swine,  kept  at 
a  safe  distance,  however,  lest  its  presence  should  too 
greatly  tempt  the  appetite  of  the  hungry  soldiers. 
The  artillery  of  four  guns,  a  quantity  of  small  arms, 
ammunition,  and  stores  were  sent  by  a  vessel  to  Rio 
Tabasco,  to  be  followed  by  two  small  caravels  from 
Medellin  laden  with  provisions.  From  this  point  it 
was  intended  to  let  one  of  them  follow  the  coast,  west 
of  Yucatan,  still  regarded  as  an  island,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  furnish  supplies  when  called  upon  by  the  land 
force  which  also  expected  to  follow  the  shore.  The 
rainy  season  was  not  yet  over,  and  the  very  brooks 
had  swollen  into  rushing  rivers.  Two  streams,  nine 
and  eighteen  leagues  respectively  from  Espiritu  Santo, 
had  to  be  crossed  in  canoes,  the  horses  swimming,11 
and  beyond  flowed  a  still  wider  watercourse  which 
required  a  bridge  of  nine  hundred  and  thirty-four 
paces  in  length.  The  difficulties  of  the  march  may 
be  understood  from  the  statement  that  while  travers 
ing  Copilco  province,  fully  fifty  bridges  had  to  be  con 
structed  within  a  distance  of  twenty  leagues.12  It 

10  See  CarM*,  Carfas,  337,  397. 

11  The  pueblos  at  the  crossing-places  are  called  respectively  Tonalan  and 
Agualulco,  written  in  different  forms  even  by  the  same  authority. 

12  Cortes  calls  the  province  Qupilcon,  35  leagues  from  Espiritu  Santo,  a 
figure  which  may  be  correct  by  the  line  of  march.     It  was  20  leagues  in  length, 
and  its  extreme  eastern  pueblo  was  Anaxuxuca. 


542  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

was  a  rich  department  with  half  a  score  of  head 
pueblos,  and  having  an  abundance  of  provisions  they 
were  ordered  to  send  tribute  in  kind  to  Espiritu 
Santo.  After  crossing  a  steep  range  a  wide  tributary 
of  Rio  Tabasco  was  reached,13  where  the  troops  were 
cheered  by  the  arrival  of  a  score  of  canoes  laden 
with  provisions  from  one  of  the  vessels.  Natives  of 
the  province  also  appeared  in  obedience  to  a  sum 
mons,  and  assisted  in  crossing  the  river  and  in  open 
ing  a  path  along  the  thickly  wooded  bank  to  the 
'capital  of  Cihuatlan14  province,  twelve  leagues  up 
the  river.  As  they  approached  it  the  guides  and 
sappers  suddenly  disappeared  in  the  close-knit  jungle. 
A  few  steps  further  the  path  opened  at  the  junction 
of  a  tributary  river,  and  on  the  several  banks  was 
disclosed  a  large  pueblo,  silent  as  the  grave;  but  the 
smoke  yet  curling  from  the  ruins  showed  that  it 
had  only  recently  been  abandoned.  In  the  nearest 
suburb,  which  contained  some  two  hundred  houses, 
they  remained  for  nearly  three  weeks.  Meanwhile 
a  bridge  of  three  hundred  paces  was  built  across  a 
marsh,  and  expeditions  were  sent  out  in  vain  search 
for  reliable  guides,  and  to  explore  the  neighbor 
hood.15 

The  next  objective  point  was  Chilapan,  capital  of 
a  province  bearing  the  same  name;  this  they  also 
found  burned  and  deserted,  but  well  provided  with 
food.  The  crossing  of  the  river  here,  which  detained 
the  army  for  over  a  week,  was  effected  on  rafts,  but 
despite  the  care  taken  the  rushing  torrent  played 
havoc  with  the  baggage.  Beyond  this  lay  a  marshy 
tract  only  six  leagues  in  extent,  but  so  troublesome 
as  to  detain  them  two  days.  The  horses  suffered 
severely,  sinking  many  times  up  to  the  ears,  as 
Cortes  expresses  it,  and  endangering  the  safety  of 
the  men  in  their  struggles,  so  much  so  that  three 

13  Guezalapa,  or  Quetzatlapan. 

H  Zagoatan,  Zagutan,  etc. 

la  Ocumba  was  one  of  the  pueblos  discovered  up  the  river. 


CONQUERING  AND  TO  CONQUER.  543 

Spaniards  were  lost,  beside  a  number  of  Indians.16 
After  a  week's  rest  at  the  ruined  yet  well-stocked 
Tamacaztepec,  they  made  another  marshy  journey 
of  three  days  before  reaching  Iztapan,  a  fine  large 
pueblo  on  the  banks  of  the  Usumacinta,  burned  and 
deserted  like  the  preceding.  The  Cihuatlatecs  had, 
it  seems,  in  their  wild  scamper  spread  the  most 
blood-curdling  stories  of  the  fierceness  and  cruelty 
of  the  Spaniards.  The  timidity  of  the  natives  was 
proving  inconvenient,  and  guides  were  sent  out  to 
assure  the  inhabitants  of  the  peaceful  intent  of  the 
invaders.  The  caciques  were  encouraged  to  tender 
submission  in  person,  and  were  rewarded  with  pres 
ents,  accompanied  by  a  grandiloquent  discourse  about 
"  the  greatest  prince  on  earth,"  and  the  mission  he 
had  given  Cortes  to  remedy  evils,  bestow  benefits, 
and  point  the  way  to  salvation.17 

A  week's  rest  was  taken,  during  which  half  a  dozen 
Spaniards  were  sent  up  the  river  in  canoes  to  receive 
the  submission  of  chiefs,  not  to  mention  the  accompa 
nying  presents  that  were  to  indicate  the  wealth  of 
the  district.  Three  soldiers  were  also  sent  down  the 
stream,  to  Tabasco,  with  orders  for  the  fleet  to  sail 
to  Ascension  Bay,18  after  sending  boats  with  provi 
sions  and  stores  to  Acalan.  It  was  to  follow  the  shore 
so  as  to  be  near  the  army,  if  possible,  for  "it  is  be 
lieved,"  writes  Cortes,  "though  not  for  certain,  that 
the  natives  pass  through  the  Bay  of  Terminos  to  the 
other  sea,  leaving  Yucatan  an  island."  One  of  the 
three  soldiers  bearing  the  instructions  was  Francisco 
de  Medina,  an  ill-tempered,  violent,  but  able  man, 

16  *  Estuvieron  muy  cerca  de  se  ahogar  dos  6  tres  espanoles,'  is  the  prudent 
form  in  which  Cortes  disguises  this  and  other  unpleasant  facts  to  the  emperor. 
Cartas,  404. 

17  An  anthropophagous  Mexican  was  here  burned  alive,  as  a  warning  against 
such  indulgences ;  and  a  letter  was  given  to  the  leading  cacique  to  inform 
other  Spaniards  that  he  was  a  friend  to  the  white  man.    Gomara,  Hist.  Mex. , 
2o2;  Ilerrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  vii.  cap.  viii. 

JB  Ascension  is  the  name  applied  by  Cortes  to  the  Gulf  of  Honduras.  While 
on  the  way  to  the  capital  of  Acalan,  a  messenger  came  up  with  letters  from 
Mexico,  not  of  very  late  date,  however,  and  he  was  sent  back  from  Izancanac. 
Corte*,  Carlos,  421-2. 


544  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

with  some  knowledge  of  the  country  and  the  lan 
guage,  who  had  managed  to  ingratiate  himself  with 
his  chief  so  far  as  to  be  commissioned  to  share  the 
command  of  the  fleet  with  the  actual  captain,  Simon 
de  Cuenca,  one  of  Cortes'  mayordomos.  On  reaching 
the  vessels  at  Xicalanco  he  assumed  an  overbearing 
manner,  and  quarrelled  with  Cuenca  about  the  com 
mand  till  it  came  to  blows.  Perceiving  the  state 
of  affairs  the  natives  watched  their  opportunity, 
attacked  and  killed  the  crew,  pillaged  the  vessels, 
and  burned  them  to  remove  the  evidence.  The  news 
spread  until  it  reached  the  capital,  although  in  a  dis 
torted  form,  which  gave  the  impression  that  Corte's 
and  all  his  force  had  perished.  The  anxiety  became 
so  great  that  Ordaz,  one  of  the  favorite  officers  of 
Cortes,  set  out  among  others  to  ascertain  the  truth 
of  the  report.  Following  the  coast  by  water,  he 
reached  the  scene  of  the  slaughter,  and  received 
such  evidence  as  to  lead  him  to  declare  that  the 
great  leader  must  indeed  be  dead.  Obsequies  in  his 
honor  were  accordingly  held  at  Mexico,  after  which 
but  a  trusting  few  entertained  hopes  of  ever  seeing 
him  again.19 

Proceeding  to  Tatahuitlapan  Corte's  found  the  place 
partly  burned,  and  deserted  by  all  save  a  score  of 
native  priests,  who  inspired  by  duty  had  resolved  to 
stay  and  die  with  the  idols  as  ordained  by  the  oracle. 
To  show  their  impotence  the  images  were  destroyed, 
while  the  keepers  were  exhorted  to  devote  themselves 
to  the  adoration  of  the  cross,  to  whose  merciful  inspi- 

19  The  fate  of  the  crew  and  vessels  appears  to  have  been  mixed  up  with  the 
invented  narrative  of  the  general  disaster,  and  it  was  not  till  after  CorteV 
return  to  Mexico,  two  years  later,  that  inquiries  were  made  which  revealed 
their  fate.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  196,  210.  Albornoz,  one  of  the  rulers 
appointed  by  Cortes  over  Mexico,  relates  in  a  letter  to  the  emperor,  dated 
15  December,  1525,  that  according  to  reports  from  Xicalanco  traders  to  Ordaz, 
the  party  of  Corte's  had  been  killed  seven  to  eight  moons  before,  in  an  island 
city,  seven  suns  distant  from  Xicalanco,  called  Cuzamelco.  They  had  been 
surprised  by  night  and  slaughtered  with  sword  and  fire.  A  number  of  captives 
had  been  reserved  for  the  table,  but  the  flesh  being  found  bitter  of  taste  it  had 
been  cast  into  the  lake.  Icazbalceta,  Col.  Doc. ,  i.  485-6. 


DARK  FORESTS  AXD  MORASSES.  545 

ration  they  owed  their  safety.  It  was  a  sacred  duty 
with  Cortes  to  erect  the  Christian  emblem  in  all 
pueblos  and  camping-places,  and  where  ceiba-trees 
grew  they  were  fashioned  into  crosses  which,  blooming 
anew,  stood  as  living  symbols  of  the  saving  faith.  On 
the  crosses  were  fastened  notices  of  the  expedition. 
In  this  region  exists  to-day  a  village  called  Las  Tres 
Cruces,  from  three  crosses  said  to  have  been  left  by 
Cortes.  The  place  is  barely  thirty  miles  from  the 
famous  ruins  of  Palenque,  yet  no  allusion  is  made 
by  the  conquerors  to  the  stupendous  structures,  the 
matchless  palaces,  and  the  curious  sculptures  there 
existing.  Once  the  object  of  admiration  and  worship 
to  countless  pilgrims  from  far-off  districts,  the  city 
now  lay  wrapped  within  the  secure  folds  of  dense 
forests,  and  only  tradition  spoke  of  her  past  glories. 
Perhaps  it  was  well  for  the  fortune-hunters,  at  least, 
that  vegetation  had  obliterated  the  highways  which 
in  times  past  must  have  led  to  the  shrine  of  the 
'tree  of  life'  from  the  malarious  lowlands  of  the 
Usumacinta  region,  for  a  sight  of  such  grandeur 
might  have  awakened  hopes  never  to  be  realized,  and 
prompted  expeditions  ending  only  in  disaster. 

They  now  struck  across  to  Huetecpan,20  higher  up 
the  river,  and,  after  wading  through  a  slough,  plunged 
into  a  forest  whose  close  growth  shut  out  the  very 
light  of  heaven.21  Here  they  groped  for  two  days 
along  the  sappers'  path,  till  they  found  themselves 
back  on  the  route  already  traversed.  Pressed  by  the 
troubled  leaders  the  guides  cried  out  that  they  were 
lost.  This  admission  was  not  without  danger,  for  the 
provisions  were  exhausted,  and  the  men  filled  with 
gloomy  forebodings,  which  found  vent  with  many  in 
curses  on  their  leader  for  having  brought  them  to 
such  a  pass.  They  demanded  that  the  swine  be 
slaughtered,  but  the  mayordomo,  who  had  prudently 

20  Zaguatapan,  Huatipan,  etc. 

21  '  Y  los  arboles  tan  altos  quo  no  se  podia  subir  en  ellos,  para  atalayar  la 
tierra. '  Gomara,  Hist.  Hex. ,  253. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    3J 


546  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

let  the  drove  fall  behind,  intimated  that  the  alligators 
had  eaten  them.  They  must  be  content  with  the 
scanty  sustenance  of  roots  and  berries.  Meanwhile 
Cortes  had  recourse  to  his  maps  and  compass,  and 
determined  on  a  north-east  course  as  the  most  likely 
to  lead  to  his  destination.  This  calculation  proved 
correct,  and  although  the  place  was  in  ruins,  there 
was  enough  of  food  to  bury  gloom  in  feasting.  Sol 
diers  being  sent  in  search  of  guides,  found  a  little 
beyond  the  river  a  lake  where  the  inhabitants  had 
taken  refuge  in  canoes  and  on  islands.  Finding 
themselves  discovered  the  natives  came  fearlessly 
forth,  stating  that  the  Spanish  boat  expedition  from 
Iztapan  had  reassured  them,  so  much  so  that  a 
brother  of  the  cacique  had  joined  the  party  with 
four  armed  canoes  for  convoy.  The  boats  being 
recalled,  brought  evidence  of  the  submission  tendered 
by  four  or  five  pueblos  in  a  cargo  of  honey  and  other 
delicacies,  with  a  little  gold.  Similar  contributions 
flowed  from  different  pueblos  whose  inhabitants  came 
to  gaze  at  the  bearded  men.22 

Explorers  were  sent  forward  as  on  previous  occa 
sions,  to  report  on  the  road,  but  finding  it  compara 
tively  easy  for  some  distance  they  neglected  to 
examine  the  remainder,23  and  misled  the  army  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  route.  Beyond  lay  a  large  pro 
vince  bounded  by  the  Laguna  de  Tcrminos,  the 
broad  Usumacinta,  and  the  ranges  of  Vera  Paz,  a 
low-lying  country  abounding  in  morasses,  miasmatic 
inlets,  and  winding  rivers  tributary  to  the  Terminos. 
The  fertility  of  this  naturally  irrigated  tract,  not 
inaptly  known  as  Acalan,  '  land  of  boats/  was  evi 
dent  in  the  rank  growth  of  the  vegetation,  and  the 
great  variety  of  products.  No  roads  existed,  but 

22  Cortes  names  Uzumazintlan,  below,  and  Petenecque,  six  leagues  above, 
with  three  other  pueblos  beyond.   Cartas,  412.    Cortds  gave  presents  in  return, 
and  made  so  forcible  an  appeal  in  behalf  of  his  creed,  that  many  returned  to 
bum  their  idols.  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex. ,  254.     Bernal  Diaz  states  that  four  for 
agers  were  killed  on  this  river.  Hist.  Verdad.,  198. 

23  The  natives  reported  two  rivers,  one  very  large,  and  bad  marshes,  on  the 
three  days'  road  to  Acalan.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  198. 


BRIDGE-BUILDING.  547 

the  numerous  streams  provided  a  series  of  highways 
which  the  enterprising  natives  had  not  failed  to 
utilize  in  carrying  their  surplus  products  to  arid  and 
less  rich  provinces,  especially  to  the  north-east  and 
south,  and  in  bringing  back  slaves  and  compact 
treasures.  It  was  quite  natural  for  a  people  engaged 
in  traffic  to  choose  as  ruler  the  richest  trader,  and 
such  a  one  was  the  present,  Apochpalon24  by  name. 
To  him  were  sent  a  number  of  Spaniards  and  In 
dians25  with  a  reassuring  message  and  an  invitation 
to  meet  Cortes. 

After  a  three  days'  march  over  a  rough  mountain 
track,  the  army  suddenly  found  the  path  obstructed 
by  a  deep  channel  five  hundred  paces  wide,  with 
slimy  borders.  The  passage  was  shown  to  be  practi 
cable  only  by  means  of  a  bridge  which  required 
patient  labor,  since  the  depth  of  water  and  mud  proved 
to  be  fully  six  fathoms.  Great  was  the  dismay,  for 
there  were  hardly  any  provisions  left,  and  to  recross 
the  mountain  was  a  formidable  task  under  the  cir 
cumstances.  The  murmurs  of  the  worn-out  soldiers 
were  loud  enough  at  the  first  sight  of  the  obstruc 
tion,  and  when  Cortes  with  his  usual  audacity  gave 
orders  to  build  a  bridge,  they  rose  almost  into 
mutiny.  The  leader  had  been  in  worse  troubles 
however.  He  knew  every  trait  of  a  Spanish  sol 
dier's  character,  and  he  was  versed  in  blandishments. 
He  showed  the  futility  of  retreat,  since  apart  from 
the  mountain  road,  so  long  and  severe,  freshets  must 
by  this  time  have  washed  away  the  means  of  recross- 
ing  rivers,  and  no  provisions  were  left  in  the  deserted 
pueblos.  Before  them,  on  the  other  hand,  lay  a  land 
of  plenty,  seamed  with  gold.  He  would  guarantee 
the  completion  of  the  bridge  within  five  days,  or,  this 
failing,  he  would  follow  their  wishes.  Wily  Cortes! 
Could  he  induce  them  to  begin  the  work,  he  would 
trust  his  wits  to  secure  its  completion.  But  the  men 

24  Apoxpalon,  Apaspolon,  etc. 

25  Bernal  Diaz  states  that  he  and  Mejia  led  the  party. 


548  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

remained  sullen.  They  would  die  of  hunger  before 
the  bridge  was  finished.  Hibueras  would  never  be 
reached.  "Very  well,"  said  Cortes,  "be  spectators,  I 
will  build  the  bridge  with  the  aid  of  Indians  alone." 
Brief  persuasion  was  needed  with  the  latter,  for  the 
chiefs  were  in  the  tyrant's  hands,  and  their  word  was 
law  to  their  followers.  Timber  was  felled,  and  with 
the  aid  of  rafts  the  piling  began.  Shamed  by  this 
measure  the  Spaniards  joined  in  the  work,  and  to 
cheer  them  the  solitary  musician  who  had  not  fainted 
beneath  the  hardships  of  the  march  was  ordered  to 
play  some  cheering  airs.  But  the  men  cried,  "Peace! 
we  want  bread,  not  music."  The  gnawings  of  hunger 
could  not  be  appeased  with  empty  sound. 

While  some  thus  worked  diligently  on  the  bridge, 
others  went  in  search  of  roots  and  berries,  but  with 
poor  success.  Overcome  by  famine  and  fatigue  num 
bers  lay  down  to  die,  while,  to  add  to  the  catalogue 
of  horrors,  several  of  the  Indian  guides  were  seized 
by  native  auxiliaries  and  cooked.  Among  the  vic 
tims  to  the  adventure  thus  far,  says  Torquemada,  was 
Fray  Juan  de  Tecto,  who,  exhausted  by  hunger,  leaned 
his  head  against  a  tree  and  surrendered  his  spirit.26 

Before  the  expiration  of  a  week  the  bridge  was 
completed,  a  painful  work  indeed  for  fainting  men,  ill- 
furnished  with  the  means,  to  perform  within  so  short 
a  time.  It  was  composed,  says  Cortes,  of  a  thousand 
trees,  nine  to  ten  fathoms  long,  the  smallest  almost  as 
thick  as  a  man,  besides  a  quantity  of  small  timber, 
secured  with  wooden  pegs  and  withes.  For  years 
this  and  several  other  'bridges of  Malinche'  remained 
a  source  of  utility  and  wronder  to  the  natives,  who 
declared  that  nothing  was  impossible  to  the  white 
man.27  Hunger  and  toil  were  for  the  moment  for 
gotten  in  congratulations  over  the  completion  of 

20  He  was  one  of  three  Flemish  monks  who  formed  the  first  special  mission 
of  friars  to  Js"ew  Spain,  arriving  a  year  before  the  famous  twelve.  Torquemada , 
iii.  424-5.  His  proper  name  was  De  Toit. 

27  'Algunas  oy  permanezen  (1701),  y  se  Hainan  las  Puentes  de  Cortes.' 
Villarjulierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  40. 


MORE  AND  DEEPER  SLOUGHS.  549 

the  structure,  but  their  joy  was  of  short  duration. 
Hardly  had  the  rear  of  the  army  crossed  the  bridge 
when  the  van  came  to  a  slough  which  surpassed  in 
difficulties  any  yet  encountered.  The  horses  sank 
almost  out  of  sight,  and  it  was  only  by  the  united 
efforts  of  the  army  that  the  beasts,  on  which  their 
success  so  greatly  depended,  were  finally  extricated. 
This  trouble  over  they  were  cheered  by  the  arrival 
of  Bernal  Diaz,  who  had  been  absent  foraging.  It 
was  not  always  that  he  returned  so  well  laden,  for 
now  he  had  one  hundred  and  thirty  loads  of  maize 
and  a  quantity  of  fowl  and  other  provisions.  Some 
times  he  could  find  nothing;  sometimes  what  he 
found  he  hid,  lest  with  the  starving  army  he  himself 
should  starve.  He  was  sure  it  would  be  snatched 
from  his  hands  the  moment  he  entered  camp;  and  so 
it  was  on  the  present  occasion;  the  soldiers  pounced 
upon  and  devoured  it  like  famished  wolves.  During 
the  scramble  were  seized  also  the  stores  intended  for 
the  officers,  so  that  the  general  himself  could  not 
obtain  a -crumb.  Fortunately  Bernal  Diaz  had  with 
his  usual  foresight  placed  in  cache  a  portion  of  these 
very  provisions,  and  suspecting  this  Cortes  so  petted 
and  praised  the  old  soldier28  that  he  had  no  longer 
the  heart  to  withhold  the  food. 

With  Bernal  Diaz  came  also  messengers  from  the 
cacique  bringing  presents,  including  a  little  gold,  and 
offering  the  hospitality  of  his  realm.  The  following 
day  Tizapetlan  was  reached,  where  food  had  been  pre 
pared.  There  the  expedition  remained  a  week.  The 
attentive  natives  were  awed  no  less  by  the  number 
of  the  invaders  than  by  their  strange  appearance. 
The  horses  were  a  perpetual  source  of  wonder,  and 
offerings  of  roses  were  made  to  allay  the  anger  dis- 

28  Bernal  Diaz  relates  at  length,  with  swelling  pride,  how  the  great  leader 
humbled  himself  to  him.  JJist.  Ver<l«d.,  199.  Sandoval  dared  not  trust  his 
own  attendants  with  a  secret  whereon  depended  his  supper,  but  went  in  person 
with  Diaz  to  convoy  it.  The  friars  received  liberal  contributions  from  the 
men,  but  the  Indians  were  neglected,  says  Ixtlilxochitl,  the  kings  and  caciques 
alone  being  given  as  a  favor  a  little  of  the  maize  set  aside  for  the  horses. 
Horribles  C'ruddades,  87. 


550  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

played  by  their  fierce  pawing.  The  merchant-chief 
had  thought  it  prudent  to  be  obsequious  to  men  so 
formidable;  but,  when  he  saw  how  food  disappeared 
before  them,  and  how  greedily  every  valuable  was 
appropriated,  he  trembled  with  apprehension.  If 
they  were  content  to  stay  and  feast  for  a  week  in  one 
of  his  miserable  border  towns,  how  long  might  they 
not  tarry  in  the  central  cities  of  the  richer  districts? 
To  rid  the  province  of  the  cormorants,  the  cacique 
pretended  to  have  died,  directing  his  son  to  lead 
them  quickly  in  upon  the  lands  of  a  neighbor.  After 
the  funeral  rites  and  interchange  of  presents,  the 
young  man  addressed  the  Spaniards.  "  You  would 
reach  the  settlements  of  your  countrymen  in  Hondu 
ras.  They  are  quite  near;  hardly  eight  days  distant 
is  Nito,  where  are  floating  houses,  and  bearded  men 
on  giant  deer." 

This  he  could  affirm,  for  there  was  an  Acalan 
factory,  and  at  its  head  Apochpalon's  own  brother, 
who  had  told  him  of  these  things.  This  news  was 
more  to  the  cacique's  purpose  than  any  artifice,  and 
eagerly  the  expedition  hurried  to  Teotilac,29  five  or 
six  leagues  off,  guided  thither  by  the  dutiful  young 
chief  over  a  circuitous  route.30 

The  ruler  of  Teotilac  was  by  no  means  pleased 
to  find  thrown  upon  him  this  hungry  host;  and 
he  revealed  to  Cortes  the  trickery  of  Apochpalon. 
Thereupon  Cortes  ordered  the  dead  man  immedi 
ately  to  appear.  Two  days  later,  accordingly,  the 
sovereign -cacique  arrived,  looking  most  sheepish. 
He  proffered  innumerable  excuses,  and  tendered  as 
amends  the  hospitality  of  the  capital.  The  offer  was 
too  tempting  not  to  procure  his  forgiveness. 

29  Cortes  writes  Teutiercas,  Tentacras;  Gomara,  Teuticaccac ;  Herrera, 
Titacat. 

30Bernal  Diaz's  rather  confused  account  states  that  Cortds  demanded 
bridges  to  be  built,  but  was  told  that  the  caciques  of  the  different  pueblos  had 
first  to  be  consulted.  Supplies  being  needed,  Mazariegos  was  sent  with  80 
men  in  canoes  to  different  settlements  to  obtain  supplies,  and  found  ready 
response.  The  next  pueblo  reached  by  the  army  was  deserted  and  without 
food.  Hist.  VerdacL,  200.  The  above  seems  doubtful. 


CONSPIRACY  OF  THE  CAPTIVE  KINGS.  551 

One  of  the  two  temples  serving  for  army  head 
quarters  at  Teotilac  was  occupied  by  a  goddess, 
whose  fierce  passions  could  be  appeased  only  with  the 
blood  of  beautiful  virgins.  To  insure  the  genuine 
ness  of  the  vestal  offering,  so  that  a  mistake  might 
not  render  it  fruitless,  girls  were  selected  in  infancy 
and  brought  up  in  strictest  seclusion  within  the 
temple  walls,  till  came  the  time  for  yielding  their  fair 
forms  to  the  sacrifice.  Cortes  sought  to  impress  on 
the  people  the  absurdity  of  so  atrocious  a  supersti 
tion,  and  destroyed  the  idol. 

This  place  is  remarkable  for  one  incident  which 
concerned  the  safety  of  the  Spaniards,  according  to 
their  account,  and  left  an  indelible  impression  on  the 
natives  of  New  Spain.  Among  those  who  followed 
the  expedition  as  hostages,  as  we  have  seen,  were 
three  deposed  kings,  two  of  whom  were  now  accused 
of  treachery,  Quauhtemotzin,  and  Tetlepanquetzal. 
These  patriots  were  criminal  in  the  eyes  of  the  Span 
iards;  they  had  dared  to  regard  the  invaders  as  the 
enemies  of  their  country,  and  bitterly  to  oppose  them. 
It  seemed  now  convenient  to  Cortes  that  they  should 
die,  and  excuse  was  not  wanting  for  killing  them. 
Suffering  every  hardship  of  the  march,  the  royal 
captives  had  found  some  consolation  in  observing 
how  heavily  it  bore  on  their  keepers,  toiling,  starv 
ing,  discontented,  blundering  along  an  unknown  and 
dangerous  route.  But  this  was  not  their  only  feel 
ing.  Quauhtemotzin,  the  sovereign,  the  general,  the 
tactician,  could  not  fail  to  observe  the  disparity  be 
tween  his  followers  and  the  hated  white  men.  The 
latter  were  reduced  in  strength  by  famine  and  hard 
ships,  in  the  midst  of  a  strange  country,  far  from 
relief,  while  the  Mexicans,  if  also  weakened,  and 
not  so  well  armed,  were  tenfold  more  numerous,  and 
more  at  home  in  these  wilds.  Inspired  by  a  deeply 
rooted  devotion  to  their  traditions,  to  their  princes, 
to  their  country,  the  merest  whisper  of  revenge,  of 


552  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

freedom,  could  not  fail  to  find  response.  Yes,  sweet 
was  the  thought  of  revenge;  equally  sweet  the  pros 
pect  of  a  triumphal  return  to  Mexico,  there  to  be 
greeted  as  a  liberator  ordained  to  restore  the  ancient 
grandeur  of  Montezuma's  court;  finally,  perhaps,  to 
be  exalted  by  a  grateful  people  to  the  pantheon  of 
the  gods,  a  dream  so  worthy  the  soldier  and  patriot, 
how  oft  may  it  not  have  smiled  upon  his  fancy ! 
What  more  natural,  what  more  commendable  indeed, 
than  projects  for  the  liberation  not  alone  of  the 
auxiliary  host,  but  of  their  country  and  kindred? 
Treachery  had  been  used  to  reduce  them,  and  treach 
ery  must  be  met  with  treachery.  This  was  justifi 
able,  although  the  Indians  probably  weighed  not  the 
moral  aspect  of  the  question.  As  for  the  risk,  one 
blow,  one  death,  was  preferable  to  the  daily  death 
which  they  were  suffering  on  this  journey.  Yes, 
they  must  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  pre 
sented,  and  while  the  Spaniards  were  engrossed  by 
the  difficulties  of  some  mountain  pass,  or  engulfed  in 
some  morass,  fall  upon  them,  especially  upon  the 
feared  Cortes,  and  then,  with  the  prestige  of  victors, 
return  to  Mexico,  where  their  compatriots  would 
meanwhile,  under  advice,  have  risen  simultaneously 
against  the  now  disorganized  and  squabbling  colo 
nists,  reduced  as  they  were  in  numbers.31 

How  long  the  plot  had  been  brewing  is  not  stated, 
but  during  the  stay  at  Teotilac  Cortes  was  startled 
by  a  revelation  from  a  prominent  Mexican,32  who  gave 

31  The  plan  is  said  to  have  been  imparted  to  sympathizers  in  Mexico,  with 
the  recommendation  to  rise  on  a  certain  day  against  the  colonists.     '  Y  de 
aqui  creyeron  inuchos  que  iiacio  la  fama  de  la  muerte  de  Cortes.'  Jlerrera,  dec. 
iii.  lib.  vii.  cap.  ix.     For  this  uprising  there  was  opportunity  enough,  says 
Gomara,  during  the  anarchy  prevalent  during  Cortes'  absence ;  but  the  Indiana 
were  waiting  further  orders  from  Quauhtemotzin.     Finally  their  preparations 
aroused  the  suspicions  of  the  colonists,  and  they  took  precautions.  Hist.  Max., 
250,  258.     According  to  Cortes  the  Indians,  after  killing  the  Spaniards,  were 
to  rouse  Honduras  and  the  intermediate  country  ere  they  passed  on  to  Mexico. 
All  vessels  were  to  be  seized,  so  as  to  prevent  alarm  from  being  given.   Cartas, 
420. 

32  Mexicaltzin,  afterward  baptized  as  Cristobal,  to  whom  the  conspirators, 
says  Cortes,  had  promised  a  province  for  his  share  of  the  spoil.   Curias,  420-1. 
Bernal  Diaz  states  that  the  revelation  was  made  by  two  prominent  caciques, 


THE  KILLING  OF  THE  KINGS.  553 

him  a  paper  with  the  names  of  the  conspirators  in 
hieroglyphics.  Several  were  seized,  and  under  sep 
arate  examination  confessed  to  the  existence  of  the 
plot,  although  disclaiming  for  themselves  of  course 
any  actual  participation.33  Quauhtemotzin  was  also 
questioned,  and  admitted,  says  Bernal  Diaz,  that  the 
hardships  and  dangers  had  aroused  rebellious  senti 
ments  among  the  Indians,  but  claimed  that  he  was  not 
the  author,  and  judging  from  his  own  feelings  he  re 
garded  the  whole  thing  as  mere  talk.  A  quick  secret 
trial  was  held,  and  the  sentence  of  death  by  hang 
ing  pronounced  against  Quauhtemotzin  and  Tetlepan- 
quetzal,34  who  were  dragged  forth  during  the  stillness 
of  the  night  to  a  ceiba-tree,  where  they  met  their 
fate.  Cortes  was  present  at  the  execution,  and  to 
him  Quauhtemotzin  addressed  himself,  writes  Bernal 
Diaz.  "Malinche,  many  a  day  have  I  suspected  the 
falsity  of  thy  words,  and  that  thou  hadst  destined 
this  end  to  my  life.  Why  dost  thou  kill  me  without 

Tapia  and  Juan  Velazquez,  the  latter  captain-general  under  Quauhtemotzin 
when  he  was  ruler.  Hist.  Verdad. ,  200.  According  to  Ixtlilxochitl,  the  Indians 
were  imitating  the  Spaniards  in  the  festivities  which  precede  Lent,  but  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  arouse  the  suspicion  of  Cortes.  'One  cause  for  the  enjoyment 
was  a  statement  by  Corte"s  that  here  they  would  turn  back  to  Mexico.  The 
general  called  his  spy  Costemexi,  of  Ixtapalapan  or  Mexicaltzinco,  and  bade 
him  ascertain  what  was  going  on.  He  soon  returned  to  report  that  the  three 
kings  and  six  courtiers  had  been  engaged  in  a  humorous  dispute  as  to  which 
cf  the  trio  the  now  conquered  provinces  should  belong  to.  Tlacatecatl,  one 
of  the  chief  lords,  thereupon  observed  that  if  discoid  had  brought  about  the 
fall  of  the  native  empire,  they  had  gained'  instead  the  supreme  happiness  of 
instruction  in  the  true  faith.  After  this  came  tales  and  songs.  "When  tort 
ured  some  years  after  by  Prince  Ixtlilxochitl,  the  spy  insisted  that  he  had 
represented  the  case  only  as  above  stated,  but  that  Cortes  chose  to  interpret 
it  at;  a  malicious  plot.  Horribles  Cruddadeo,  90-3.  This  version  is  doubtful  in 
its  details,  and  for  the  reason  that  the  author's  chief  effort  is  to  vindicate  the 
natives.  The  cause  for  the  rejoicing  at  a  return  to  Mexico  from  Acalan  savors 
rather  of  a  promise  from  the  conspirators  than  from  Corte"s. 

33  The  kings  had  formed  it,  and  although  they  had  not  been  parties  to  it, 
yet  as  subjects  they  naturally  desired  the  liberty  and  weal  of  their  lords. 
Comara,  Jiersera,  Cortes.  Lernal  Diaz.  The  two  former  implicate  the  three 
allied  kings,  the  latter  only  the  two  of  Mexico  and  Tlacopan. 

3i  The  rest  being  spared,  since  they  had  been  guilty  chiefly  of  listening  to 
the  plot,  says  Cortes ;  'pero  quedaron  procesos  abiertos  para  quo . .  .pucdan  ser 
casti^ados,'  if  required.  The  execution  took  place  within  a  few  days  cf  the 
disclosure.  Cartas,  421.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hcrrera,  and  Goinara  agree,  llio  latter 
adds  that  kingCohuanacoch,  of  Tezcuco,  who  had  also  plotted,  died  sometime 
before  of  bad  food  and  water.  I  list.  Mcx. ,  274.  Torquemada  adds  five  caciques 
to  the  three  royal  victims,  according  to  tlic  native  version,  i.  i/76. 


554  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

justice?  God  will  demand  of  thee  thy  answer!" 
Tetlepanquetzal  calmly  expressed  himself  content  to 
die  with  his  royal  companion,  and  together  they 
listened  to  the  exhortations  of  the  friars,  dying  like 
true  Christians.35  The  execution  took  place  during 
the  carnival  days  preceding  shrove-tide,  and  appears 
to  have  created  no  excitement  either  among  Indians 
or  Spaniards.36 

Most  Spanish  authorities  are  of  course  inclined  to 
uphold  the  act  as  a  necessary  punishment  for  a  proven 
crime.  Yet  certain  men,  like  Torquernada,  a  cham 
pion  of  the  natives,  and  modern  Mexican  writers,  side 
with  the  Indians  in  stamping  it  as  a  foul  murder,  car 
ried  out  merely  to  be  rid  of  the  kings  whose  presence 
was  becoming  a  burden  to  the  conquerors.  Others, 
like  Bernal  Diaz,  soften  the  deed  into  a  mistake, 
based  on  insufficient  evidence,  and  prompted  by  a  de 
sire  to  smother  a  conspiracy  which  some  imaginary 
spirits  had  conjured.37  But  Cortes  would  hardly  have 
removed  so  valuable  a  hostage  without  good  reason. 

35  Hist.  Verdad.,  200. 

36  <  Por  cariiestollendas . . .  .en  Izancanac.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  258-9.    On 
February  20, 1525,  specifies  Vetancurt ;  on  a  Tuesday,  three  hours  before  dawn, 
adds  Ixtlilxocliitl,  who  also  declares  that  the  native  songs  and  versions  place 
it  at  Teotilac,  and  it  certainly  appears  to  have  been  carried  out  before  the  cap 
ital  was  reached.     The  Mexicans  were  so  oppressed  by  hardships,  says  Bernal 
Diaz,  that  they  seemed  to  be  quite  indifferent ;  still,  the  Spaniards  hastened 
the  departure  for  fear  of  an  uprising.     He  places  the  occurrence  at  a  pueblo 
beyond  Acalan.     Ixtlilxocliitl  tells  another  story.     The  kings  were  brought 
out  three  hours  before  dawn  for  fear  of  a  tumult.     The  two  of  Mexico  and 
Tlacopan  had  already  been  hanged,  and  Cohuanacoch  was  about  to  be,  when 
his  brother,  Ixtlilxocliitl,  being  advised,  rushed  forth  and  called  upon  the  In 
dians.     Perceiving  the  danger,  Cortes  cut  the  rope  and  saved  the  half -strangled 
king  of  Tezcuco.     He  thereupon  proceeded  to  explain  to  Ixtlilxocliitl  the  just 
reasons    which   had    brought  about    the   execution.     The   prince  appeared 
convinced,  and  dismissed  the  auxiliaries,  who  stood  ready  to  fall  upon  the 
Spaniards.     The  chief  motive,  however,  for  sparing  them,  was  not  the  justice 
of  the  deed,  for  he  regarded  it  ever  as  a  treacherous  one,  but  the  fear  of  wars 
that  might  result  from  a  revolt  and  carry  desolation  over  his  country,  checking 
the  progress  of  the  saving  faith.     Cohuanacoch,  whom  Cortes  accused  as  the 
chief  conspirator,  was  carried  with  the  army  in  a  hammock,  suffering  severely 
from  the  wrenching  of  the  noose.    His  grief  brought  about  an  intestinal  hemor 
rhage,  from  which  ho  died  within  a  few  days.  Horribles  Crtieldades,  93-4. 

•?  '  Y  sin  auer  mas  proua^as,  Cortes  mando  ahorcar  al  Guatemuz,  y  al  sefior 
de  Tacuba . . . .  Y  fue  esta  muerte  que  les  dieron  muy  injustamente  dada,  y  pare- 
cio  mal  a  todos  los  que  ibamos  aquella  Jornada.'  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad. , 
200.  But  his  account  of  all  this  expedition  is  questionable,  and  his  testimony 
loses  force  through  the  evident  fact  that  he  is  carried  away  by  sympathy  for 
the  kings,  who  had  often  favored  him,  and  for  the  natives  to  whom  his  later  con- 


EXCUSES  FOR  THE  ATROCITY.  555 

The  reason  being  admitted,  and  this  to  some  extent 
even  by  native  records,  the  precarious  situation  of  the 
Spaniards  demanded  that  Cortes  should  take  meas 
ures  commensurate  with  the  apparent  danger/ 


88 


dition  in  life  bound  him  rather  closely.  He  certainly  admits  the  strong  accusa 
tion  and  the  confirmatory  admission  of  the  victims,  the  king  of  Tiacopan  stating, 
for  instance,  that  he  and  Quanhtemotzin  had  declared  one  death  preferable 
to  the  daily  deaths  suffered.  Torquemada  adopts  the  version  of  a  Tezcucaii 
manuscript,  which  relates  that  Cohuanacoch  on  one  occasion  remarked  to  his 
royal  confreres  that,  if  they  chose  to  be  disloyal,  the  Spaniards  might  have  to 
regret  past  injuries.  Quanhtemotzin  hastened  to  silence  him  by  observing 
that  walls  had  ears,  which  might  misunderstand  such  expressions.  A  ple 
beian  native  reported  them,  and  that  very  night  those  who  had  been  present 
at  the  conversation,  three  kings  and  five  caciques,  were  found  hanging  from  a 
ceiba-trec.  Torquemada  will  not  believe  that  the  Indians  intended  to  revolt, 
especially  since  their  country  was  now  divided,  but  that  Cortes  regarded  the 
kings  as  a  burden,  i.  575-6.  Cavo,  Tres  Siglos,  i.  40-8,  agrees,  and  Gomara 
even  intimates  something  to  this  effect  in  saying  that  Cortes  ought  to  have 
preserved  so  prominent  and  brave  a  captive  to  point  the  triumph  of  his  vic 
tories,  but  that  the  dangerous  circumstances  must  have  prevented  him.  Hist. 
Mex.,  259.  'Es  notorio,  que  Quauhtemoc  y  los  demds  senores  murieron  sin 
culpa,  y  que  les  levantaron  falso  testimonio.'  Indeed,  continues  Ixtlilxochitl, 
when  the  Indians  complained  to  the  kings  of  maltreatment,  they  counselled 
submission.  But  his  story  is  so  full  of  glaring  misstatements  and  absurdities, 
and  so  evident  is  the  desire  to  relieve  his  kinsmen  from  the  traitor's  brand, 
that  he  cannot  be  relied  on.  Horribles  Crueldades,  82, .etc.;  /(/.,  Relaciones, 
Kinysborouyh's  Mex.  Antlq.,  ix.  440,  etc.  Brasseur  de  Bourbonrg  follows  him 
implicitly  of  course,  as  he  does  almost  any  record  from  native  source.  There 
was  no  witness  except  the  spy,  and  the  princes  were  not  allowed  to  defend 
themselves.  Hint.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  G08.  He  evidently  pays  no  attention  what 
ever  to  the  Spanish  versions.  Bustamante  accepts  even  more  implicitly 
the  records  of  those  whom  he  prefers  to  regard  as  his  ancestors.  See  his 
edition  of  Gomara,  Chimcdpain,  Hist.  Conq.,  ii.  135-G.  Cano,  who  married  the 
cousin  and  widow  of  Quauhtemotzin,  calls  the  execution  of  the  three  kings  a 
murder,  as  may  be  expected  from  his  dislike  of  Corte"s.  Oviedo,  iii.  549. 
Carried  away  by  hyperbolic  flights  of  fancy,  wherein  he  surpasses  even  Solis 
himself,  Salazar  condemns  the  deed  as  based  on  false  testimony,  and  blames 
Cortes  for  irritating  the  natives  by  resorting  to  so  rash  a  measure.  Conq.  Mex. , 
240-3.  Father  Durau  emphasizes  this  with  well-known  sympathy  for  the 
native  cause.  '  Y  levaiitaiidose  contra  el  algunos  testigos  falsos  le  mand6  a 
horcav.'  Hist.  Ind.,  MS.,  ii.  522.  On  imperfect  evidence  and  without  a  trial, 
says  Robertson,  Hist.  Am.,  ii.  138.  Fresco tt  sympathizes  with  Quauhtemotzin 
and  regards  the  testimony  as  insufficient,  while  Helps,  Cortes,  208-9,  doubts 
the  statements  of  Bernal  Diaz,  and  refers  to  the  act  as  cruel  practical  wisdom. 
The  chief  ground  for  this  view  is  that  Cortes,  as  an  hidalgo,  would  not  lie,  and 
can  therefore  be  relied  upon.  It  has  not  been  my  fortune  to  acquire  such 
faith,  and  I  fancy  that  a  closer  study  of  his  hero  might  have  changed  Sir 
Arthur  Helps'  views.  Alaman,  a  Mexican  with  Spanish  sympathies,  believes 
in  the  conspiracy,  but  regards  the  execution  as  a  blot  on  Cortes.  Quauhte 
motzin,  at  least,  should  have  been  sent  to  Spain  after  the  fall  of  Mexico. 
Divert.,  i.  214.  This  certainly  would  have  been  the  best  way  to  secure  and 
make  use  of  him.  Pizarro  y  Orellana,  Varones  Ilvxtres,  114-16,  regards  the 
evidence  as  clear  and  the  execution  as  just;  so  does  Revilla,  although  his 
reasons  are  not  the  best.  Soils,  Conq.  Mex.  (ed.  1843),  508. 

y3  It  is  not  improbable  that  suspicions  as  to  the  thoughts  raid  acts  of  the 
kings  may  have  created  a  prejudice  against  them,  but  the  suspicions  existed 
already  before  they  left  Mexico,  as  proved  by  their  being  taken  not  only  as 


556  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

* 

Many  of  the  natives,  particularly  those  now  en 
countering  the  Spaniards  for  the  first  time,  regarded 
the  discovery  of  the  conspiracy  with  superstitious 
awe.  The  idea  of  treachery  by  an  accomplice  did 
not  seem  to  so  occur  to  them,  but  with  mysterious 
shaking  of  the  head  they  pointed  to  the  compass  and 
chart.  Instruments  which  had  so  unaccountably,  and 
better  than  any  guide,  pointed  out  the  road  and  saved 
the  army  from  destruction,  could  of  course  reveal  a 
simple  conspiracy.  Nothing  could  be  hidden  from  the 
owner  of  that  needle.  Conscious,  perhaps,  of  some 
stray  unfriendly  thought,  many  hastened  to  Cortes  to 
protest  their  devotion.  "  Look  into  the  mirror,  and 
you  will  find  it  so,"  they  said,  alluding  to  the  compass, 
yet  quaking  the  while  lest  a  suspicion  should  there 

hostages  for  the  loyalty  of  their  subjects,  but  as  a  precaution  against  their 
own  possible  disloyalty.  Quauhtemotzin  was  evidently  not  the  most  submis 
sive  of  men,  for  he  had  always  been  regarded  as  requiring  a  close  watch,  and 
Cortes  brought  him  chiefly  because  of  his  '  bullicioso '  character,  as  he  ex 
presses  it.  It  may  not  be  considered  unpardonable  for  the  Indian  auxiliaries 
to  relieve  their  feelings  in  mutinous  expressions  against  the  taskmasters  and 
despoilers  who  were  taking  them  away  from  home  to  meet  an  unknown  fate, 
to  endure  toil,  hunger,  and  danger.  But  such  sentiments  could  not  be  over 
looked  in  the  kings.  They,  as  captured  leaders,  existed  only  by  sufferance, 
the  condition  being  good  behavior.  For  them  even  to  listen  was  to  en 
courage,  and  they  were  consequently  guilty.  Not  that  I  blame  them.  Nay, 
I  would  rather  blame  them  for  not  being  more  prompt  and  determined  in  the 
patriotic  effort.  But  in  resolving  to  listen,  and  to  act,  no  doubt,  they  accepted 
a  risk  with  a  penalty  well  defined  among  all  peoples.  Cortes  was  not  the  man 
to  hesitate  at  almost  any  deed  when  private  or  public  interests  demanded  it; 
and  it  needed  but  fettle  to  rouse  to  blind  fury  the  slumbeiung  suspicions  of  the 
soldiers  regarding  Mexican  loyalty.  But  here  we  have  evidence — not  ground 
less  even  from  a  native  point  of  view — to  justify  the  Spaniards  in  assuming 
that  a  conspiracy,  or,  at  least,  mutinous  talk,  was  wide-spread,  and  this  among 
a  horde  tenfold  superior  in  number;  a  horde  known  ever  to  have  cherished  un 
friendly  feelings,  and  now  doubly  embittered  by  suffering.  Under  the  circum 
stances  even  saints  would  not  have  disregarded  testimony  however  doubtful; 
and  the  Castilians  were  but  human.  Self-preservation,  ay,  duty  to  king,  and 
country,  and  God,  whose  several  interests  they  were  defending,  demanded  the 
prompt  suppression  of  so  ominous  a  danger.  What  were  the  best  measures  ? 
A  long  campaign  in  Mexico  had  impressed  Cortes  with  the  belief  that  a  peo 
ple  so  trained  to  abject  subservience  as  the  Aztecs,  and  so  bloody  in  their 
worship,  could  be  controlled  by  severity  alone,  and  that  the  lesson  must  fall 
on  the  leaders.  Situated  as  they  were  the  soldiers  could  not  be  expected  to 
guard  a  large  number  of  captives.  Hence  no  course  remained,  except  capital 
punishment.  According  to  Bernal  Diaz,  Ilist.VerdacL,  201,  Cortes'  distress 
of  mind  at  the  sufferings  of  the  expedition  was  so  increased  by  this  deed  that 
he  became  sleepless,  and,  in  wandering  around  one  night  in  a  temple  forming 
the  camp,  he  fell  from  a  platform  a  distance  of  ten  feet,  hurting  his  head 
severely. 


THE  ARMY  AT  IZANCAXAC.  557 

stand  depicted.  Apochpalon  was  so  affected  that  he 
hastened  to  tender  allegiance  and  to  burn  idols.  So 
convenient  a  belief  was  not  to  be  disturbed,  and  the 
natives  were  allowed  to  nurse  it. 

The  army  now  proceeded  to  Izancanac,39  the  popu 
lous  capital  of  Acalan,  conducted  by  Apochpalon  in 
person.  He  was  mounted  on  a  horse,  and  the  first 
apprehensions  over,  he  strode  his  steed  with  childish 
delight.  The  soldiers  were  treated  with  sumptuous 
hospitality,  and  Cortes  was  gratified  with  presents  of 
gold  and  women.  Meanwhile,  to  facilitate  the  further 
march,  the  road  was  improved,  a  bridge  built,  and 
guides  were  provided,  besides  an  advance  corps  laden 
with  provisions.  In  return  for  all  this  Apochpalon 
asked  merely  for  a  letter  to  prove  to  other  white 
comers  that  he  had  been  faithful. 

There  was  every  inducement  to  prolong  the  stay 
at  Izancanac,  served  and  feasted  as  they  were,  but 
the  nearness  of  the  Spanish  settlements,  as  allur 
ingly  depicted  by  the  calculating  Apochpalon,  was 
an  incentive  for  all  to  proceed.  Laden  with  rations 
for  a  week,  they  departed  on  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent 
from  the  fair  province  of  Acalan,  over  which,  the 
protective  letter  notwithstanding >  the  withering  in 
fluence  of  Spaniards  was  soon  to  fall.  On  the  third 
day  they  entered  the  prairie-studded  province  of 
the  Mazatecs,40  so  called  from  the  abundance  of  deer. 
These  animals  were  here  regarded  with  veneration, 

O 

and  the  consequent  immunity  from  pursuit  had  made 
them  not  only  numerous,  but  tame.  The  soldiers, 
being  restrained  by  no  scruples  of  native  superstition, 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  a  chase  over  the 
verdure-clad  fields,  and  soon  a  score  of  deer  were 
added  to  the  larder.  The  following  day  they  came  to 
a  frontier  fortress,  built  on  a  rock,  and  bounded  on 

39  On  a  watercourse  falling  into  T<5rminos.   Cortts,  Cartas,  419. 

40 'Pueblos,  6  Tierras  de  Venados.'  Villarjulierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  43. 
'  Provincia  de  Ma£atlan,  que  en  su  lengua  dellos  se  llama  Quiacho. '  Cortts, 
Cartas,  422. 


558  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

one  side  by  a  lake,  on  the  other  by  a  river,  and  with 
only  one  means  of  access.  Besides  this  natural 
strength  it  was  protected  by  a  double  stockade  with 
moats,  surmounted  by  towers,  and  the  houses  were 
also  provided  with  shot-holes.  The  place  was  in  fact 
impregnable,  and  every  precaution  was  taken  to  meet 
the  resistance  for  which  the  attack  of  some  lately 
captured  scouts  had  prepared  them.  Cautiously  they 
advanced  toward  the  entrance.  Not  a  sound,  not  a 
movement.  An  ambuscade  must  have  been  formed, 
since  no  gate  barred  the  entry.  But  within  reigned 
silence,  and  it  was  only  on  reaching  the  plaza  that 
some  chiefs  appeared  with  humble  obeisance.  This 
was  one  of  the  asylums  erected  by  the  Mazatecs  for 
refuge  against  the  wild  Lacandones.  But  what  availed 
walls  and  arms  against  the  irresistible  bearded  men 
who  controlled  the  lightning.  Them  the  inhabitants 
dared  not  resist.  They  had  fled  to  mountain  fast 
nesses,  leaving  their  wealth  of  provisions  and  arms  at 
the  disposal  of  the  invaders,  with  the  sole  request 
that  the  place  be  not  destroyed.  The  chiefs  were  reas 
sured,  and  after  replenishing  their  stores  the  Spaniards 
proceeded  for  seven  leagues  to  a  larger  and  similar 
pueblo  called  Tiac,  situated  on  a  plain,  within  a  stock 
ade,  each  of  its  three  wards  being  provided  with 
separate  palisades.  The  caciques  of  this  and  several 
other  pueblos  of  the  province,  each  independent  and 
quarrelsome,  sent  messengers  with  presents  and  offers 
of  allegiance,  but  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  come 
in  person  with  their  people.  The  guides  here  ob 
tained  gave  the  cheering  information  that  the  white 
men  were  not  far  off,  and  conducted  them  to  Ahun- 
cahuitl,  the  last  pueblo  of  this  province,  also  fortified, 
and  amply  provisioned,  so  much  so  that  rations  were 
taken  for  the  five  days'  march  which  intervened  before 
reaching  the  province  of  the  Itzas.*1 

nights  were  spent  in  the  mountains,  in  which 


41  Called  by  Cort6s  Tdica,  Tahica,  and  Taisa,  the  latter  not  incorrect  per 
haps,  although  Atitza  or  Tayasal  may  be  better. 


ARRIVAL  AT  THE  ITZA  CAPITAL.  559 

was  a  bad  pass,  called  Alabastro  from  the  appearance 
of  the  rock.  They  now  came  to  a  small  lake  with  an 
island  pueblo,  from  which  the  inhabitants  fled  as  the 
soldiers  waded  over.42  The  following  day  they  were 
surprised  to  behold  the  gleaming  walls  and  lofty  tem 
ples  of  a  large  pueblo,  situated  on  an  isle  several  miles 
from  shore,  in  a  large  sheet  of  water,  which  Cortes 
assumed  to  be  an  arm  of  the  sea.43  But  his  ordeal 
was  not  yet  over.  It  was  the  lake  now  known  as 
Peten,  and  the  pueblo  was  Tayasal,44  the  capital  of 
the  Itzas,  which  recalled  in  a  measure  to  the  old  con 
querors  the  first  and  never  to  be  forgotten  view  of  the 

A  O 

famous  queen  city  enthroned  in  the  lake  of  Mexico. 

The    natives   had   taken   to   their   canoes    on    the 

approach  of  the  Spaniards,  and  heeded  no  signs  or 

appeals,  but  with  the  aid  of  a  dog  a  solitary  boat- 

42  This  is  probably  Lake  San  Pedro,  from  which  all  the  fish  were  caught, 
over  1,000  in  number.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  201. 

43  '  Parescia  brazo  de  mar,  y  aun  asi  creo  que  lo  es,  aunque  es  dulce.' 
Cartas,  427. 

44  So  write  Bernal  Diaz  and  Villagutierre.     Pinelo,  Relation,  1 ,  2,  has  it 
Taiza  or  Atitza.     Two  leagues  from  shore,  says  Cortds,  on  an  island  known 
as  Peten  Itza,  Peten  signifying  island.     Its  present  name  is  Remedios,  and  on 
the  ruins  of  the  old  pueblo  has  risen  the  town  of  Flores.     The  name  of  Peten 
lives  in  that  of  the  province.     A  romantic  account  is  given  of  the  rise  of  this 
lake  people.     The  Itzas  were  a  branch  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  nations  of 
Yucatan,  whose  name  had  descended  on  them  as  followers  of  the  hero-god 
Itzamna.     Chichen  Itza,  their  capital,  was  once  a  centre  of  power  and  wealth 
in  the  peninsula,  but  with  the  changing  fortunes  of  war  came  disunion,  and 
in  the  beginning  of  the  15th  century  the  feared  Itzas  had  dwindled  into  a 
number  of  petty  principalities  ruled  by  caneks.     'El  Cazique  a  quien  comun- 
mente  llaman  Canek. '  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yncalhan,  54.    It  so  happened  that  one 
of  these  fell  in  love,  but  found  an  obstacle  in  a  father,  who  awarded  the  ob 
ject  of  his  affections  to  a  more  powerful  chief.     The  canek  was  not  to  be  thus 
easily  balked.     He  watched  his  opportunity,  and  on  the  wedding-day  broke 
in  upon  the  festive  assembly  and  carried  off  the  bride.    Gathering  his  warriors, 
the  disappointed  rival  prepared  to  wreak  vengeance  and  recover  the  prize. 
The  Ilium  of  our  hero  was  not  fitted  to  withstand  such  hosts,  and  he  had  no 
other  alternative  than  flight.     Nor  could  his  subjects  hope  to  escape  desola 
tion,  and  taking  up  the  cause  of  their  leader,  they  followed  him  southward 
in  search  of  a  new  home,  safe  from  the  avenger.     Guided  by  craggy  ranges, 
the  refugees  came  to  the  smiling  valley  of  Tayasal,  with  its  island-studded 
lake,  bordered  by  verdure- clad  slopes,  beyond  which  rose  the  shielding  forest. 
Here  indeed  was  a  land  of  promise,  where,  guarded  by  Itzamnri,  they  might 
rear  new  generations  to  perpetuate  the  name  and  traditions  of  their  race.     So 
runs  the  story  as  related  by  chroniclers,  although  with  their  devout  frame  of 
mind  they  give  preference  to  another  account,  which  attributes  the  niigration 
to  the  prophecies  of  their  priests,  foretelling  the  coming  of  a  bearded  race, 
with  a  new  faith,  to  rule  over  the  land.    Vi/lafjuticrre,  Hist.  Conq.  7fc«,  29-31; 
Coyolludo,  Hist.  Yucathan,  507.     See  also  Native  Races,  ii.  v.,  etc.     The  Itz:as 
will  be  again  spoken  of  in  a  later  volume. 


560  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

man  was  captured.  A  friendly  message  was  now 
despatched  to  the  canek  inviting  him  to  a  conference, 
and  offering  hostages.  It  was  not  long  ere  six  large 
canoes  approached  the  shore,  and  some  thirty  persons 
stepped  fearlessly  forth.  At  their  head  came  one 
whose  commanding  figure  and  quiet  dignity  an 
nounced  the  ruler.  A  flowing  white  robe  disclosed 
an  elaborately  tattooed  skin,  relieved  by  an  embroid 
ered  maxtli.  The  braided  hair  was  surmounted  by 
a  head-dress  of  feathers,  and  the  face,  also  tattooed 
with  black  lines,  was  further  ornamented  with  gold 
pendants  in  nose  and  ears.  He  bade  Cortes  wel 
come,  and  expressed  himself  secure  in  his  company 
without  the  proffered  hostage. 

It  was  the  hour  for  mass,  and  with  a  view  both  to 
please  him  and  to  teach  a  pious  lesson,  the  ceremony 
was  held  with  chant  and  instrumental  accompani 
ment.  The  faith  was  thereupon  explained  by  a  friar, 
with  so  good  an  effect  that  the  chief  promised  to 
destroy  his  idols  and  adore  the  cross  till  teachers 
should  arrive  to  give  him  full  instruction.  As  an 
earnest  of  his  intention  presents  were  produced,  con 
sisting  chiefly  of  provisions,  with  a  few  strings  of 
red  shells  highly  valued  by  the  natives,  and  other 
trinkets;  and  though  the  gold  was  small  in  quantity, 
yet  it  encouraged  Cortes  to  give  in  return  a  shirt,  a 
velvet  cap,  and  some  cutlery.  News  had  reached 
the  island  city  of  the  doings  of  the  Europeans,  not 
only  at  Naco  and  Nito,  but  in  Tabasco,  where  the 
natives  some  years  before  had  been  conquered  in 
three  battles.  Cortes  hastened  to  assure  the  canek 
that  he  saw  before  him  the  hero  of  those  famed 
encounters,  and  finding  that  an  impression  had  been 
produced,  he  warmed  with  a  description  of  the  power 
and  grandeur  of  the  greatest  prince  on  earth.  The 
canek  was  not  merely  impressed  but  awed,  so  much 
so  that  he  at  once  tendered  allegiance. 

With  new  guides  the  main  body  proceeded  round 
the  lake  southward,  while  Cortes  entered  the  canoes 


TOILSOME  ADVANCE.  561 

with  a  score  of  archers  to  visit  the  island  city.  The 
officers  sought  to  dissuade  him  from  risking  his  per 
son  in  the  hands  of  a  perhaps  treacherous  enemy,  but 
the  general  did  not  wish  to  be  surpassed  in  fearless 
ness  and  confidence.45  He  was  greatly  admired  by 
the  islanders  who  thronged  round  his  mailed  followers 
with  mingled  curiosity  and  awe.  On  leaving  he  com 
mended  to  their  care  a  black  horse  which  had  been 
disabled  by  a  wound  in  the  leg.  Ignorant  of  the 
treatment  required  by  the  animal,  and  eager  to  do 
reverence  to  the  strange  charge,  they  are  said  to  have 
offered  it  flowers  and  fowl,  on  which  diet  it  died.  The 
grief  of  the  Itzas  was  equalled  only  by  their  fear. 
What  would  the  white  chief  say  when  he  returned? 
Nothing  now  remained  but  to  do  homage  to  the  car 
cass.  They  had  seen  the  flash  of  the  fire-arm  as  the 
mounted  hunter  chased  the  deer  on  the  prairie,  and 
fancied  that  this  as  well  as  the  report  issued  from 
the  horse.  What  more  appropriate  apotheosis  of  a 
charger  than  into  a  god  of  thunder?  As  Tziminchac 
it  was  accordingly  adored.  The  bones  were  kept  as 
sacred  relics  while  an  effigy  sejant  of  the  animal, 
formed  of  masonry,  attracted  direct  worship.46 

The  next  resting-place  of  the  army  was  at  Tlecan. 
a  deserted  pueblo  some  seven  leagues  from  Tayasal, 
where  the  Spaniards  stayed  for  four  days  and  pro 
vided  themselves  with  a  week's  rations.  Six  leagues 
further  a  halt  was  made  at  a  hamlet,  in  honor  of  the 
virgin's  festival.47  Nine  leagues  beyond,  a  rugged 
pass  was  entered  in  which  the  rough  sharp  stones 
tore  from  the  horses  feet  their  very  shoes.  The  next 
station  bore  the  name  Ahuncapun  where  a  two  days' 

45  <  Y  que  veria  quemar  los  i Jolos. '  Cortes,  Carta*,  30.     Which  was  done, 
adds  Gomara ;  but  this  Villaguticrre  will  not  allow.    Idolatry  rather  increased, 
he  goes  on  to  show.  Hist.  Conq.  Jtza,  50.     Here  three  Spaniards,  two  Indians, 
and  one  negro  deserted,  tired  of  the  constant  hardship.   Hernal  Diaz,  Hist. 
Verdad.,  202. 

46  When  the  conquerors  entered  a  century  later  to  occupy  the  district,  they 
found  more  than  a  score  of  stone  temples  on  the  island  alone,  and  in  one  of  the 
principal  ones  this  idol.  Villayutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  100-2;  Cogolludo,  Hist. 
Yucatltan,  55;  Native  Races ,  iii.  483. 

47  Nuestra  Seuora  de  Marco.  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  viii.  cap.  i. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    36 


562  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

halt  was  made.  Five  leagues  beyond  lay  Tachuytel, 
after  which  began  an  eight  league  ascent  of  the 
roughest  mountains  yet  encountered,  called  de  Peder- 
nales,  Mountain  of  Flints.  The  horses  could  hardly 
move  a  step  without  slipping,  and  cutting  their  legs 
and  bodies  most  dangerously.  On  any  other  occasion 
the  sight  of  suffering  among  the  prized  animals,  the 
chief  reliance  of  the  army,  would  have  touched  the 
men  deeply,  but  now  they  were  too  much  absorbed 
by  their  own 'sufferings  to  think  of  them.  Many  of 
the  soldiers  were  also  becoming  disabled,  and  the  pro 
visions  were  giving  out  in  the  midst  of  the  mountains, 
which  in  many  places  offered  not  even  a  root.  Days 
passed  by  in  slow  and  toilsome  advance;  none  could 
tell  how  much  longer  this  long  journey  would  last.  A 
heavy  rain  added  to  their  torment,  and  past  sufferings 
were  forgotten  in  the  present.  Many  fell  from  ex 
haustion  and  hunger,  or  slipped  from  the  rocks  into 
the  abyss;  and  so  extreme  was  the  need,  says  Herrera, 
that  one  confessed  to  having  eaten  of  the  brains  and 
entrails  of  three  men  who  had  died  of  hunger.48 

Cortes  did  his  utmost  to  encourage  the  men. 
With  pike  in  hand  he  would  lead  the  march  over  the 
difficult  parts  of  the  road;  he  cheered  and  consoled 
them,  and  divided  what  he  had  with  the  sick  and 
famished.  This  energy,  this  sympathy  and  gener 
osity  did  wonders  and  animated  the  men  to  repress 
their  murmurs.  Finally,  after  twelve  days  of  toil, 
says  Cortes,  the  terrible  flint  road  ended;  but  it  had 
cost  the  lives  of  several  men,  and  sixty-eight  horses 
had  fallen  over  the  cliffs,  or  had  been  fatally  disabled, 
while  the  rest  did  not  recover  from  the  strains  and 
bruises  for  three  months.49  Now  the  men  began  to 

48  This  was  Medrano ;  '  Chirimia  de  la  yglesia  de  Toledo. '  The  victims  are 
named.  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  viii.  cap.  i.  Cortes  also  admits  that  great  hunger 
was  suffered,  yet  the  swine  were  only  sparingly  used. 

1 '  Murieron  sesenta  y  ochocaballos  despeiiados  y  dejarretados,'  etc.  Cortes, 
Cartas,  433.  Bernal  Diaz  is  less  clear  on  this  incident.  Gomara  follows 
Cort6s,  although  he  says  that  the  passage  took  only  eight  days,  Hist.  Mex. , 
263,  and  Herrera  is  the  only  one  who  enters  into  the  losses  sustained  in  men, 
a  number  dying  also  of  diarrhosa  from  palm-cabbage.  Ubi  sup. 


A  FORMIDABLE  FORD. 


5C3 


breathe  easier,  but,  as  once  before,  the  dawning 
joy  was  abruptly  checked  by  a  formidable  obstacle. 
They  found  themselves  on  the  banks  of  a  wide  river 
whose  waters  tore  by  with  a  rapidity  that  made  even 
rafting  impracticable.  While  the  soldiers  stood  gaz 
ing  in  mute  despair  at  the  barriers  behind  and  in 
front,  praying  for  deliverance,  Cortes  sent  out  parties 


to  search  for  an  outlet,  and  soon  reports  were  brought 
of  a  ford.  It  was  as  a  reprieve  from  death.  Te 
Deum  was  solemnly  chanted,  and  tough  old  soldiers 
shed  tears  of  joy.  When  the  nature  of  the  passage 
was  observed,  it  seemed  indeed  as  if  heaven  had 
decreed  a  miracle  in  their  behalf.  The  ford,  two 
thirds  of  a  league  wide,  consisted  of  a  smooth  ledge 


564  MARCH  OF  CORTES  TO  HONDURAS. 

stretching  across  the  whole  river,  and  intersected 
by  over  twenty  channels,  through  which  the  water 
rushed  with  deafening  roar.  But  even  the  channels 
could  not  be  crossed  without  bridges,  and  fully  two 
days  were  spent  in  felling  timber  for  the  twenty 
passages.50 

It  was  Easter  eve51  when  the  ford  was  crossed  by 
the  infantry,  followed  by  the  disabled  horses.  Again 
came  a  check  to  their  joy.  Tenciz,  the  pueblo  at  which 
they  now  arrived,  a  league  beyond  the  ford,  had  been 
evacuated,  and  nearly  all  the  supplies  carried  off. 
For  over  ten  days  the  men  had  eaten  hardly  any 
thing  but  palm -cabbage,  and  very  little  of  that, 
owing  to  the  trouble  in  obtaining  it.52  Fortunately, 
some  natives  were  found  who  guided  a  foraging  party 
back  across  the  river  a  day's  journey  into  the  Tahuy- 
tal  province,  where  an  abundance  of  provisions  was 
obtained,  and  which  furnished  the  army  with  good 
cheer  during  the  five  days'  stay  at  Tenciz,  and  with 
some  rations  for  the  journey  into  Acuculin  province. 

The  guides  here  obtained  ran  away,  and  the  Span 
iards  had  to  advance  with  the  aid  of  native  maps  alone. 
The  route  w^as  level,  and  eleven  leagues  were  easily 
covered  in  two  days  by  crossing  two  rivers.  This 
brought  them  to  a  small  settlement  of  Acalan  trad 
ers,  who  had  been  driven  from  Nito  by  the  Spanish 
excesses,  and  found  refuge  here.  Soon  after  the  cap 
ital  of  the  province  was  reached,  but  it  was  deserted 
and  almost  devoid  of  provisions.  This  was  most- 
discouraging,  and  to  advance  without  guides  appeared 
dangerous.  Notwithstanding  the  scanty  sustenance 
obtained  from  palm-cabbage,  cooked  with  pork,  and 

50  Cortes  describes  even  these  crossings  as  quite  dangerous.     The  horses 
swam  below  the  fall  in  the  still  water.     Three  days  were  passed  ere  all  tho 
horses  could  crawl  into  the  camp,  a  league  further.   Cartas,  434. 

51  'A  15  dias  del  afio  de  1525.'  Id.;  that  is,  April  15. 

1  '  Habia  diez  dias  que  no  comiamos  sino  cuescos  de  palmas  y  palmitos. ' 
'  Aun  de  aquellos  palmitos  sin  sal  no  teniamos  abasto,  porque  se  cortaban  con 
mucha  diiicultad  de  unas  palmas  muy  gordas  y  altas,  que  en  todo  un  dia  dos 
hombres  teniaii  que  hacer  cortar  uno,  y  cortado,  le  comian  en  media  hora.' 
Cortes,  Cartas,  434,  439. 


APPROACH  TO  NITO.  565 

unsalted,  a  week  was  spent  in  searching  for  guides. 
Finally  a  boy  was  found  who  led  them  a  day's  journey 
to  a  river  in  Taniha  province,  evidently  Rio  Sarstoon. 
Following  the  stream  downward  for  a  couple  of  days 
they  came  to  Otulizti  pueblo,  where  the  natives  re 
ported  that  Nito  lay  only  two  suns  away.  In  proof 
of  this  assertion  two  women  were  brought  who  had 

O 

served  the  Spaniards  there.  Hunger  and  fatigue 
were  forgotten  in  the  rejoicing  over  this  news,  and 
the  men  impatiently  begged  to  be  led  onward. 

But  there  was  need  for  prudence,  since  nothing 
was  known  about  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Hondu 
ras,  and  the  troops  were  not  at  present  in  a  position 
to  meet  a  well-equipped  foe,  particularly  if  led  by  the 
redoubtable  Olid.  Sandoval  was  accordingly  sent  for 
ward  with  a  few  chosen  men  to  reconnoitre.  It  was  not 
far  to  the  shore  of  the  Amatique  Bay,  beyond  which 
lay  the  object  of  their  journey.  The  bay  was  skirted 
till  they  reached  the  wide  stream  which  forms  the 
outlet  of  Golfo  Dulce.  Here  they  captured  a  trad 
er's  canoe,  and  then  hid  themselves  to  see  what  next 
should  happen.  It  was  not  long  before  a  canoe  ap 
proached  with  four  white  men,  who  were  outflanked 
and  secured.  They  proved  to  be  soldiers  of  Gil  Gon 
zalez  stationed  at  Nito,  to  which  site  the  old  settle 
ment  at  San  Gil  de  Buena vista  had  been  transferred.53 
On  the  whole  the  account  of  affairs  was  cheering  to 
Sandoval,  the  main  point  being  that  the  province  was 
quiet,  and  thoroughly  devoted  to  Cortes,  although 
without  a  regular  governor  since  the  departure  of 
Casas.  A  messenger  was  at  once  despatched  to  re 
lieve  the  anxiety  of  the  general,  and  the  soldier  to 
whom  the  commission  was  intrusted  reaped  a  rich 
harvest  from  his  overjoyed  chief  and  comrades. 

53  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Vcrdad. ,  202,  204 ;  Juarros,  Ouat. ,  326.  Most  authors 
confound  Nito  and  San  Gil,  and  Prescott  actually  does  so  with  Naco. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

CORTfiS  IN  HONDURAS. 
1525-1526. 

HE  is  MASTER  OF  ALL  THE  MISERIES  THERE— MIASMA  AND  DEEP  DISTRESS — 
EXERTIONS  OF  CORTES  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  COLONISTS — A  VESSEL  APPEARS 
WITH  PROVISIONS— CORTES  SENDS  OUT  FORAGERS — HE  SEEKS  A  BETTER 
LOCALITY — SANDOVAL  AT  NACO — OTHERS  SETTLE  AT  CABALLOS — COR 
TES  AT  TRTJJILLO— VESSELS  SENT  TO  MEXICO,  CUBA,  AND  JAMAICA— 
TROUBLES  IN  MEXICO — CORTES  IRRESOLUTE — STARTS  FOR  MEXICO— Is 
DRIVEN  BACK  BY  A  STORM — PACIFICATION  OF  ADJACENT  PUEBLOS — COR 
TES  SENDS  PRESENTS  TO  CORDOBA — SHALL  CORTES  MAKE  HIMSELF  MAS 
TER  OF  NICARAGUA? — ARRIVAL  OF  ALTAMIRANO — RETURN  OF  CORTES  TO 
MEXICO. 

CICERO  says  that  a  man's  best  adviser  is  himself.  A 
wise  man  can  find  no  better  counsellor  than  his  own 
cool,  impartial  judgment.  Cortes  was  a  wise  man, 
and  he  could  calmly  judge.  Had  he  counselled  with 
himself  before  setting  out  on  this  adventure  ?  He 
had  led  into  Honduras,  amidst  great  sufferings,  an 
army.  The  end  of  his  perilous  march  brought  to 
him  no  great  achievement,  no  great  reward.  There 
was  no  Olid  to  punish;  Casas  was  not  a  traitor. 
Might  not  the  proud  conqueror  with  more  advantage 
have  remained  at  home?  The  assurance  of  a  ready 
welcome,  instead  of  a  campaign  against  a  formidable 
rebel,  was  a  relief  to  the  way-worn  soldiers;  but 
what  thought  the  commander  of  it?  It  is  not  satis 
fying  to  a  sane  man's  pride  to  beat  the  air,  or  charge 
on  a  windmill.  A  traitor  to  crush,  or  a  fair  city 
to  conquer,  would  have  been  refreshing  pastime  to 
Cortes  at  this  juncture. 

In  advance  of  the  army,  and  almost  alone,  he  set 

(566) 


DESPERATE  SITUATION  OF  THE  COLONISTS.  567 

out  for  Nito.  If  he  entered  not  as  a  conqueror  with 
sword  in  hand,  he  had  at  least  the  satisfaction  of 
being  welcomed  as  a  savior.  Malaria  was  there,  and 
had  so  reduced  the  settlement  that  the  frown  of  the 
natives  loomed  over  it  like  Erinnyan  phantoms.  There 
were  but  three  score  Spaniards  with  a  few  women,1 
the  greater  number  so  reduced  by  fever  and  other 
ailments  as  hardly  to  be  able  to  move,  and  all  suffer 
ing  from  poor  and  insufficient  food — zapotes,  vegeta 
bles,  and  fish.  Without  sufficient  arms  and  without 
horses,  they  did  not  venture  abroad  to  forage,  and 
seeing  that  death  would  surely  overtake  all  if  they 
remained,  the  able-bodied  men  under  the  leadership 
of  Diego  Nieto  were  repairing  a  vessel  in  which  to 
depart.2  The  disappearance  of  the  four  men  captured 
by  Sandoval  created  no  small  alarm.  Were  they  after 
all  to  be  overwhelmed  by  avenging  natives?  Amidst 
such  troubles  no  wonder  that  the  appearance  of  Cortes 
was  greeted  as  a  descent  from  heaven,  and  that  even 
men  wept  as  they  thronged  round  to  kiss  his  hand. 

The  army  was  not  a  little  surprised  at  the  desti 
tution  of  the  famed  Honduras.  While  ministering 
consolation,  Cortes  sent  out  bands  of  foragers.  One 
of  the  parties  ascended  the  Rio  Yasa,3  and  coming  to 
a  deserted  hamlet,  six  leagues  from  the  mouth,  took 
refuge  from  the  rain.  But  it  was  not  long  before  a 
band  of  Indians  set  upon  them,  and  badly  wounded 
they  were  driven  to  the  boats,  glad  to  escape  with 
life.  Another  party  found  a  path  leading  to  a  well- 
provided  pueblo  called  Lequela,  but  it  was  eighteen 
leagues  away,  and  too  far  for  carriers.  A  third  divi 
sion  met  with  better  success.4 

1  Sixty  men  and  twenty  women  left  by  Gonzalez.  Cortte,  Cartas,  440.  Forty 
Spaniards  and  four  women,  says  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  204. 

2 '  De  todos  ellos  no  liabia  ocho  para  poder  quedar  en  la  tierra. '  Cortes,  Car 
tas,  loc.  ci.L  Their  captain,  Armenta,  having  refused  to  return  with  them  to 
Cuba,  they  had  hanged  him  a  few  days  before,  and  had  elected  Nieto,  who  was 
ready  to  execute  their  wishes.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  204. 

3  Montagua  probably. 

4  Captain  Marin  found  eight  leagues  off,  on  the  Naco  road,  a  number  of 
well-supplied  villages,  from  which  provisions  were  forwarded,   fiernal  Diaz, 
Hint.  Verdad.,  204. 


563  CORTES  IN  HONDURAS. 

Meanwhile  a  vessel  appeared  in  the  harbor,  hav 
ing  on  board  thirty  Spaniards,  beside  the  crew,  and 
laden  with  a  dozen  horses,  over  seventy  hogs,  and 
provisions.  It  seemed  a  miracle.  And  the  whole 
equipment  Cortes  bought  for  four  thousand  pesos.5 
Welcome  as  this  was  to  the  starving  settlement,  the 
sudden  change  in  diet  cost  the  lives  of  several  per 
sons.  The  site  of  Nito  being  so  unhealthy  and  ill- 
provided,  it  was  resolved  to  abandon  the  place,  and 
Sandoval  was  sent  with  the  greater  number  of  sol 
diers,  settlers,  and  Indians,  to  the  fertile  valley  of 
Naco,  Olid's  abandoned  headquarters,  twenty  leagues 
off,  on  the  road  to  which  several  well-supplied  pueblos 
offered  good  halting-places. 

With  the  newly  arrived  vessel,  a  repaired  caravel 
and  a  brigantine,  built  from  some  wrecks,  Cortes  pre 
pared  to  take  the  remainder  of  the  party  by  sea  to  a 
better  locality.  But  first  he  would  ascend  the  wide 
outlet  lately  crossed  for  food,  for  in  this  direction 
some  captives  assured  him  he  would  find  rich  settle 
ments.6  Exploration  also  impelled  him  to  this  quar 
ter,  for  it  was  reported  that  when  Gil  Gonzalez  first 
arrived  here  he  had  detached  a  vessel  for  the  exam 
ination  of  this  entrance;  which  had  traversed  two 
fresh -water  gulfs;  but  the  ascent  of  a  tributary 
beyond  had  been  prevented  by  strong  currents  and 
warlike  natives.7 

Manning  the  new  brigantine  with  forty  chosen  Span 
iards  and  a  number  of  Indians,  and  attended  by  boats, 
Cortes  ascended  the  Rio  Dulce,  and  speedily  entered 
a  sheet  of  water  some  twelve  leagues  in  circumference, 
without  settlements.  Continuing  south-west,  he  went 

O 

through  a  long  passage  into  another  larger  sheet  of 
water  lying  amidst  lofty  ranges  and  most  bewitching 

5  Bought  on  credit  from  the  owner,  Anton  de  Carmona  or  Camargo,  says 
Bernal  Diaz,  who  reduces  the  stock  to  seven  horses  and  forty  hogs. 

6  A  party  had  already  been  sent  in  this  direction,  but  they  returned  within 
ten  days  disheartened,  throwing  discredit  on  the  informants,  who  on  their 
side  accused  the  men  of  being  faint-hearted.   Cort6s,  Cartas,  441-2. 

7  Eighty  Spaniards  had  attacked  a  pueblo,  but  the  Indians  returned  in 
greater  force  and  drove  them  off  with  some  wounded.   Cortes,  Cartas,  444. 


CAPTURE  OF  PUEBLOS.  569 

scenery.  Inspired  by  the  wild  grandeur  around  him, 
he  already  fancied  himself  the  laurel-crowned  discov 
erer  of  the  long-sought  strait.  But  the  dream  was 
brief,  for  the  water  proved  to  be  a  gulf,  some  thirty 
leagues  in  circumference,  and  called  Apolochic  in  the 
vernacular.  Leaving  the  vessel  at  its  western  end, 
near  the  mouth  of  a  stream,  he  proceeded  with  most 
of  the  men,  under  a  local  guide,  over  a  rough  route 
intersected  by  innumerable  creeks.  After  a  march  of 
twelve  leagues,  during  which  only  one  village  of  any 
importance  was  seen,  he  came  to  a  pueblo  in  which 
loud  singing  with  instrumental  accompaniment  indi 
cated  a  festival.  Waiting  till  a  late  hour,  when  all 
was  quiet,  he  fell  upon  the  sleeping  natives,  and  but 
for  the  excited  exclamation  of  a  soldier  the  place 
would  have  been  taken  without  a  blow.  As  it 
was,  the  cacique  had  time  to  rally,  and  in  the  melee 
which  followed  he  with  several  others  lost  his  life. 
Forty  captives  were  here  secured.  Cortes  was  now 
guided  to  a  larger  pueblo,  called  Chacujal,  eight 
leagues  further,  and  again  resorted  to  a  night  attack, 
but  did  not  gain  the  place  without  considerable 
resistance.  By  morning  the  Indians  had  fled.  The 
buildings,  particularly  the  temples,  resembled  very 
much  those  of  Mexico,  but  the  language  differed  as 
well  from  the  Mexican  as  from  that  of  the  pueblos 
hitherto  met  with.  Among  the  captives  was  an  Indian 
from  the  Pacific  slope,  who  reported  that  only  three 
score  leagues  intervened  between  Nito  and  his  coun 
try,  where  Alvarado  was  conquering. 

The  place  was  abundantly  provided  with  cotton 
goods,  maize,  the  much-needed  salt,  and  other  articles, 
and  since  it  lay  near  the  Polochic  River,  which  en 
tered  the  gulf  twenty  leagues  from  where  the  vessel 
lay,  messengers  were  sent  to  bring  it  as  far  up  the 
stream  as  possible  to  receive  supplies.  Meanwhile  four 
rafts  were  made,  and  loaded  each  with  forty  fanegas 
of  maize,  besides  beans,  cocoa,  arid  other  provisions. 
These  operations  occupied  nearly  three  weeks,  during 


570  CORTES  IN  HONDURAS. 

which  time  none  of  the  natives  could  be  induced  to 
return  and  aid  in  the  work.8  Cortes  now  embarked 
with  ten  men  on  the  rafts,  sending  the  rest  down 
by  land.  The  current  carried  them  rapidly  past  the 
winding  banks,  with  their  alternate  forest  and  prairie 
land,  relieved  here  and  there  by  hamlets  and  planta 
tions,  half  hidden  amidst  cocoa  groves  and  fruit-trees. 
Nothing  unusual  occurred  till  night,  when  Cortes,  who 
occupied  the  last  raft,  was  startled  by  cries  of  alarm 
from  the  one  before  him,  followed  by  Indian  yells. 
It  was  too  dark  to  distinguish  anything,  but  the  men 
prepared  for  what  might  come.  The  next  moment 
the  raft  struck  violently  against  a  projecting  rock, 
and  a  shower  of  arrows  fell.  Several  warriors  now 
attempted  to  board,  but  they  either  miscalculated  the 
distance,  or  were  pushed  overboard  by  the  crew. 
The  Indians  had  foreseen  the  opportunity  which 
the  rock  would  afford  for  an  attack,  but  the  rafts 
escaped  them,  although  most  of  the  Spaniards  were 
wounded,  including  the  general,  and  half  a  cargo 
was  damaged.  So  rapid  was  the  current  that  the 
twenty  leagues  were  made  by  morning.  More  supplies 
were  obtained  from  other  settlements,  and  on  return 
ing  to  Nito  after  an  absence  of  five  weeks,  sufficient 
food  was  brought  to  fairly  supply  the  fleet. 

The  whole  colony,  including  Gonzalez7  men,  now 
embarked  in  the  three  vessels  and  proceeded  to  San 
Andres  Bay,  or  Caballos,  where  a  number  of  San- 
do  val's  soldiers  had  just  arrived.  The  site  seemed  to 
be  all  that  could  be  desired,  "with  the  best  port  on  the 
entire  coast  from  the  Pearl  Islands  to  Florida,"  with 
fine  indications  of  gold  in  the  tributary  rivers,  and  with 
a  beautiful  and  well-settled  neighborhood.  A  colony 

8  It  was  sought  to  allure  the  natives  back  to  aid  in  carrying  supplies,  but 
none  came.  Cortes,  Cartels,  450.  Bernal  Diaz  relates  that  the  warriors  re 
turned  to  the  attack  after  the  flight,  only  to  lose  eight  men.  They  now  came 
to  sue,  and  Cortes  offered  to  release  the  captives  if  they  sent  down  provisions 
to  the  vessel.  This  they  did,  but  Cortes  nevertheless  insisted  on  retaining 
three  families,  whereupon  the  Indians  attacked  and  wounded  twelve  Spaniards, 
including  the  general.  Hist.  Verdad. ,  205.  This  writer  was  not  with  the  ex 
pedition,  however,  but  at  Naco,  so  that  his  account  is  doubly  doubtful. 


AT  TIIUJILLO.  571 

was  accordingly  founded  there  under  the  name  of  Na- 
tividad  de  Nuestra  Seiiora,  from  the  day  of  founding, 
and  fifty  settlers  were  left,  chiefly  Gonzalez'  men 
and  late  arrivals  from  Spain,  Diego  de  Godoy  being 
appointed  commander,  with  the  necessary  officials. 
A  church  was  also  built  and  placed  in  charge  of  a 
clergyman.  Soon,  however,  the  unhealthiness  of  the 
site  became  apparent,  and  half  the  settlers  died. 
The  Indians  grew  insolent  and  refused  supplies,  and 
threatened  the  destruction  of  the  settlement.  Cortes 
thereupon  permitted  the  colonists  to  join  the  pros 
perous  establishment  at  Naco.  Here  the  Indians 
had  been  gradually  reassured  and  conciliated  by  San- 
do  val,  whose  armed  incursions  had  already  reduced  a 
number  of  pueblos  of  considerable  size  and  wealth.9 

Cortes  had  meanwhile  sailed  to  Trujillo,  where  the 
delighted  colonists  rushed  into  the  water  to  carry  the 
renowned  chief  ashore.  His  first  and  characteristic 
act  was  to  enter  the  church  and  give  thanks  for  safe 
arrival.10  Then  came  the  exercise  of  clemency  for 
which  he  was  humbly  besought  by  the  late  adherents 
of  Olid.  Matters  had  been  going  smoothly  since 
Kuano  was  exiled,  and  the  general  was  too  prudent  to 
stir  up  animosity.  With  some  slight  reconstruction, 
therefore,  the  orders  and  arrangements  of  Casas  were 
confirmed.  An  impulse  was  given  to  the  town,  and 
with  the  enforced  aid  of  native  laborers  lots  were 
cleared  and  buildings  erected. 

The  four  vessels  now  in  port  were  not  allowed  to 
lie  idle.  One  was  despatched  to  Mexico  with  the 
invalids,  and  with  letters  for  the  officials,  wherein 
Cortes  commended  their  zeal  for  the  government,  and 
promised  soon  to  return.  Juan  de  Avalos,  his  cousin, 
was  placed  in  command,  and  ordered  to  pick  up  at 
Cozumel  Island  the  party  of  Spaniards  left  there 

9  '  Quimistlan  y  Zula  y  Cholome,  que  el  que  menos  destos  tiene  por  mas 
de  dos  mil  casas. '  Corl&s,  Cartas,  456.     Bernal  Diaz  also  names  some  places. 
Hist.  Verdad.,  207. 

10  He  had  been  buffeted  off  the  coast  for  nine  days,  while  the  land  party 
arrived  long  before  him,  over  a  good  road. 


572  CORTES  IN  HONDURAS. 

by  Valenzuela.  This  was  done,  but  on  approaching 
Cuba  the  vessel  was  wrecked  at  Cape  San  Antonio, 
with  the  loss  of  the  captain,  two  friars,  and  over 
thirty  others.  Of  the  rest  only  fifteen  survived  to 
reach  Guaniguanico.11  Of  the  other  vessels,  the  new 
brigantine  was  sent  to  Espanola  to  report  to  the 
oidores  concerning  the  overland  expedition  and  the 
state  of  affairs  in  Honduras,  and  to  represent  that  the 
kidnapping  raid  by  Moreno  was  creating  trouble  among 
the  natives.  The  authorities  ordered  the  captives  to 
be  returned.12  The  two  remaining  vessels  were  de 
spatched  to  Cuba  and  Jamaica  with  the  plate  and 
jewels  of  Cortes  to  purchase  provisions,  live  stock, 
and  plants  wherewith  to  improve  the  colony. 

One  of  these  ships,  in  touching  at  Cuba,  found  there 
a  vessel  from  Santo  Domingo,  destined  by  the  oidores 
for  Mexico  to  gain  positive  information  about  the 
rumored  death  of  Cortes,  and  to  report  on  measures 
against  the  disorders  that  might  follow.  Learning 
that  the  conqueror  was  alive  and  in  Honduras,  the 
messenger  of  the  oidores  resolved  at  once  to  change 
the  route  to  Honduras,  where  his  cargo  of  horses  and 
stores  would  also  find  a  readier  market. 

Licenciado  Zuazo,  the  most  honorable  and  trusted 
of  the  administrators  appointed  by  Cortes  over  Mexico, 
had  been  arrested  by  his  colleagues  for  opposing  their 
nefarious  plans,  and  sent  out  of  the  way  to  Cuba. 
These  men  had  not  only  seized  on  the  administrative 
power  for  their  own  advancement,  to  the  neglect  of 
public  welfare,  but,  believing  the  mighty  conqueror 
and  his  companions  in  arms  to  be  dead,  they  had  laid 
hands  on  their  estates,  and  were  persecuting  their 

11  '  Murieron  ochenta  Espafioles  sin  algunos  Indies  en  este  viaje. '  Gomora, 
Hist.  M&JC.,  269.     Licenciado  Lopez  escaped  to  spread  the  news  of  CorteV  be 
ing  alive.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hint.  Verdad.,  208. 

12  Together  with  Moreno  '  in  chains.'     '  Although  I  fear  that  lie  acted  by 
order  of  the  oidores,  and  that  no  justice  will  be  given.'  Cortes,  Cartas,  465-6. 
He  praised  the  wealth  of  Honduras,  and  asked  for  soldiers.     *  Y  para  dar 
credito  que  auia  oro,  erabio  muchas  joyas,  y  'piecas  .  .  .  de  lo  que  truxo  de 
Mexico,'  says  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.   Verdad.,  208.     But  he  is  by  no  means  to  be 
relied  on. 


BAD  NEWS  FROM  MEXICO.  573 

friends  and  whosoever  ventured  to  protest.  The 
country  was  in  a  most  critical  condition.  Anarchy 
and  spoliation  were  the  order  of  the  day.  The  colo 
nists  were  arrayed  in  opposition  to  each  other,  and 
the  Indians  found  every  encouragement  for  rising 
against  their  white  oppressors  and  blotting  them  out 
of  existence. 

All  this  was  reported  by  Zuazo  in  a  letter  to 
Cortes,  with  the  most  earnest  pleading  for  his  imme 
diate  return,  ere  it  was  too  late.13  Cortes  was  at  first 
furious ;  then  he  melted  into  tears  at  the  thought  of 
the  desolation  wrought  by  his  enemies  and  at  the 
inhuman  persecution  of  his  followers.  "  It  serves  me 
right,"  he  said,  in  a  calmer  moment,  "  to  be  thus 
treated  for  placing  trust  in  strangers  and  ignoring 
tried  comrades."14  The  news  reached  him  at  an  un 
favorable  time.  The  iron  will  and  nerve  which  had 
carried  the  leader  through  the  hardships  of  the  march, 
had  begun  to  yield  to  the  insidious  influence  of  the 
fever-infected  bottom-lands  of  the  Amatique  Bay, 
assisted  perhaps  by  disappointment  at  finding  the 
first  aspect  of  Honduras  so  far  below  his  hopes.  The 
letter  served  to  rouse  his  bodily  as  well  as  mental 
energies,  though  not  to  that  point  of  clear  and  prompt 
determination  which  had  hitherto  characterized  his 
acts.  He  was  irresolute.  Honduras  had  been  little 
explored,  and  the  indication  of  gold  near  Caballos, 
though  small,  led  him  still  to  dwell  on  the  stories 
of  richer  districts  to  the  south.  He  feared  to  aban- 

13  Bernal  Diaz  assumes,  contrary  to  Cortes'  clear  statement,  that  Zuazo  sent 
a  vessel  from  Habana  with  the  letter,  and  that  two  days  before  her  arrival  at 
Trujillo  came  two  vessels  laden  with  merchandise  from  the  oidores  and  mer 
chants  of  Santo  Domingo,  who  had  learned  of  CorteY  whereabouts  through  a 
letter  from  one  of  the  survivors  of  Avalos'  wrecked  ship.  Hist.  Verdad.,  208. 
Gomara  states  that  the  vessel  from  the  oidores,  laden  with  thirty-two  horses, 
saddlery,  and  other  useful  material,  was  turned  back  from  Cuba  by  the  sur 
vivors  of  Avalos'  expedition.  She  touched  at  Santo  Domingo  on  her  way  to 
Honduras.  Hist.  Mex.,  270.  Cortes  shows  that  the  news  of  Avalos'  ship 
wreck  did  not  reach  him  till  some  time  later.  Carta*,  468-471. 

u  The  staff  did  all  they  could  to  cheer  him,  and  among  other  efforts  to  dis 
pel  his  gloom,  Maiiueco,  the  maestresala,  made  a  wager  that  he  would  ascend 
in  full  armor  the  steep  hill  to  the  new  gubernatorial  building.  Before  he 
could  reach  the  top  he  fell  dead.  Rental  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.t  211. 


574  CORTES  IN  HONDURAS. 

don  a  yet  promising  field,  after  the  efforts  lavished  on 
it,  and  in  view  of  the  eager  advance  of  his  southern 
rival,  him  of  Panama. 

The  fortunate  predictions  of  a  soldier-astrologer  in 
Mexico  would  not  have  made  him  disinclined,  in  his 
present  frame  of  mind,  to  encourage  similar  counsel 
lors  ;  but  no  Sabean  was  at  hand  to  interpret  the  scin 
tillating  oracles.  The  friars  were  directed  to  appeal 
to  the  supreme  throne,  and  for  three  days  services 
were  held,  with  processions,  and  masses,  and  prayers 
for  divine  direction.  Already  during  the  progress  of 
these  appeals,  Cortes  felt  a  dawning  inspiration  in 
a  renewed  courage  to  face  the  treacherous  sea,  and 
stronger  inclination  to  trust  the  development  of  the 
province  to  another.  He  would  return  to  Mexico. 
Hernando  Saavedra,  his  cousin,  was  appointed  captain- 
general  of  Honduras,15  and  Sandoval  was  directed  to 
proceed  with  his  company  from  Naco  to  Mexico, 
by  the  Guatemala  route  already  opened  by  Casas. 
He  himself  embarked  on  the  government  vessel,  but 
at  the  moment  of  departure  the  wind  failed ,  and  hear 
ing  of  a  tumult  among  the  colonists  he  landed  to 
restore  order.  The  unruly  spirits  appear  to  have  been 
disappointed  office-seekers,  to  whom  the  obscurity  of 
official  existence  in  a  border  province  seemed  a  most 
ungracious  return  for  their  long  toil.  The  general 
calmed  the  leading  rioters  by  taking  them  on  board 
to  receive  their  reward  in  Mexico.  Two  days  later 
he  set  sail,  only  to  meet  another  check  in  the  break 
age  of  the  main  lateen  yard  just  outside  the  harbor. 
After  three  days  spent  in  repairs  he  again  departed, 
with  a  good  wind,  but  this  soon  increased  to  a  gale, 
and  fifty  leagues  from  port  the  mast  went  overboard 
and  obliged  him  to  return  for  a  third  time. 

Surely,  this  was  a  warning  from  providence  not  to 
proceed.  He  must  have  misunderstood  the  inspira 
tion,  and  would  seek  more  correct  advice.  Upon  one 

13 '  Dej6  en  aquella  villa  hasta  treiiita  y  cinco  de  caballo  y  cincueuta 
peones.'  Cortes,  Cartas,  470. 


TIRED  OF  THE  SEA.  575 

thing  he  was  determined,  not  again  to  trust  himself 
to  the  billows.  The  last  tossings  had  cured  him 
of  nautical  aspirations,  and  threatened  indeed  to  cure 
him  of  all  others,  for  his  already  weakened  body  was 
left  in  so  racked  a  condition  as  to  bring  him  near  to 
death.  Bernal  Diaz  describes  him  as  a  mere  shadow 
of  his  former  self,  and  states  that  a  Franciscan  robe 
had  been  prepared  to  shroud  his  body,  and  by  its  sav 
ing  virtues  to  assist  the  soul  through  purgatory.16 
But,  although  the  conqueror  of  Mexico  had  filled  the 
measure  of  his  grea,t  achievements,  the  cup  of  honors 
and  of  disappointments  was  not  yet  full.  Masses  had 
again  been  held  to  sanctify  as  inspiration  his  changing 
resolve.  The  vessel  proceeded,  however,  bearing  a 
trusted  servant17  with  letters  for  a  number  of  friends 
in  Mexico,  and  with  orders  revoking  the  power 
granted  to  the  usurping  governors  in  favor  of  more 
reliable  men.  A  number  of  Mexican  chiefs  accompa 
nied  the  messenger  to  testify  that  Cortes  still  lived. 
They  were  to  proceed  to  Panuco  after  landing  the 
servant  in  some  obscure  haven  above  Vera  Cruz, 
whence  he  was  to  proceed  alone  and  in  disguise  to 
Mexico,  so  as  to  elude  any  watching  enemies.  San- 
doval  was  recalled,  greatly  to  the  disappointment  of 
his  party,  who  rose  almost  in  open  mutiny  at  being 
kept  away  from  their  estates  in  Mexico,  which  were 
by  this  time  exposed  to  ruin  in  hands  of  strangers  and 
usurpers.18 

An   additional    excuse    for    the    determination    to 
remain  may  have  been  found  in  the  hostile  attitude 

16  He  places  this  just  before  the  arrival  of  Zuazo's  letter,  Hist.  Verdad., 
209,  but  Cortes  now  for  the  first  time  complains  of  feeling  very  ill,  from  the 
tossing  at  sea.   Cartas,  471. 

17  '  Martin  Dorantes  su  lacayo.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  271.    On  October  23, 
1525,  it  seems  from  a  letter  of  Cortes,  Cartas,  395.     Bernal  Diaz  intimates 
that  a  fear  of  being  seized  by  his  enemies  had  to  do  with  Cortes'  disinclina 
tion  to  go  in  person.   Hist.  Vcrdad.,  212. 

18  In  concluding  the  reply  to  their  expostulations,  Cortes  had  observed  that 
he  could  find  plenty  of  soldiers  in  Spain  and  elsewhere  to  do  his  bidding.    The 
men  commissioned  Sandoval  to  plead  their  cause  in  person;  to  urge  the  leader 
to  depart,  and  to  hint  that  they  could  find  governors  in  Mexico  to  right  them. 
Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  212. 


576  CORTES  IX  HONDURAS. 

of  two  provinces,  Papayeca  and  Chapagua,  some 
seven  leagues  from  Trujillo.19  Some  time  before  this 
Saavedra  had  been  sent  to  explore  the  valley  above, 
and  following  it  for  some  thirty  leagues  found  a  fer 
tile  district' with  a  series  of  flourishing  pueblos.  A 
score  of  caciques  appeared  to  offer  their  allegiance 
to  Cortes,  and  into  Trujillo  flowed  provisions  and 
presents.  The  above-named  provinces  alone  held 
aloof,  pleading  not  without  reason  former  maltreat 
ment  and  the  kidnapping  of  tribal  members  by  Fiscal 
Moreno.  No  excuses  could,  however,  be  regarded  as 
valid  in  refusing  allegiance,  and  Saavedra  marched 
against  them.  The  people  retired  to  the  hills;  but 
three  of  the  Chapagua  caciques  being  captured  and 
peremptorily  given  a  fixed  term  in  which  to  repeople 
their  towns,  the  submission  of  this  province  was 
speedily  effected.  Papayeca  was  now  entered,  and 
Pizacura,  one  of  the  two  principal  caciques,  was  cap 
tured.  He  threw  the  blame  of  resistance  on  his 
more  powerful  colleague,  Mazatl,  offering  if  released 
to  secure  and  hang  him,  and  thus  bring  the  people 
over.  Once  free,  the  cacique  cast  the  promise  to  the 
winds  as  readily  as  any  Spaniard.  Mazatl  was  cap 
tured,  nevertheless,  and  given  the  alternative  of  re- 
peopling  the  towns  or  dying.  The  chief  disdainfully 
rejected  an  offer  to  purchase  life  with  what  he  regarded 
as  the  enslavement  of  his  people,  and  calmly  accepted 
death. 

This  severity  was  thought  to  be  prudent,  and  it 
certainly  had  the  effect  of  bringing  the  inhabitants 
back  to  all  the  pueblos  save  the  capital.  Here  Piza 
cura  held  forth,  supposing,  no  doubt,  that  since  his 
escapade  no  pardon  was  to  be  expected.  He  was  soon 
captured,  however,  together  with  over  a  hundred  fol 
lowers.  The  latter  were  enslaved  for  their  obstinacy, 
while  he,  with  two  other  caciques,  and  a  youth  who 

* '  E  clos  leguas  el  uno  del  otro ...  el  tie  Papayeca  tiene  diez  y  ocho  pue 
blos  subjectos,  y  el  de  Ckampagua  diez.'  Cortes,  Cartas,  465.  The  names  are 
also  given  as  Cnapaxina,  Papaica,  etc. 


PACIFICATION  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  577 


appears  to  have  been  the  true  chief  of  the  province, 
were  kept  as  prisoners.20 

This  success,  as  well  as  the  comparatively  kind 
treatment  of  the  natives,  tended  greatly  to  promote 
the  pacification  of  the  country,  and  the  name  of  Cor 
tes  became  feared  and  respected  far  and  wide.21  One 
instance  of  this  was  the  arrival  of  a  deputation  from 
the  Gulf  Islands,  appealing  to  his  power  and  clem 
ency  for  protection  against  a  slaving  party  which  was 
raiding  Guanaja.  Cortes  at  once  despatched  a  cara 
vel  which  brought  in  the  vessel  with  its  slaves,  des 
tined  for  the  mines  of  Cuba  and  Jamaica.  The 
commander,  Rodrigo  de  Merlo,  exhibited  a  license  for 
his  expedition,  so  that  severe  measures  could  not  well 
be  taken,  but  means  were  found  to  persuade  the  cap 
tain  to  settle  at  Trujillo  with  his  crew.  The  kid 
napped  islanders  were  restored  to  their  grateful 
friends.  They  sent  in  their  allegiance  and  received 
letters  of  protection,  together  with  a  number  of 
swine  which  soon  multiplied  on  the  islands.22 

Another  instance  of  the  influence  of  Cortes'  name 
was  afforded  by  the  entry,  from  Nicaragua  into  Olan- 
cho23  province,  of  an  expedition  under  Gabriel  de 
Rojas,  consisting  of  sixty  men  with  twenty  horses. 
The  natives  resisted,  no  doubt,  whereupon  Rojas 
began  to  enslave  and  pillage.  A  deputation  arriving 
at  Trujillo  to  implore  protection,  Sandoval  was  in 
structed  to  interfere  on  behalf  of  the  natives,  as 
subjects  (tf  Cortes.24  His  force  was  insufficient,  it 

20  The  two  colleagues  had  been  usurping  guardians.    They  were  to  be  taken 
to  Mexico  to  be  impressed  with  the  extent  of  Spanish  power,  and  to  learn  sub 
mission  from  its  natives.    Pizacura  died  before  leaving  Honduras.  Cortts,  Car- 
tas,  473;  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  272. 

21  'Era  temido,  y  acatado,  y  llamauanle  en  todas  aquellas  Provincias:  El 
Capitan  Hue,  Hue  de  Marina,  q  quiere  dezir  el  Capitan  viejo  que  trae  a  dofia 
Marina.'  Bemal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  207. 

2-  They  asked  for  a  Spaniard  to  settle  on  each  island,  as  a  guardian,  but 
this  could  not  be  granted.  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  273.  Bernal  Diaz  says  that 
the  vessel  escaped,  and  that  she  was  commanded  by  Moreno. 

23  Huilancho,  Huilacho,  Huyetlato,  etc. 

24  Cortes  claims  that  the  province  had  submitted  to  him  some  time  before, 
but  he  probably  received  the  proffer  only  now,  though  pleading  a  previous 
allegiance  to  excuse  the  interference. 

HIBT.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    37 


•578  CORTES  IN  HONDURAS. 

seems,  to  drive  out  the  intruders,  but  Rojas  never 
theless  retired  by  order  of  Cordoba.25 

One  reason  for  this  withdrawal  was  that  Cordoba 
could  not  afford  to  place  himself  in  hostile  attitude 
to  any  neighbor.  One  of  the  acts  of  Moreno  during 
his  arbitrary  proceeding  in  Honduras  had  been  to 
urge  upon  him  to  transfer  his  allegiance  and  province 
to  the  audiencia.  This  prompting  found  a  willing 
ear.  Blind  to  the  accumulative  evidence  of  failure, 
and  untaught  by  disappointment,  Cordoba  allowed 
the  few  instances  of  successful  revolt  to  overshadow 
every  failure.  He  looked  upon  the  force  around 
him,  and  measuring  the  distance  between  himself  and 
the  grim  Pedrarias,  his  dread  grew  fainter  as  the 
leagues  increased;  meanwhile  hope  kept  whispering, 
might  he  not  also  become  another  Cortes,  borne  aloft 
by  fame,  or  at  least  a  Velazquez  safe  upon  his  usurped 
island?  He  wavered,  and  yielded.  In  maturing  his 
plans  for  a  step  so  full  of  risk,  he  resolved  to  learn 
further  from  Moreno  what  authority  he  possessed,  and 
perfect  arrangements  with  him.  Pedro  de  Garro26 
was  accordingly  sent  with  a  party  of  forty  men  to 
Honduras,  bearing  also  petitions  to  the  emperor  and 
audiencia,  and  with  instructions  to  explore  the  best 
route  to  a  port  in  that  province  through  which  sup 
plies  and  war  material  might  be  procured.  Sandoval, 
on  hearing  of  their  approach,  captured  them,  together 
with  their  retinue  of  beautiful  women  and  numerous 
servants,  but  allowed  a  few  under  escort  to  proceed  to 
Trujillo.  Cortes  received  them  with  good- will,  and 
as  a  proof  thereof  ordered  four  pack  animals  to  be 
sent  laden  with  horseshoes,  mining  tools,  and  other 

25  To  assist  him  against  two  officers  who  opposed  his  attempt  to  become  in 
dependent  of  Pedrarias.  Cortes,  Cartas,  476.  According  to  Herrera,  Sandoval 
returned  without  achieving  anything,  pleading  that  he  had  not  enough  men, 
dec.  iii.  lib.  viii.  cap.  vii.  Bernal  Diaz,  who  was  present,  states,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  Sandoval  appeared  against  Rojas  with  sixty  men,  but  made  friends 
with  him.  Just  then  came  letters  from  Cortes  ordering  him  to  join  in  return 
ing  to  Mexico,  and  he  hastened  back,  Rojas  departing  at  the  same  time.  Hist. 
Verdad.,  208.  Gomara,  following  Cortes,  assumes  that  Rojas  obeyed  a  mere 
message  from  Trujillo  to  leave  Olancho.  Hint.  Mex. ,  272. 

2(iCereceda  writes  Gaona.   Garta,  in  Squier's  MSS.,  xx.  61. 


TEMPTATION.  579 

articles,  as  a  present  to  C6rdoba.  But  he  could  not 
countenance  the  overthrowal  of  a  chief  by  a  subordi 
nate  officer;  for  had  not  his  present  expedition  been 
made  to  punish  a  similar  attempt?  He  wrote  him 
accordingly,  advising  fidelity  to  Pedrarias,  and  promis 
ing  his  aid  in  procuring  supplies  through  Honduras, 
since  Panamd  was  regarded  as  too  distant.27 

This  intercourse  had  served  to  enlighten  Cortes  in 
regard  to  the  condition  and  resources  of  the  country 
to  the  south  and  south-west.  He  had  learned  that  it 
was  fertile  and  populous,  filled  with  flourishing  towns, 
and  giving  great  promise  of  mineral  wealth ;  facts  con 
firmed  by  the  splendid  retinue  of  Garro  and  the  de 
mand  for  mining  implements.  Perhaps  in  this  very 
country  lay  the  rich  provinces  which  had  stirred  his 
imagination,  even  before  the  fall  of  Mexico,  and  for 
which  he  had  come  in  search  this  long  way.  Should 
he  allow  an  interloper  to  deprive  him  of  what  his 
fancy  had  claimed  all  these  years,  and  what  had  en 
ticed  him  to  superhuman  efforts?  But  a  valid  excuse 
was  needed  for  seizing  a  province  already  held  by  an 
other,  a  king's  lieutenant  like  himself.  Cortes  was  too 
astute,  however,  not  to  find  a  way  to  prevent  so  rich 
a  prize  from  eluding  him.  Was  it  out  of  friendship 
for  a  stranger  that  he  had  sent  valuable  presents  to 
C6rdoba,  and  offered  to  forward  supplies  through  Hon 
duras?  No,  he  knew  where  to  sow  in  order  to  reap. 
He  had  also  wrritten,  as  he  admits,  to  some  officers  in 
Nicaragua  whom  he  knew,  and  what  subtle  poison 
may  not  have  been  diffused  by  craftily  worded  advice. 
Cordoba  understood  the  hint  for  himself,  and  was  con 
firmed  in  his  resolve.  But  his  fellow-soldiers  had  also 
a  word  to  say.  The  idea  of  risking  life  and  fortune 
for  the  ambitious  plans  of  a  captain  who  was  little, 

27  *  Escribi  al  dicho  Francisco  Hernandez  y  d,  toda  la  gente  qtie  con  el 
estaba  en  general,  y  particnlarmente  a  algunos  de  los  capitanes  de  su  com- 
pania  que  yo  conoscia,  reprendiendolos  la  fealdad  que  en  aquello  hacian,'  etc. 
Uortc*,  Cartas,  474.  Bernal  Diaz  states,  on  the  other  hand,  that  he  promised 
to  do  his  best  for  him,  Hist.  Verdad.,  211,  and  in  this  was  probably  a  little 
truth,  as  will  be  seen. 


580  CORTES  IN  HONDURAS. 

if  anything,  more  than  themselves,  was  by  no  means 
to  the  liking  of  all  the  officers.  Several  objected,  and 
since  it  was  now  too  late  to  retreat  Cordoba  must  even 
persuade  them  by  arms.  Civil  war  threatened,  and 
the  news  was  not  long  in  reaching  Trujillo.  Indeed,  it 
seems  that  the  rebel  leader,  on  finding  what  a  tempest 
he  had  invoked,  sent  to  tender  allegiance  to  Cortes.28 
And  then  the  latter  reasoned  with  himself.  Could 
he,  an  imperial  officer,  stand  calmly  by  and  see  his 
'Majesty's  interests  sacrificed  and  his  subjects,  his 
countrymen,  slaughtered?  No,  certainly  not;  and  he 
congratulated  himself  upon  the  success  of  his  plans. 
Here  was  the  longed-for  pretence,  cast  in  his  way  by 
fortune.  He  must  pounce  upon  the  prize  while  the 
claimants  were  absorbed  in  contention.29  The  first 
step  was  to  direct  a  large  force  of  natives  to  open  a 
road  to  Nicaragua,  and  Sandoval  received  orders  to 
prepare  for  the  expedition.30 

Again  it  seemed  as  if  the  great  leader  had  misin 
terpreted  the  signs  of  providence. 

His  messenger  to  Mexico  had  safely  arrived,  and 
with  prudent  management  a  reaction  had  been  started 
in  favor  of  Cortes;  the  evidence  that  he  was  alive 
was  half  the  battle;  but  his  enemies,  though  checked, 
were  not  overthrown,  and  believing  that  everything 
depended  upon  his  presence  it  was  decided  to  recall 
him.  The  commission  was  intrusted  to  his  cousin, 
Fray  Diego  Altamirano,  an  ex-soldier  who  had  doffed 
the  helmet  for  a  Franciscan  cowl,  and  a  man  of  honor 
and  business  talent.31  He  fell  like  a  bomb-shell  on 
the  manifold  projects  of  Cortds  for  conquest  and 

28  *  Hernandez .  .  .  sent  to  invite  the  Marquis  to  come  and  receive  the 
province  from  him.'  Andagoya's  Narrative,  37;  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  viii.  cap. 
vii.     Cortes  became  a  marquis  a  few  years  later. 

29  *  Quise  luego  ir  a  Nicaragua,  creyendo  poner  en  ello  algun  remedio. ' 
Cortes,  Cartas,  476. 

30  Bernal  Diaz  assumes  that  when  Sandoval  was  setting  out  for  Mexico, 
shortly  before  this,  as  stated,  he  received  orders  to  pass  through  Nicaragua, 
'para  demandalla  a  su  Magestad  en  Gouernacion. '  Hist.  Verdad.,  212. 

31  Id.,  215.     'Para  este  efeto  flet6  un  navio  en  la  Villa  de  Medellin.' 
Oviedo,  iii.  523.     He  came  in  the  vessel  which  had  carried  the  messenger. 
Cortes,  Cartas,  476. 


ASSUMES  GREATER  POMP.  581 

aggrandizement,  which,  if  encouraged  by  one  success, 
might  have  borne  the  victor  triumphantly  southward, 
perhaps  to  the  realms  of  the  Incas.  Altamirano  was 
not  a  man  to  let  the  stern  present  be  obscured  by  the 
glowing  fancies  of  enthusiasm.  His  visions  turned 
alone  toward  Mexico,  and  his  coloring  was  reserv.ed 
for  painting  the  sad  condition  of  its  affairs.  This  he 
did,  boldly,  yet  with  loving  discreetness,  and  con 
vinced  his  kinsman  that  return  to  Mexico  was  abso 
lutely  necessary  to  save  himself,  his  friends,  and  the 
country  from  ruin.  He  also  insisted  that  in  order 
to  succeed  in  controlling  followers  he  must  assert  his 
dignity,  and  impose  on  the  vulgar  by  an  intimidating 
and  awe-inspiring  pomp.  The  familiarity  grown  out 
of  the  fellowship  of  the  camp  and  the  toil  of  the 
march  might  answer  in  a  border  province,  but  not 
in  the  well-settled  districts  of  New  Spain,  or  at  the 
court  of  Mexico.  More  dignity  should  be  assumed 
at  once;  here  and  now  must  he  teach  his  followers 
the  distance  between  the  governor  and  the  subject, 
and  demand  reverence  as  his  due.  There  was  not 
much  need  for  exhortation  in  this  respect,  for  pomp 
came  naturally  to  Cortes.  Readily,  therefore,  did  he 
mount  the  gubernatorial  seat  with  its  imposing  dais, 
and  receive  with  a  complacent  smile  the  senoria™  from 
the  lips  of  the  deeply  bowing  suite.  In  church,  even, 
he  occupied  the  higher  level  of  the  raised  sitial™ 
while  abroad  the  cannon  belched  forth  in  his  honor.34 
His  distrust  of  the  sea  remained,  and  he  deter 
mined  to  return  through  Guatemala.  The  laborers, 
therefore,  were  taken  from  the  Nicaragua  road  to 
prepare  the  way  for  him;35  but  finally  the  pilots  con- 

32  Lordship,  a  title  which  pertained  only  to  the  higher  nobility  and  to  the 
highest  offices,  and  which  Cortes,  even  as  governor  and  captain-general,  had 
not  the  slightest  right  to  assume. 

33  Seat  of  honor  for  princes  and  prelates  and  for  the  ruling  men  in  a 
province. 

31  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  273;  Herrcra,  dec.  iii.  lib.  viii.  cap.  vii. 

35  Messengers  were  sent  to  the  pueblos  en  route  ordering  them  to  put  the 
road  in  order  and  prepare  for  his  reception.  Some  of  the  Mexican  auxiliaries 
were  also  appointed  for  the  work,  says  Ixtlilxochitl,  but  their  remaining 
prince  stayed  with  Cortes.  Horribles  Crueldadzs,  110. 


582  CORTES  IN  HONDURAS. 

vincod  him  that  at  this  season  of  the  year  the  winds 
and  currents  were  favorable,  while  the  land  route 
must  be  long  and  full  of  obstacles.  He  accordingly 
embarked  in  three  vessels  with  twenty  Spanish  fol 
lowers  and  their  horses,  and  some  two  hundred  In 
dians  under  Prince  Ixtlilxochitl,  setting  sail  April  25, 
1526.36  Sandoval  joined  him,  but  his  company  went 
overland.  Saavedra  remained  as  his  lieutenant,  with 
instructions  to  maintain  native  loyalty  by  good  treat 
ment,  and  to  promote  settlement.  The  general's  yet 
wavering  confidence  in  the  sea  received  another  shock 
off  the  very  coast  of  New  Spain,  whence  a  gale  drove 
him  back  and  compelled  him  to  seek  refuse  in  Cuba. 

JL  O 

On  the  16th  of  May  he  again  set  sail,  and  landed  a 
week  later  near  the  present  Vera  Cruz.  The  news 
of  his  arrival  spread  rapidly,  and  soldiers,  colonists, 
and  natives  hastened  forward  in  throngs  to  bear  the 
beloved  leader,  the  mighty  Malinche,  in  triumph  to 
the  island  city  which  he  had  won  and  refounded. 
Doubts  were  dissipated  and  past  disappointments 
forgotten  as  he  gazed  once  more  on  the  scenes  of  his 
brilliant  achievements,  and  drank  the  plaudits  of  the 
multitude.37 

36  '  Recibio  al  cuerpo  cle  Christo  vna  manana  porque  corao  estaua  tan  malo, 
temia  morirse.'  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  215.  Prescott  ignores  the  friar, 
and  assumes  that  Sandoval  persuaded  him  to  leave.  But  this  is  only  one  of 
the  many  errors  into  which  he  has  fallen  concerning  this  expedition.  Mex.t 
iii.  302. 

y7  The  natives  were  to  be  punished  for  persevering  in  idolatry;  although 
Indians  must  not  be  enslaved,  yet  slaves  held  lawfully  by  them  might  be 
purchased  as  such  by  the  colonists.  The  instructions  contain  a  number  of 
minor  rules  for  the  good  government  of  province  and  towns.  Cortes,  Escritos 
Saelf.os,  75-95.  Saavedra  did  not  perhaps  relish  the  idea  of  being  left  with  a 
comparatively  small  force,  for  Bernal  Diaz  complains  that  he  purposely  with 
held  for  some  time  the  order  permitting  the  Naco  company  to  leave  for  Mex 
ico.  Hist.  Verdad. i  215,  219.  The  leading  authorities  for  Cortes'  different 
expeditions  to  Honduras  are:  Cortes,  Carton,  338,  351,  369,  etseq.;  Id.,  Escri 
tos  Sttdton,  70-95,  318;  Id.,  Carta  al  Rry,  in  Icazbaiceta,  Col.  Doc.,  i.  481-2; 
Albonioz,  Carta.  in  Id.,  i.  484-6;  Peter  Martyr, dec.  viii.  cap.  x. ;  Ovicdo,  iii. 
188-9,  448,  458-9,  517-18;  Cornara,  JfM.  Mcx.,  233-4,  243-6,  250-74;  Bernal 
Diaz,  JJifit.  Verdad.,  159,  176-7,  193-216;  Letters  and  Reports  by  Cortes  and 
other  officers  to  the  Emperor  and  Council,  in  Dor.  Inf'd.,  i.  521-4,  iv.  226-7,  et 
seq.,  and  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  xii.  268-77,  362-7,  386-403;  xiii. 
46-7,108-9,  293-4,  397;  xiv.  25-43,  et  seq.;  Cereze.da,  Carta,  in  Squier's  J\ISS., 
xx.  61;  IxtlilxocJiitl,  Horribles  Crueldades,  78-110;  Chimulpain,  Conq.  MPX.,\\. 
106-53;  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib. v.  cap. vii. -viii.  xii.-xiii. ;  lib.  vi. cap.  x.  xii.;  lib. 
vii.  cap.  viii. ;  lib.  viii.  cap.  iii.-vi. ;  lib.  x.  cap.  xi.  Less  important  books,  which 


RETURN  TO  MEXICO.  583 

add  little  or  nothing  to  the  preceding,  are:  Torquemada,  i.  574-6;  Remesal, 
Hist.Chyapa,\(&;  Cogolludo,  Ilixt.  Yucathan,  44-58;  Villagulierre,  Hint.  Conq. 
Itza,  39-50;  Duran.  Hint.  Ind.,  MS.,  ii.  521-2;  Pinelo,  Relation,  2;  Vazquez, 
Ghronica  de  Gvaf.,  18-20;  Cortes,  Hist.  N.  Espaiia,  351-2,  367-9;  Pizarro  y 
Orellana,  Varonfsflvft(res,lOS-l6;  Ga Ivano's Discov.,  160-4;  TweeOnderschey- 
dene  Togten,  52-80,  95-107,  in  Aa,  Naauwkturiye  Versameling,  xi. ;  Twee  Ver- 
scheyde  Togten,  19-76,  94,  in  Id.;  Gottfried,  Reysen,  iv.;  Og'dby's  Am.,  91-2; 
Saltizar,  Conq.  Mex.,  154-8,  211-311;  Revilla,  in  tiolis,  Hist.  Mex.  (ed.  Mad., 
1843),  463-9;  Beaumont,  Cron.  Mich.,  iii.  189-92;  Juarros,  Guat.,  55,  123, 
324-7;  Cavo,  Trts  Siglos,  i.  29-30,  46-8;  Veytla,  Hint.  Ant.  Mcj.,  iii.  420; 
Laet,  Nov.  Orb.,  318;  Voyages,  New  Col.,  i.  347;  World  Displayed,  ii.  251; 
Lardner's  Hist.  Discov.,  ii.  62;  Gordon's  Hist.  Ant.  Mex.,  ii.  203,  209-15,240-1; 
Fancourt's  Hist.  Yuc.,  39;  Squints  States  Cent.  Am.,  66;  Rivera,  Ifist.Jalapa, 
i.  44;  Bustamante,  Cuad.  Hist.,i.  42;  Alaman,  Divert.,  i.  196-7,  203-23,  234-5; 
append.,  129-37;  ii.  17-18;  Rivera,  Gob.  Mex.,  i.  17;  Zamacoi*,  Hist.  Mej.,iv. 
178-9,  236-326,  349-53,  369,  739-56;  Cortes,  Aven.  y  Conq.,  285-9;  Prescotfs 
Mex.,  iii.  276-302;  Helps'  Cortes,  ii.  183-228;  /(/.  Span.  Conq.,  iii.  30-61 ; Bras- 
seur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  573-617;  Bussierre,  Mex.,  339-49,  380; 
Larenaudiere,  Mex.  etGuat.,  136-7; Monglave,  Resume,  138;  Armin,  AlteMex., 
351-61;  Mayer's  Mex.  Aztec.,  i.  86;  Abbott's  Cortes,  305-29;  Wells'  Honduras, 
449-57;  Pelaez,  Mem.  Guat.,  i.  53-4. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PEDRARIAS  REMOVES  TO  NICARAGUA. 
1525-1527. 

C6RDOBA  MEDITATES  REVOLT  —  SOTO  AND  COMPANON  OBJECT — THEIR 
FLIGHT — PEDRARIAS  NURSES  HIS  WRATH — SECRET  MOTIVES  FOR  HIS 
DEPARTURE  FOR  NICARAGUA — C6RDOBA  LOSES  HIS  HEAD — THE  GOV 
ERNOR  COVETS  HONDURAS,  AND  COMES  TO  BLOWS — THE  INDIANS  FOLLOW 
THE  EXAMPLE — BLOODY  SCENES — PEDRARIAS  INTERRUPTED  IN  HIS 
REVERIE — PEDRO  DE  LOS  Rios  SUCCEEDS  AS  GOVERNOR  AT  PANAMA — 
His  INSTRUCTIONS  AND  POLICY — RESIDENCIA  OF  PEDRARIAS — TRI 
UMPHANT  RESULT. 

WITH  the  departure  of  Cortes  in  drooping  plumes, 
his  pretentious  projects  for  dominion  in  the  south 
received  a  check,  and  the  portentous  clouds  which 
had  before  loomed  over  Honduras  again  darkened  the 
sky,  extending  over  the  adjoining  lake  province,  there 
to  threaten  Cordoba's  bright  visions  of  independence. 
One  can  hardly  blame  the  lieutenant-  for  indulging 
his  imagination  with  the  alluring  prospects  of  power, 
wealth,  and  fame,  when  kept  in  subjection  on  the  one 
side  by  so  unlovable  a  master  as  Pedrarias,  and  when 
prompted  on  the  other  by  the  powerful  audiencia  of 
Santo  Domingo  to  cast  off  the  unrighteous  allegiance. 
With  his  mind  thus  predisposed,  Cordoba  saw  clearly 
that  Nicaragua  could  not  permanently  pertain  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  Panama.  It  was  a  distinct  province, 
conquered  and  abandoned  by  Gil  Gonzalez,  and  now 
brought  into  resubjection  by  his  own  efforts  and  tal 
ents.  If  any  one  disputed  his  position  he  could  point 
to  the  authorization  of  the  audiencia.  True,  the  fleet 
and  men,  the  means  and  influence,  used  in  effecting 
the  reconquest  pertained  to  his  late  chief.  What  of 

(584) 


C6EDOBA  MEDITATES.  5S5 

that?  The  ships  did  not  belong  to  Pedrarias;  the  old 
governor  had  taken  them  in  direct  disobedience  to 
the  orders  of  the  king.  As  for  the  money  and  the 
men,  all  had  been  obtained  by  vile  indirection,  and 
might  as  well  be  made  to  serve  one  traitor  as  another. 
But  he  was  no  traitor  to  the  king  who  responded  to 
the  will  of  the  king's  audiencia. 

There  was  much  in  common  between  the  revolts  of 
Olid  and  Cordoba,  but  the  motives  of  the  leaders 
differed.  The  former,  bold,  brave,  and  in  the  main 
true,  had  felt  aggrieved  that  so  broad  a  portion  of  the 
earth  should  fall  to  the  lot  of  one  man,  whose  preten 
sions  thereto  grew  out  of  his  accidental  position  as 
commander,  while  he,  a  captain  who  had  shared  every 
danger  and  hardship  in  the  grand  conquest,  must  be 
content  forever  to  serve.  The  sole  command  of  a 
small  portion  of  disputed  territory  he  had  deemed  a 
recompense  small  enough  beside  the  imperial  reward 
of  his  commander.  Hernandez  de  Cordoba  viewed 
matters  from  a  somewhat  different  stand-point,  though 
with  an  abundance  of  plausible  excuses.  He  was  an 
instrument  chosen  by  Pedrarias  to  wrest  a  fair  domain 
from  the  rightful  conqueror.  In  this  selection  Pedra 
rias  had  been  governed  by  his  usual  narrow  policy. 
Throughout  his  whole  career  he  could  not  abandon 
the  vain  attempt  to  accomplish  great  results  by  small 
means,  and  noble  results  by  base  means. 

With  such  incentives  and  precepts  Cordoba  found 
little  difficulty  in  disposing  of  the  moral  obstacles  to 
his  scheme,  and  on  turning  toward  the  material  he 
saw  nothing  insurmountable,  since  most  of  the  men 
were  favorably  disposed.  In  this  there  was  nothing 
strange,  for  Cordoba  was  generous  and  confiding,  and 
by  the  side  of  Pedrarias  such  qualities  shone  with 
double  lustre.  As  a  first  step  he  called  on  the  settlers, 
particularly  of  Leon  and  Granada,  to  petition  the 
king  for  his  appointment  as  independent  governor.1 

1  The  reader  will  remertber  how,  in  the  last  chapter,  Cortes  treated  the 
messengers  bearing  this  petition. 


586  PEDRARIAS  REMOVES  TO  NICARAGUA. 

None  objected  save  a  dozen  men  headed  by  the  cap 
tains  Soto  and  Compaiion.  Loyalty  had  probably 
nothing  to  do  with  their  opposition,  but  rather  jeal 
ousy.  They  would  not  risk  their  liberty  and  prospects 
to  raise  so  much  above  themselves  a  fellow  officer 
who  could  never  be  in  their  eyes  more  able  and  de 
serving  than  themselves. 

The  remonstrances  of  these  few  persons  were  not 
to  be  regarded,  however,  and  retreat  for  Cordoba  was 
in  any  case  too  late.  Soto,  the  first  to  object,  was 
cast  into  the  fortress  of  Granada,  but  Compaiion, 
with  a  few  faithful  comrades,  broke  open  the  prison 
and  liberated  him.  The  little  band,  well  armed  and 
mounted,  then  took  the  field  against  Cordoba  and 
openbr  bade  him  defiance.  Cordoba  recognized  that 
prompt  action  was  indispensable,  and  set  forth  in 
pursuit.  Though  Soto  and  Companon  failed  to  gain 
more  adherents,  as  they  had  expected,  they  neverthe 
less  took  a  stand  near  Granada  against  the  usurper's 
formidable  force,  warning  him  that  all  their  efforts, 
in  case  of  attack,  would  be  concentrated  on  kill 
ing  him.2  The  lieutenant  hesitated.  He  well  knew 
the  determined  character  of  his  late  officers,  and 
pictured  himself  the  target  of  their  unerring  missiles. 
The  golden  visions  of  his  hopes  became  dimmer.  He 
would  like  to  be  a  governor,  but  he  did  not  wish  to 
be  killed;  and  not  possessing  the  spirit  of  greatness, 
he  readily  found  an  excuse  for  returning  whence  he 
came,  while  Soto  with  his  gallant  ten  thought  it  prof 
itable  to  acquaint  Pedrarias  and  receive  from  him 
the  reward  of  loyal  servants.  The  journey  back  to 
Panamd  was  not  easy,  with  its  rugged  mountains, 
impetuous  streams,  and  pathless  forests,  while  hostile 
natives,  venomous  animals,  and  gnawing  hunger  added 
to  the  hardships  serious  danger;  nevertheless  they 
would  undertake  it,  and  make  a  portion  of  their  way 
by  sea.  Soon  after  starting  they  found  their  horses 

'  No  los  os6  acometer  porque  tenia  por  cierto  que  habian  de  matar  a  el 
antes  que  a  nadie.'  Andayoya,  Rel>  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  iii.  417. 


SOTO  AND  HURTADO.  587 

an  encumbrance  rather  than  an  aid,  and  therefore 
they  abandoned  them.  Barefooted  and  dilapidated 
they  reached  the  town  of  Fonseca,3  in  Chiriqui,  where 
Hurtado,  the  founder,  relieved  them,  and  provided  a 
canoe  in  which  to  pursue  the  journey. 

After  the  departure  of  Soto  southward,  the  good 
Hurtado  pondered  over  the  situation.  The  rebel 
Cordoba,  in  common  with  Soto  and  the  others,  he 
held  in  low  esteem.  If  with  his  small  force  he  could 
not  conquer  him,  he  believed  he  could  frighten  the 
man  greatly;  at  all  events,  here  was  an  opportunity 
to  gain  favor  with  Pedrarias.  He  accordingly  armed 
all  the  able-bodied  men  at  his  command  and  marched 
against  tjie  rebels,  leaving  the  sick  and  helpless  to 
ward  off  famine  and  the  natives  as  best  they  might. 
After  waiting  some  time  in  vain  for  the  return  of 
Hurtado,  the  abandoned  remnant  deserted  the  post 
and  set  out  in  search  of  him,  directing  their  steps 
toward  the  gulf  of  Nicoya. 

In  the  mean  time  Soto  and  his  party  reached  Nata 
and  sent  their  report  to  Panama.  Rage  in  the  breasts 
of  some  men  consumes  both  body  and  soul;  but  such 
was  the  nature  of  Pedrarias  that  the  essence  of  his 
life  appeared  to  be  drawn  from  inexhaustible  wells  of 
vindictive  spleen.  Although  approaching  the  time 
when  most  men  die,  the  castigation  of  a  traitorous 
lieutenant  was  too  choice  a  morsel  to  intrust  to 
another ;  and  so,  belting  in  his  wrath,  he  prepared  at 
once  to  march  against  him.  To  this  he  was  impelled 
also  by  a  desire  to  forestall  any  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  conqueror  of  Mexico,  whose  projects  were  even 
then  casting  a  portentous  shadow  over  the  smiling 
shores  of  the  Freshwater  Sea.  A  still  deeper  im 
pulse,  however,  was  the  looming  spectre  of  a  new 
governor,  with  orders  for  a  residencia,  which  once 
instituted  might  prevent  his  departure. 

3  Within  the  bay  formed  by  Punta  de  Burica,  into  which  flows,  among 
other  small  streams,  the  river  known  at  present  as  Fonseca.  Cartography  Pac. 
Coast,  MS.,  ii.  79. 


583  PEDEARIAS  REMOVES  TO  NICARAGUA. 

To  defray  the  expenses  of  the  expedition  Pedrarias 
was  obliged  not  only  to  employ  his  own  fortune  but 
to  borrow  large  sums  from  the  house-holders  and 
merchants.  This  he  did,  agreeing  to  share  with  them 
the  profits  of  the  adventure.  He  was  shrewd  enough 
to  conceal  how  much  a  prospective  successor  and  resi- 
dencia  had  to  do  with  his  departure;  and  believing 
that  the  object  was  solely  to  secure  for  the  benefit 
of  Panamd,  from  a  strange  invader  and  rebel,  the 
gold-seamed  Nicaragua  with  its  budding  colonies  and 
trade,  the  people  were  quite  eager  to  aid  him  in  so 
promising  and  loyal  a  scheme.  Panama  and  Natd 
had  already  been  drained  of  able-bodied  men  by  the 
expeditions  under  Pizarro  and  Almagro  which  were  to 
yield  such  brilliant  results,  and  Pedrarias  was  obliged 
to  draw  upon  Acla  and  Nombre  de  Dios  for  soldiers. 
This  additional  levy  so  nearly  depopulated  the  prov 
ince  that  its  four  cities  together  could  hardly  muster 
occupants  enough  for  '  a  mediocre  hamlet,'  as  Ovicdo 
expresses  it.  A  large  number  of  Indians  were  also 
taken.  The  departure  of  the  fleet  took  place  in  Jan 
uary,  1526. 

Cordoba  had  not  been  comfortable  since  Soto's 
escape.  The  more  he  pondered  the  shorter  to  his 
mind  grew  the  distance  between  himself  and  the 
grim  Pedrarias.  In  his  fear  he  bethought  himself 
of  Cortes,  and  sent  to  offer  him  the  province  on  con 
dition  that  he  should  retain  the  command  as  his 
lieutenant;  for  it  was  far  better  to  be  subject  to 
the  magnanimous  conqueror  of  Anahuac,  whose  name 
would  prove  a  safeguard  against  his  old  master,  while 
his  distant  residence  in  Mexico  might  leave  a  lieu 
tenant  almost  wholly  independent.  This  scheme  re 
ceived  an  encouraging  acceptance,  as  we  have  seen, 
only  to  be  abandoned  before  the  urgent  appeals  from 
Mexico. 

The  more  than  peculiar  conduct  of  Cordoba  on 
meeting  Soto  has  prepared  us  for  almost  any  pusilla- 


EXECUTION  OF  c6ttDOBA.  589 

nimity  on  his  part.  Either  a  blind  reliance  in  Cortes 
made  him  careless,  or  the  arrival  at  Leon  of  the 
hoary-headed  Pedrarias  was  unexpectedly  sudden;  it 
seems  at  any  rate  that  he  did  not  even  attempt  to 
defend  himself.  Probably  the  settlers  had  become 
disgusted  with  his  want  of  courage  and  failed  to  sup 
port  him.  All  we  learn  is  that  he  and  his  friends 
humbly  met  the  governor  and  sought  to  deny  their 
guilt,  pleading,  as  in  the  case  of  Yasco  Nunez,  that 
had  mutinous  intentions  been  entertained  they  would 
not  thus  have  dared  to  come  forward  unarmed,  but 
would  have  fled  or  defended  themselves.  The  case 
was  too  clear,  however,  and  Pedrarias  never  forgave : 
the  head  of  Cordoba  was  required  as  a  lesson  to  simi 
lar  aspirants.4 

Having  thus  removed  his  rebellious  subordinate, 
Pedrarias  looked  about  to  secure  the  permanent  gov 
ernment  of  the  province  and  extend  his  jurisdiction 
as  best  he  might.  If  Nicaragua  belonged  to  Castilla 
del  Oro,  as  he  of  course  maintained,  so  must  the 
eastern  and  north-eastern  extension  of  this  region, 
as  far  at  least  as  the  gulf  of  Honduras,  clearly  the 
natural  boundary.  The  efforts  of  Gil  Gonzalez  to  se 
cure  Honduras  showed  that  he  had  also  regarded  this 
province  as  pertaining  to  Nicaragua.  But  above  all, 
was  not  the  dreaded  Cortes  away,  and  was  not  his 
lieutenant,  Saavedra,  in  command  of  a  mere  handful 
of  men?  What  more  convincing  evidence  of  his  right 
could  there  be?  But  even  under  these  circumstances 
caution  was  necessary,  and  he  resolved  to  secure  at 
first  only  the  adjoining  border  territory.  With  this 
object  captains  Hurtado  and  Rojas  were  sent  to  oc 
cupy  Olancho  Valley.  The  natives  had  too  vivid  a 
recollection  of  the  former  invasion  under  Rojas  to  feel 

4  It  certainly  appears  strange  that  Cordoba,  knowing  so  well  the  character 
of  his  master,  should  so  tamely  have  delivered  himself  into  his  hands.  The 
chroniclers  sympathize  with  any  victim  of  the  abhorred  governor.  '  Estaba 
muy  bien  quisto  comunmente,'  says  Oviedo,  'de  todos  los  espanoles . .  .  cul- 
paban.  .  .  d  Pedrarias  de  inconstante  6  acelerado  6  mal  juez. '  iii.  165-6.  His 
rebellion  '  parccio  siempre  incierto, '  is  the  unstudied  qualiti cation  of  Kemesal, 
Hist.  Chyapa,  164. 


S90  PEDRARIAS  REMOVES  TO  NICARAGUA. 

safe,  and  hastened  to  Trujillo  with  their  complaints. 
Saavedra,  who  saw  the  danger  of  countenancing  en 
croachments  from  such  a  quarter,  sent  two  envoys5  to 
demand  the  immediate  withdrawal  of  the  Nicaraguan 
troops.  Pedrarias  was  not  unprepared  for  this,  and 
smooth  and  evasive  was  his  answer.  For  the  sake  of 
peace  he  would  come  to  an  understanding  with  Cortes 
regarding  his  pretensions  in  that  quarter,  and  submit 
the  whole  matter  to  the  decision  of  the  audicncia. 
Meanwhile  there  must  be  no  fighting  or  attempted 
overreaching  among  countrymen. 

The  tone  and  manner  of  the  old  courtier  would  have 
convinced  more  experienced  men  than  the  Honduras 
envoys,  and  with  satisfied  hearts  they  turned  to  bear 
the  peaceful  message  to  their  chief.  Pedrarias  gained 
his  point.  He  never  entertained  the  idea  of  writing 
to  Cortes  or  submitting  any  question  to  the  audiencia. 

Fresh  instructions  were  at  once  despatched  to  Hur- 
tado  and  Rojas,  and  while  the  envoys  were  lulling 
Saavedra  into  fancied  security  they  fell  upon  his  ad 
herents  in  Olancho,  routed  them,  and  secured  their 
effects.  The  victors  then  proceeded  northward  with 
a  view  to  occupy  Natividad  and  secure  for  their  chief 
a  much  needed  port  on  the  North  Sea,  through  which 
to  receive  supplies  and  maintain  communication  with 
Spain  and  the  Islands,  for  the  Panama  route  was  too 
long  and  costly.  Informed  of  their  movements  Saave 
dra  sent  a  force  to  intercept  them.  The  captains  were 
not  just  then  prepared  to  resist  so  strong  a  body, 
and  like  their  master  they  resorted  to  fair  words,  both 
sides  promising  to  return  peaceably  home.  But  neither 
believed  in  these  assurances,  and  each  resolved  to  watch 
the  other.  Rojas,  for  that  matter,  proceeded  on  the 
march  to  Natividad,  while  Hurtado  returned  to  Olan- 
cho  to  protect  his  interests  there.  The  Trujillo  party 
pursued  the  latter,  and  a  fight  ensued  wherein  they 
proved  victorious,  after  losing  two  men.  These  broils 

5  Juan  Carrasco  and  Christ6bal  de  la  Torre.  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  ix. 
cap.  vii. 


HURTADO  AND  GRIJALVA  SLAIN.  591 

the  natives  observed,  and  saw  therein  their  oppor 
tunity.  They  attacked  Natividad,  and  the  Spaniards, 
driven  forth  after  a  fight  in  which  several  fell,  took 
refuge  in  a  natural  stronghold,  there  to  remain  until 
aid  could  arrive.6 

Rojas  appears  to  have  learned  of  this  uprising  in 
time  to  retreat  to  Olancho ;  but  here  also  the  caciques 
had  mustered  in  force7  to  avenge  the  injuries  which 
Pedrarias'  soldiers  were  inflicting.  Ordered  by  them 
to  bring  in  maize  and  material  for  houses,  they  seized 
the  opportunity  to  introduce  within  the  bundles  a 
quantity  of  arms.  These  were  to  serve  the  natives 
who  remained  in  or  near  the  camp  waiting  the 
approach  of  their  regularly  armed  compatriots.  All 
prepared,  the  word  was  given,  and  stealthily  the  dusky 
foe  crept  upon  the  unsuspecting  Spaniards.  Living 
in  the  midst  of  treachery,  it  seems  impossible  that 
they  should  have  allowed  themselves  to  be  thus  lulled. 
Suddenly  forest,  hill,  and  dale  were  alive  with  Indians, 
and  the  silence  was  broken  by  a  piercing  yell  as  the 
first  victim  met  his  fate.  The  signal  was  taken  up, 
and  from  thousands  came  the  avenging  shriek,  re 
verberating  along  the  wooded  slopes  and  rolling  back 
upon  the  doomed  band.  Resistance  seemed  to  avail 
them  little.  Sixteen  were  slain;  a  few  escaped  to 
a  friendly  cacique,  named  Guatucanola;  and  twenty 
horses  were  lost.  The  settlement  was  sacked  and 
burned.  Among  the  fallen  were  Captain  Hurtado, 
who  had  rendered  so  many  eminent  services  as 
explorer,  leader,  and  founder,  and  Juan  de  Grijalva, 
a  man  who,  as  captain  of  a  Cuban  expedition,  had 
achieved  the  honor  of  discovering  the  Mexican  main 
land,  and  who  might  even  have  gained  the  glory  of 
that  brilliant  conquest  but  for  his  fine  sense  of  honor 
and  other  manly  qualities.  Often  a  too  strict  integrity 
impedes  the  path  to  greatness.  At  all  events,  these 

6  News  coming  of  the  approach  of  a  royal  governor,  Saavedra  would  send 
nothing  but  advice. 

7 '  Estando  de  acuerdo  ciento  y  cincuenta  Caziques. '  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib. 
ix.  cap.  x. 


592  PEDRARIAS  REMOVES  TO  NICARAGUA. 

qualities  lost  him  the  favor  of  his  master  and  gov 
ernor,  Velazquez,  and  despite  his  faithful  services,  his 
courage  and  talent,  he  was  sent  forth  in  disgrace,  to 
die  ignobly  in  this  wilderness.8 

Rojas  arrived  soon  after  and  sought  to  restore 
peace,  but  the  natives  were  too  strong  for  him,  and 
for  years  they  held  their  ground.  Saavedra  charged 
Pedrarias  with  being  the  cause  of  the  disaster,  and 
not  without  reason,  for  the  treacherous  conduct  of 
his  captains  had  encouraged  the  uprising.  Quarrels 
and  recriminations  followed,  but  without  any  attempt 
on  the  part  of  Saavedra  to  take  active  steps  against 
the  Nicaraguan  invaders.  Finding  his  adversary  so 
tame,  the  old  governor  felt  emboldened  to  take  the 
step  he  had  so  long  been  meditating,  to  secure  posses 
sion  of  the  remainder  of  Honduras.  To  this  effect 
he  despatched  Captain  Diego  de  Albites  and  Sebas 
tian  de  Benalcazar,  regidores  of  Leon,  with  Notary 
Espinosa,  to  demand  the  submission  of  Saavedra  and 
the  cabildo  of  Trujillo  to  his  jurisdiction.  The  en 
voys  were  hardly  on  their  way,  however,  before  tidings 
came  from  Panama"  which  sent  Pedrarias  in  all  haste 
back  to  the  Isthmus,  leaving  the  government  in  the 
joint  charge  of  several  of  his  most  trusted  officers, 
among  whom  Martin  Estete  figured  as  lieutenant- 
general.9 

The  new  governor  of  Castilla  del  Oro,  Pedro  de  los 
Rios,  had  arrived  with  his  fleet  at  Nombre  de  Dios  July 
30,  1526,10  attended,  as  was  common  in  such  cases, 
by  many  followers,  among  whom  were  Licenciado 
Juan  de  Salmeron,  alcalde  mayor ;  Bachiller  Diego  de 
Corral;  Diego  Gutierrez  de  los  Rios,  a  nephew,  and 

8  His  achievements  are  related  in  vol.  i.  chaps,  ii.  and  iii.  of  the  History 
of  Mexico,  this  series. 

9  Herrera,  who  is  somewhat  contradictory  on  this  point,  names  Gabriel  de 
Rojas,  Garabito,  and  Diego  Alvarez  among  the  ruling  men.  dec.  iv.  lib.  i. 
cap.  vi.     Salcedo,  in  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col  Doc.,  xiv.  47  et  seq.,  gives 
also  a  list  of  the  Leon  city  officials. 

10  The  two  months'  voyage  had  proved  pleasant,  being  marred  only  by  the 
death  of  two  men  during  an  attack  by  the  natives  of  Dominica  Island,  where 
they  had  entered  to  repair  a  leaky  vessel.  Oviedo,  iii.  116. 


PEDEOS  DE  LOS  RIOS.  503 

Egas,  the  half-brother  of  the  governor.  Oviedo  was 
also  of  the  party,  bearing  as  his  reward  for  procuring 
the  change  of  rule  the  appointment  of  captain-gen 
eral  and  governor  of  the  province  of  Cartagena.  The 
day  following  the  arrival  the  new  officials  were  sworn 
in,  and  within  four  weeks  they  had  taken  up  their 
residence  at  Panama".  The  jurisdiction  of  Rios  cov 
ered  the  same  territory  as  had  that  of  Pedrarias, 
excepting  Paria  and  Veragua.  As  usual,  he  had  been 
particularly  enjoined  to  look  to  the  good  treatment 
of  the  Indians  and  promote  the  formation  of  towns 
on  healthy  sites.  In  all  matters  of  importance  he 
was  to  consult  with  the  alcalde  mayor,  as  a  man 
learned  in  the  law,  and  a  faithful  servant  of  the  king. 
The  governor  was  empowered  to  settle  all  disputes 
and  punish  all  crimes  according  to  his  judgment  and 
the  laws  of  the  country,  and  with  regard  to  thieves 
and  robbers  he  was  recommended  to  go  even  some 
what  beyond  the  law.  This  was  a  power  admirably 
suited  for  a  reformer  as  Bios  came  heralded,  but  the 
rising  rejoicings  of  the  people  at  the  removal  of  the 
old  governor  began  quickly  to  calm  on  finding,  as 
Oviedo  says,  that  in  the  place  of  one  hydra  head  cut 
off  two  others  had  appeared.11 

Pedro  de  los  Rios  was  quite  a  different  man  from 
Pedrarias ;  indeed  we  shall  scarcely  again  in  this  his 
tory  meet  the  equal  of  the  old  governor  of  Darien. 
Though  possessing  more  bulk  of  body  the  new  gov 
ernor  lacked  the  strength  of  mind  of  the  old  one; 
he  lacked  the  cunning,  indomitable  energy,  and  the 
vindictive  pertinacity  of  Pedrarias.  He  loved  gold, 
however,  in  which  predilection  he  was  joined  by  his 
wife,  who  even  surpassed  him  in  this  respect.  In 
accordance  with  royal  orders,  among  his  first  acts 
were  to  seize  the  effects  and  estates  of  Pedrarias, 
including  his  encomiendas,  to  secure  control  of  the 
Pearl  Islands  and  their  revenues,  and  to  hold  all 

11  '  For  manera  que  estas  mudancas  de  gobernadores  es  saltar  de  la  sarten 
en  las  brasas.'  Oviedo,  iii.  123. 
HIST.  CBN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    38 


594  PEDRARIAS  REMOVES  TO  NICARAGUA. 

until  the  residencia  of  the  outgoing  governor  was 
taken.  Pedrarias  knew  that  his  authority  at  Panamd 
was  lost,  but  he  did  not  like  to  lose  his  property.  It 
was  a  pecuniary  disaster  alone  that  could  have  taken 
him  from  Nicaragua  at  this  critical  moment. 

The  news  of  his  coming  was  brought  by  a  vessel 
laden  with  kidnapped  Nicaraguans,  to  be  sold  by 
auction  in  the  Panama"  market.  He  himself  reached 
Nata  in  December,  and  after  writing  to  Rios  made 
his  appearance  at  the  capital  February  3,  1527. 
Three  days  later  the  residencia  was  proclaimed  by 
Salmeron. 

Not  knowing  who  the  judges  might  be,  Pedrarias 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  petition  the  India  Council 
for  power  of  appeal  in  any  decision  which  might  be 
rendered  against  him.  And  this  had  been  granted, 
with  the  order  to  pay  at  once  any  judgment  under 
ten  thousand  maravedis,  and  to  make  a  deposit  which 
should  cover  all  amounts  of  larger  claims.  Further 
than  this,  he  had  taken  with  him  to  Nicaragua,  and 
had  left  there,  those  who  might  most  trouble  him  in 
his  residencia.  The  greater  part  of  the  aggrieved 
were  thus  out  of  the  way,  and  their  opportunity 
lost. 

He  had  also  despatched  Enciso  to  Spain,  to  represent 
his  interests  at  court  and  neutralize  the  machinations 
of  his  enemies.  The  result  was  the  arrival  of  a  cedula 
from  the  king  just  in  time  to  provide  that  no  questions 
were  to  be  raised  in  the  present  residencia  touching 
matters  disposed  of  by  the  pretended  investigations 
under  Alarconcillo.  This  reduced  still  further  the 
complaints  against  Pedrarias,  and  as  he  at  once  made 
overtures  to  his  judge,  sparing  neither  money  nor 
humility,  and  as  he  still  had  influence,  his  feebly  pre 
sented  crimes  were  lightly  regarded.  Oviedo  deemed 
himself  exceedingly  ill  used  in  these  proceedings,  and 
loudly  chronicles  his  complaints.  After  presenting  a 
long  list  of  claims,  which  were  denied,  the  historian 
was  glad  to  escape  assassination  at  the  hand  of  his 


BEFORE  THE  INDIA  COUNCIL.  595 

ancient  enemy.12  Charges  of  course  were  sent  to 
Spain,13  citing  instances  of  abuse  of  power,  and  of 
private  frauds.  Among  the  more  serious  accusa 
tions  was  the  embezzling  of  royal  moneys,  which  had 
helped  to  swell  a  remittance  of  seventy  thousand 
pesos  de  oro,  sent  secretly  to  a  safe  receptacle  in 
Spain.  So  pressing  and  puzzling  were  these  charges 
that  the  India  Council  held  repeated  consultations  on 
the  case. 

But  Pedrarias  had  not  been  idle.  He  had  re 
quested  his  powerful  relatives  to  hold  forth  to  the 
king  himself,  to  the  best  advantage,  the  many  valu 
able  services  he  had  rendered  in  Africa  as  well  as  in 
the  Indies.  The  words  of  the  agent  Enciso  were 
likewise  powerful,  and  made  these  records  stand  out 
resplendent,  backed  as  they  were  with  the  dazzling 
treasures  of  the  Pearl  Islands.14  Not  only  was  Pe 
drarias  acquitted  and  reinstated  in  his  rights  and 
possessions,  but  new  favors  were  showrered  on  hjm. 
Yet  the  government  of  Panamd  could  not  be  re 
stored  to  him;  indeed  the  crown  itself  had  not  been 
so  blinded  as  some  of  its  satellites  to  the  many  evils 
that  had  characterized  the  government  of  Pedrarias 
in  Castilla  del  Oro.  At  all  events  it  was  considered 
timely  to  allow  the  oppressed  province  to  recover 
from  the  selfish  tyranny  of  his  rule  under  a  more 
fatherly  supervision.  His  shrewd  foresight  and  usual 
good  fortune  were  paving  a  new  way,  however.  It 
to  happened  that  Gil  Gonzalez,  the  rightful  claimant 
to  Nicaragua,  died  about  the  time  that  Pedrarias 
sent  in  to  the  king  a  glowing  report  on  the  resources 
of  this  province,  together  with  promises  of  great 
revenues.  Not  only  was  he  now  entitled  to  the  first 
consideration  for  the  post  of  governor,  but  it  was 

12  '  E  como  era  hombre  ydiota  6  sin  letras,  el  se  movio  por  consejo  de  aquel 
bachillcr  Corral,  para  me  hacer  matar  d  traycion.'  Oviedo,  iii.  122. 

u  See,  for  instance,  Castilla,  Carta,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc. , 
xii.  85. 

11  Sandoval,  indeed,  speaks  of  the  governor  as  a  meritorious  servant  of  the 
king,  traduced  by  envious  persons.  Hist.  Carlos  V.,  i.  218. 


590  PEDRARIAS  REMOVES  TO  NICARAGUA. 

probably  considered  advantageous  to  the  royal  purse 
that  a  man  of  such  natural  proclivities  for  extortion 
should  be  given  a  field  where  watchful  energy  alone 
was  needed  to  develop  untold  wealth.  Again  was  the 
star  of  Pedrarias  emerging  from  behind  the  Hyper- 
borei  Montes,  but  with  lustre  dimmed  by  clouds  rising, 
this  time  in  the  direction  of  Honduras. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

RIVAL  GOVERNORS  IN  HONDURAS  AND  NICARAGUA. 
1526-1530. 

COLONIAL  POLICY — SALCEDO  DISPLACES  SAAVEDKA  IN  THE  GOVERNMENT 
OF  HONDURAS —  SAAVEDRA'S  ESCAPE  —  PEDRARIAS'  ENVOYS  TRAPPED— 
SALCEDO  INVADES  NICARAGUA — His  CRUELTY  AND  EXTORTION — DIS 
TRESS  AMONG  THE  COLONISTS— RlOS  ALSO  PRESENTS  CLAIMS,  BUT  IS 

DISCOMFITED — PEDRARIAS  FOLLOWS  TRIUMPHANT — SALCEDO'S  IGNO 
MINIOUS  FATE — ESTETE'S  EXPEDITION — SLAVE-HUNTING  PROFITS  AND 
HORRORS — GLADIATORIAL  PUNISHMENT  OF  PVEVOLTED  NATIVES — PE 
DRARIAS'  SCHEMES  FOR  AGGRANDIZEMENT — HE  GRASPS  AT  SALVADOR 
AND  LONGS  FOR  PERU — BOTH  ELUDE  HIM— FURTHER  MORTIFICATION 
AND  DEATH — CHARACTER  OF  THE  CONQUERORS. 

ONE  of  the  chief  causes  which  gave  rise  to  the  dis 
putes  of  rival  leaders  for  the  occupancy  of  Nicaragua 
and  Honduras  was  the  policy  which  governed  the 
Council  of  the  Indies  in  regard  to  the  colonial  posses 
sions  of  Spain.  Gradually  the  discovery  of  Columbus 
had  assumed  gigantic  proportions,  and  the  indefinite 
and  unknown  limits  to  the  territories  which  had  been 
given  to  the  first  governors  were  becoming  more  fixed 
and  determined.  The  immense  extent  of  the  dis 
covery  and  the  vast  dominions  which  had  been  allotted 
to  each  colony  was  then  first  ascertained.  It  was 
deemed  wise  and  prudent  by  the  court  of  Spain  that 
such  broad  possessions  should  be  divided  into  smaller 
states,  and  governed  by  many,  rather  than  that  the 
whole  should  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  few  arro 
gant  viceroys.  Thus  checks  could  be  more  easily 
placed  on  individuals,  and  the  distant  provinces  of  the 
New  World  could  be  more  readily  held  in  subjection. 
With  this  in  view  it  was  that  Hernandez  de  Cordoba 

(597) 


598  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

had  been  urged  by  the  audiencia  to  throw  off  alle 
giance  to  Pedrarias,  and  that  the  enterprises  not  only 
of  Gil  Gonzalez  but  of  Olid  had  been  encouraged  by 
the  Spanish  government.1 

But  a  resort  to  arms  as  a  method  for  settling  their 
differences  was  by  no  means  desired;  and  when  the 
emperor  became  aware  that  hostilities  had  broken  out 
among  the  colonists  of  Honduras  and  Nicaragua  he 
peremptorily  forbade  any  Spaniard  to  draw  his  sword 
against  another,  under  penalty  of  his  severe  dis 
pleasure.  The  better  to  curb  the  encroaching  con 
querors  on  either  side,  and  to  further  his  policy,  he 
resolved  to  appoint  new  governors  for  these  provinces ; 
and  thus  it  was  that  Pedrarias,  owing  in  a  great 
measure  to  his  wife  and  to  family  influence,  had  ob 
tained  the  long  desired  lake  region,  even  before  the 
result  of  his  residencia  was  known;  while  Honduras 
was  given  as  early  as  15252  to  Diego  Lopez  de  Sal- 
cedo,  regardless  of  the  great  efforts  and  means  ex 
pended  by  Cortes  in  its  colonization,  wholly  from  his 
own  resources.3 

Salcedo  was  at  this  time  residing  in  Espanola,  and 
on  receiving  the  appointment,  together  with  instruc 
tions  to  inquire  into  the  late  trouble  and  punish  the 
guilty,  he  at  once  prepared  to  set  out.  The  audiencia 

1  The  bitter  complaints  of  Cortds  against  his  rebellious  lieutenant  evoked 
from  the  king  merely  instructions  for  Olid  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with 
Cortds,  and  to  report  to  the  crown  regarding  the  progress  of  his  conquest. 
'El  Rey. .  .no  hizo  mas  demostracion  que  escriuir  d  Christoual  de  Olid,  que 
con  Cortes  tuuiesse  toda  buena  correspondencia,  y  fuesse  dando  cuenta  a  su 
Magestad,  de  lo  que  passaua  en  aquella  tierra,  pareciendo  que  no  era  mal 
consejo,  la  diuision  de  tan  gran  gouierno  como  tenia.'  Jlerrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v. 
cap.  xiii. 

*  His  commission  is  dated  November  20th.  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col. 
Doc.,  xiv.  52. 

3  Cortes'  complaints  were  numerous  and  bitter,  as  may  be  imagined.  In  a 
letter  of  1532,  for  instance,  he  represents  to  the  king  the  many  valuable  ser 
vices  rendered,  and  the  hardship  arid  danger  suffered.  He  had  discovered 
the  province  of  Honduras  at  his  o\Wi  expense,  amounting  to  over  30.000  cas 
tellanos,  and  the  expedition  to  suppress  the  revolt  of  Olid  had  cost  him  over 
50,000  castellanos,  a  like  amount  being  also  expended  by  his  followers.  He 
had  conquered,  pacified,  and  settled  over  200  leagues  of  territory,  founding 
three  towns  on  the  best  parts  of  the  coast;  he  had  expended  over  25,000 
castellanos  for  horses,  arms,  and  provisions,  imported  from  Espanola  and  Cuba, 
and  before  leaving  the  country  had  left  a  competent  captain  in  charge  of  the 
new  colonies.  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  xiii.  6-7. 


SAAVEDRA  AND  SALCEDO.  599 

also  took  the  instructions  to  heart,  and,  regarding 
Cortes  as  implicated,  they  seized  one  of  his  ships  at 
Santo  Domingo,  with  its  cargo  of  merchandise.4  Sal- 
cedo  found  the  settlers  at  peace  on  reaching  Trujillo. 
Saavedra  and  Alcalde  Figueroa  set  the  example  to 
the  other  officials  in  doing  reverence  to  the  new  ruler, 
who  was  solemnly  inaugurated  on  the  27th  of  October, 
1526.5  The  first  act  under  the  new  regime  was  to 
make  an  investigation  into  the  late  political  disturb 
ances,  and  the  result  was  the  arrest  of  Saavedra, 
regidores  Garnica  and  Vega,  and  two  settlers  named 
Martin  Cortes  and  Morales,  who  were  placed  on  a 
vessel  for  transmission  to  the  judges  in  Espanola. 
Their  safe-keeping  was  intrusted  to  Diego  Morillo, 
who  was  installed  with  a  staff  of  justice,  to  give  him 
greater  authority.  But  the  emblem  of  the  law  failed 
to  impose  upon  the  prisoners,  who  were  in  this  respect 
hardly  less  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  than 
Pedrarias  and  his  followers.  They  had  too  whole 
some  a  fear  of  the  quality  of  mercy  dispensed  by  the 
pompous  rulers  at  Santo  Domingo,  and  determined  to 
make  an  effort  for  liberty.  The  mainland  had  barely 
been  lost  to  sight  when  they  appealed  to  the  master's 
sympathy.  Their  argument  was  sufficiently  weighted 
to  be  convincing,  and  the  shackles  were  not  only 
transferred  to  Morillo,  but  he  was  relieved  of  all  his 
effects.  The  vessel's  course  was  thereupon  changed 
to  Cuba,  where  the  mutineers  dispersed  in  search  of 
wider  spheres  of  operations.6 

Shortly  after  Salcedo's  installation  the  three  envoys 
of  Pedrarias  arrived  at  Trujillo.  Finding  a  royal 
governor  instead  of  the  intruder  Saavedra,  they  did 
not  venture  to  present  their  demands  for  the  sub 
mission  of  the  province,  bu^  sought  instead  to  regain 

4  For  this  they  were  afterward  censured.  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  x.  cap.  xi. 

5  The  royal  commission,  with  the  ceremonies  attending  its  reception,  is 
given  in  Traslado  de  una  Cedula,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  xiv. 
47  et  seq. 

0  Orders  came  for  investigation  and  punishment,  ffcrrera,  dec.  iv.  lib.  ii. 
cap.  vi.,  but  the  distant  Indies  possessed  as  yet  too  many  loop-holes  and 
corners  for  blind  justice. 


600  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

Nicaragua  and  \yarn  their  master.  Salcedo  had  them 
arrested,  however,  as  concerned  in  the  disorders  in 
Nicaragua  and  Olancho,  and  turned  the  tables  by  de 
claring  Pedrarias  an  arraigned  culprit,  answerable  to 
the  residencia  judge  at  Panama",  and  Nicaragua  as 
falling  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Honduras,  instead  of 
pertaining  to  Castilla  del  Oro.  He  intended,  in  fact, 
to  take  possession  at  once,  and  in  this  course  he  was 
encouraged  by  petitions  from  the  anti-Pedrarias  fac 
tion  of  that  province.  The  limits  of  Salcedo's  gov 
ernment  had  not  been  fixed,  and  what  more  natural 
than  to  base  on  the  claims  of  Cortes  and  Gonzales 
the  pleasing  illusion  that  Nicaragua  must  belong  to 
his  jurisdiction?  An  additional  excuse  was  to  be  found 
in  the  late  political  disturbances  in  that  province, 
which  it  behooved  him  as  a  royal  officer  to  stop. 
The  captive  envoys  should  accompany  him  as  guides 
and  hostages. 

Preparations  were  soon  concluded,  and  Salcedo  de 
parted  with  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  horsemen, 
leaving  the  small  remnant  at  Trujillo  under  command 
of  Francisco  de  Cisneros.7  He  sent  forward  Alonso 
de  Solis,  one  of  his  captains,  and  a  priest,  the  one  to 
capture  Indians  for  beasts  of  burden  and  the  other  to 
convert  them,  so  that  when  the  savages  miserably 
perished  under  the  cruelties  of  the  soldiers  their  souls 
might  find  rest  in  the  world  whither  they  were  sent. 
Solis  speedily  came  back  with  the  information  that 
bands  of  Spaniards  were  prowling  about  the  Olancho 
Valley.  Salcedo  advanced  upon  them,  and  a  skirmish 
ensued  in  which  two  men  were  lost.  Suspecting  that 
Albites  and  his  companions  might  be  connected  with 
this  untoward  check,  he  sent  them  back  to  Trujillo 
with  instructions  for  their  immediate  transmission  to 
Santo  Domingo,  on  the  charge  of  inciting  native 
revolts  and  other  disorders.  These  charges  were  not 

70viedo,  iii.  189,  states  that  Diego  Mendez  de  Hinestrosa  was  left  in 
charge  at  Trujillo,  that  Salcedo  had  already  marched  out  of  Trujillo  for 
Nicaragua  when  the  envoys  of  Pedrarias  came  up,  and  that  lie  sent  them  at 
once  to  the  audiencia.  But  he  is  not  well  informed. 


.       WOES  OF  THE  NATIVES.  601 

sustained,  however,  and  the  prisoners  soon  returned 
fully  exonerated. 

Still  another  check  came  to  dampen  the  ardor  of 
the  party,  and  Treasurer  Castillo,  among  others,  urged 
the  abandonment  of  the  expedition ;  but  the  fair  shores 
of  the  Freshwater  Sea  had  taken  too  deep  a  hold 
upon  Salcedo's  fancy,  strewn  as  they  were  by  rumor 
with  much  gold.  No;  he  knew  his  duty  as  royal 
officer,  and  would  extend  his  beneficent  rule  to  this 
region.  As  for  his  losses  and  disappointments,  he 
would  look  to  that  universal  source  of  redress,  the 
natives.  Caciques  were  summoned  to  furnish  Indians 
for  carrying  burdens  and  gathering  food,  and  soldiers 
went  forth  to  enforce  the  order.  A  number  of  those 
suspected  of  complicity  in  the  disturbances  at  Na- 
tividad  were  hanged  and  others  enslaved,  to  be  event 
ually  sent  out  of  the  country  and  sold.  Great  were 
their  woes.  Those  who  lost  their  relatives  or  near 
friends  fled  to  the  mountains,  preferring  starvation 
and  death  to  the  cruel  oppression  of  the  strangers. 
This  feeling  extended  also  to  the  district  of  Coma- 
yagua,  and  created  a  distrust  which  was  at  once  mag 
nified  into  revolt.  The  Spaniards  immediately  fell 
upon  them,  and  a  terrible  havoc  ensued.  The  natives 
resorted  to  the  passive  retaliation  of  withdrawing 
supplies,  and  even  of  destroying  the  crops,  so  as  to 
leave  the  Spaniards  without  food,  and  compel  them  to 
devour  horses  and  dogs.  This  heightened  the  feeling 
against  them,  and  even  the  carriers  were  made  to 
suffer  so  severely  that  many  threw  off  their  loads  and 
sought  to  escape,  only  to  be  overtaken  and  slaugh 
tered.  The  panic  spread,  and  tribes  distant  from  the 
scene  burned  their  villages  and  fields  to  seek  refuge  in 
the  mountains,  lest  they  should  be  exposed  to  similar 
outrages  on  Salcedo's  return. 

In  Nicaragua  the  rumor  of  these  doings  had  im 
pelled  the  natives  to  assume  a  threatening  attitude,1 
so  that  when  the  Spanish  party  finally  arrived  at 
the  city  of  Leon  they  were  hailed  as  saviors.  This 


602  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

helped  to  pave  the  way  for  Salcedo,  and  when  he  sub 
mitted  his  commission  to  Martin  Estete,  the  officer 
in  charge,  and  to  the  municipal  body,  they  gave  one 
glance  at  the  sturdy  forces  by  his  side  and  then  rec 
ognized  it  as  valid.  The  new  governor  was  sworn 
in  May  7,  1527.  Once  in  undisputed  possession  the 
humanity  of  Salcedo  underwent  a  change.  He  would 
no  longer  carry  panic  into  native  villages  by  means 
of  raiding  parties;  nay,  he  would  even  relieve  the 
Indians  from  the  oppression  of  their  present  masters, 
the  late  subjects  of  Pedrarias,  and  place  them  under 
the  experienced  control  of  his  friends  and  followers. 
Without  more  ado  the  choice  repartimientos  were 
transferred  to  the  hands  of  himself  and  his  adherents, 
with  not  even  an  attempted  excuse  to  the  late  holders. 
Such  high-handed  proceedings  created  general  dis 
satisfaction,  not  only  among  the  despoiled  settlers  but 
also  among  the  enslaved,  who  were  regarded  as  cattle, 
and  treated  with  a  severity  paralleled  only  by  the 
Honduras  atrocities.  More  spirited,  however,  than 
the  former  victims,  they  retaliated  with  sullen  stub 
bornness,  and  refused  to  gather  gold  or  perform  agri 
cultural  labor.  The  distress  increased,  and  many 
could  not  procure  the  common  necessaries  of  life. 
The  rupture  between  the  two  races  developed  into 
open  warfare,  in  which  rights,  grievances,  and  pas 
sion  often  figured  only  as  minor  impulses  by  the  side 
of  the  cravings  of  hunger.8 

To  these  distressing  straits  was  the  country  reduced 
when  a  new  claimant  to  the  government  presented 
himself,  in  the  person  of  Pedro  de  los  Eios.  Invested 
with  the  same  power  and  authority  over  Castilla  del 
Oro  as  his  predecessor,  he  thought  himself  entitled 
to  jurisdiction  also  over  Nicaragua,  since  it  had  been 
occupied  and  settled  under  the  same  auspices.  He 

8  Herrera  would  have  us  believe  that  starvation  was  over  the  whole 
country,  in  all  its  ghastly  horrors,  making  it  a  question  of  life  and  death 
between  Spaniard  and  Indian,  who  devoured  each  other,  dec.  iv.  lib.  i.  cap. 
vii.  But  this  is  clearly  exaggeration. 


PEDRARIAS  AND  RIOS.  603 

had  deferred  his  departure  from  Panamd  till  Pedrarias 
should  have  been  securely  entangled  in  the  meshes 
of  his  residencia,  and  therefore  unable  to  object.  But 
the  latter  was  desirous  to  see  him  leave,  in  the  hope 
that  a  change  in  his  own  favor  might  be  effected,  per 
haps  by  some  friendly  ingulfing  wave,  some  devoted 
assassin,  or  some  native  treachery;  for  the  road  was 
new  and  Rios  inexperienced.  As  a  proof  of  his 
friendly  interest  in  the  project  Pedrarias  counselled 
him  to  invest  heavily  in  merchandise,  which  must  pay 
a  large  profit.  Such  advice  was  not  to  be  disregarded, 
and,  as  circumstances  would  have  it,  the  gubernatorial 
trader  was  received  with  open  arms  by  tl^e  sorely 
pressed  settlers  of  Nicaragua.  But  Rios  had  not  the 
foresight  which  characterized  Fiscal  Moreno's  pro 
ceedings  in  Honduras,  two  years  before,  and  on  pre 
senting  his  claims  to  the  supreme  office  the  colonists 
returned  a  cold  stare.  They  saw  nothing  in  his  com 
mission  which  expressly  included  Nicaragua  within 
Castilla  del  Oro,  and  although  much  afflicted  by  the 
avaricious  and  oppressive  measures  of  Salcedo,  they 
determined  to  support  a  governor  whom  they  might 
call  their  own  rather  than  submit  to  one  residing  at 
such  a  distance,  and  evidently  intent  on  enriching 
himself  and  Panamd  at  their  expense. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  cause  for  the  change 
lay  partly  with  Pedrarias,  whose  emissaries  hoped  by 
this  means  to  embroil  the  new  aspirant  with  his  pro 
posed  subjects.  Salcedo  was  strong  enough,  however, 
with  his  own  troops  to  dictate  terms  to  his  rival,  and 
he  peremptorily  ordered  him  to  leave  the  province 
within  three  days,  under  a  penalty  of  ten  thousand 
pesos.  Rios  had  too  much  respect  for  his  portly 
person  to  expose  it  to  profane  usage.  Still  he  would 
have  lingered  had  not  the  threatened  fine  urged  him 
away.  As  it  was,  in  the  flurry  of  departure  he  even, 
forgot  his  gout,  with  which  he  was  just  then  severely 
stricken,  and  his  groans  were  not  resumed  till  the 
vessel  had  turned  prow  for  Panama.  He  carried  one 


604  RIVAL  GOVERNORS 

consolation,  however,  to  soothe  his  ruffled  spirit;  he 
had  made  these  boorish  colonists  pay  tenfold  for  his 
cargo  of  merchandise.  After  all,  the  trip  had  not 
proved  unprofitable,  and  he  laughed  within  himself  at 
the  thought.  On  his  way  back  he  stopped  at  Bruselas, 
in  the  gulf  of  Nicoya,  where  a  friendly  reception 
was  accorded  him.  Informed  of  this,  Salcedo  with 
vindictive  jealousy  sent  a  troop  of  sixty  horse  under 
Garabito  to  destroy  the  hospitable  town. 

The  rankest  despot  could  hardly  deport  himself  with 
more  capricious  severity  than  these  petty  upstart 
lieutenants  in  the  Indies.  Salcedo  was  evidently  a 
fitting  successor  to  Pedrarias,  as  far  as  displaying  his 
jealousy,  greed,  and  cruelty;  but  he  lacked  some  of 
the  commanding  characteristics  which  had  so  often 
enabled  the  latter  to  weather  the  storm  raised  by  his 
tyrannous  impulses.  His  rule  was  to  be  brief  and 
ignoble.  One  of  his  last  acts,  which  bore  the  re 
lieving  stamp  of  a  public  measure,  was  to  order 
Gabriel  de  Rojas  to  explore  Rio  San  Juan,  the  outlet 
of  the  lake,  and  to  found  there  a  settlement. 

This  order  was  disregarded,  for  just  then  came  the 
rumor  that  Pedrarias  was  about  to  return  as  governor. 
This  sufficed  to  bring  the  general  dissatisfaction  with 
Salcedo  to  an  issue.  At  first  he  treated  the  news  as 
absurd ;  but,  when  the  report  came  that  Pedrarias  was 
actually  on  the  way  with  a  royal  commission,  he  re 
solved  to  collect  his  scattered  followers  and  make  his 
escape.  The  step  was  fatal,  as  it  encouraged  the  still 
wavering  Estete  with  his  friends  to  pronounce  in  favor 
of  the  expected  chief.  The  officials  of  Salcedo  were 
arrested,  which  rendered  the  executive  powerless  to 
act,  and  his  horses  were  seized,  so  that  he  might  not 
escape  a  reckoning.  So  ominous  became  the  demon 
stration  against  the  deposed  governor,  that  he  aban 
doned  the  building  which  had  hitherto  given  him 
shelter,  and  sought  the  protecting  walls  of  the 
church.  ^  There  he  remained,  closely  guarded  by  the 
rebels,  till  Pedrarias  arrived.  Several  persons  had  re- 


IMPEISOmiENT  OF  SALCEDO.  605 

monstrated  with  Estete  with  regard  to  these  arbitrary 
proceedings,  based  as  they  were  on  a  mere  report  from 
Panamd ;  but  this  officer,  who  had  everything  to  gain 
by  the  movement  if  the  report  proved  true,  declared 
that  Pedrarias  should  be  supported  even  if  he  came 
without  a  royal  commission.  In  any  case  it  would  be 
suicidal  now  to  restore  the  relentless  Salcedo  to 
power.9 

All  doubts  were  solved  by  the  arrival  of  the  old 
governor  at  Leon  in  March,  1528,  and  the  timely 
turncoats  were  liberally  rewarded;  Estete  receiving 
the  command  of  Leon,  and  Diego  de  Tejorina  that 
of  Granada.  Immediately  on  receipt  of  his  appoint 
ment  Pedrarias  had  hastened  to  Nicaragua,  leaving 
an  agent  at  Panama  to  finish  his  residencia,  and  to 
collect  the  property  and  effects  which  had  been  at 
tached.  In  connection  with  the  new  government  the 
king  had  appointed  Licenciado  Castaneda  alcalde 
mayor,  and  Diego  de  la  Tobilla  treasurer,  both  of 
whom  arrived  eight  months  later.10 

Salcedo's  case  claimed  the  first  attention  of  the 
new  ruler,  and  claims  and  charges  began  to  pour  in, 
the  chief  accusation  being  that  he  had  stationed 
spies  to  watch  for  the  arrival  of  Pedrarias  and  native 
assassins  to  despatch  him.  An  investigation  was 
ordered,  to  embrace  also  the  question  whether  Sal 
cedo  had  royal  authority  for  his  entry  into  the  terri 
tory.  The  accused  denied  the  charges,  of  course,  and 
protested  that  he  had  come  merely  to  pacify  the 
country,  in  accordance  with  his  instructions.  He  de 
manded  liberty  to  depart  for  Honduras,  where  the 
king  required  his  presence  as  governor.  Any  other 

9  According  to  Herrera,  dec.  iv.  lib.  iii.  cap.  ii.,  Gabriel  de  Rojas  was 
offered  the  government,  but  declined  to  hold  the  province  except  for  the  king 
direct;  -whereupon  he  was  arrested  and  Garabito  given  the  command.     He 
seems  confused,  however,  while  Cereceda's  account  is  most  clear  on  all  these 
points.  Carta,  MS.,  3-6.     Oviedo  is  quite  brief,  iii.  190. 

10  The  present  treasurer,  Rodrigo  del  Castillo,  was  under  indictment  by 
the  inquisition  at  Panama.     With  Pedrarias  came  a  friar  empowered  to  try 
his  case,  by  whom  he  was  acquitted,  and  he  thereupon  resumed  office  till 
Tobilla  arrived.  Cerezeda,  Carta,  MS.,  10-11. 


606  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

person  might  have  felt  awed  by  a  demand  coupled  so 
plausibly  with  the  royal  name,  but  Pedrarias  had  too 
often  mocked  even  the  direct  commands  of  his  sov 
ereign  to  care  for  indirect  requirements.  He  flaunted 
in  the  face  of  the  accused  the  royal  order  lately  re 
ceived  forbidding  him  to  meddle  in  Nicaraguan  affairs, 
and  declared  that  since  he  had  done  so  there  was 
every  prospect  for  a  residencia.  The  order  for  it 
might  arrive  at  any  moment,  and  he  must  give  bonds 
to  answer  the  claims  against  him.  The  bonds  not 
being  forthcoming  he  was  placed  under  restraint,  and 
on  his  attempting  to  escape,  close  confinement  was 
imposed. 

Ten  weary  months  Salcedo  lay  in  durance.  Finally 
Treasurer  Tobilla  and  Osorio,  afterward  bishop,  in 
tervened  and  brought  about  a  peaceful  settlement. 
But  the  conditions  extorted  from  him  as  the  price 
of  liberty  were  so  humiliating  that  shame  and  vexa 
tion  preyed  upon  his  mind,  and  destro}red  his  health, 
already  weakened  by  imprisonment.  He  was  obliged 
to  renounce  his  claims  to  the  south,  and  promise  to 
confine  himself  to  a  triangular  section  of  territory 
bounded  on  the  east  and  west  by  Cape  Gracias  d  Dios 
and  Puerto  de  Caballos.11  The  three  envoys  of 
Pedrarias,  whom  he  had  sent  to  Espanola  to  answer 
false  charges,  and  who  had  returned  acquitted,  were 
to  be  compensated,  and  he  must  give  security  for 
twenty  thousand  pesos  to  appear  in  case  a  residencia 
should  be  instituted  against  him.  On  Christmas  eve, 
1528,  the  prison  doors  opened  before  him,  and  the 
once  dashing  Salcedo  tottered  forth,  pale  and  ema 
ciated,  weighed  down  with  infirmities  of  body  and 
mind,  an  object  of  pity  even  to  the  down-trodden 
Indians.  It  had  been  a  game  of  rogue  against  rogue, 

11  Herrera's  lucid  definition  of  the  limits  reads :  '  Desde  Leon  al  puerto  de 
Natiuidad,  cien  leguas  Nortesur,  y  desde  Chorotega,  por  otro  nombre  Foseca, 
hasta  puerto  de  Cauallos,  Nortesur,  que  auia  setenta  leguas,  y  cien  leguas  de 
costa  por  el  mar  del  Norte,  y  otras  tantas  por  el  Sur  con  mas  lo  q  se  le 
renunciaua,  y  lo  que  para  adelante  pudisse  ensancharse  descubriendo,'  in 
cluding  Nequepia  province,  or  Salvador,  dec.  iv.  lib.  iii.  cap.  ii. 


'  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  RIVER  SAN  JUAN.  607 

and  Pedrarias  as  usual  was  the  winner.  Salcedo  felt 
that  he  deserved  little  sympathy,  either  from  the  op 
pressed  colonists  or  from  the  cruelly  treated  natives, 
and  within  ten  days  he  set  out  for  the  shielding 
precincts  of  his  own  government. 

Pedrarias  had  long  before  this  taken  steps  to  secure 
for  himself  the  large  tracts  of  country  which  he  in 
tended  to  extort  from  his  prisoner,  chiefly  because 
they  were  reported  to  be  rich  in  gold.  For  this  there 
were  also  additional  motives.  The  report  of  mineral 
wealth  in  the  province  had  induced  the  king  to  inquire 
regarding  the  desirability  of  erecting  smelting  works, 
and  similar  measures,  and  although  the  avaricious  old 
governor  required  no  incentive  to  gold-hunting,  yet 
the  communication  was  welcomed  as  a  good  pretence 
for  his  preparations.  The  already  projected  expedition 
by  Rojas  to  the  river  outlet  of  the  lake  was  therefore 
ordered  to  proceed,  reinforced  to  more  than  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  men,  but  the  chief  command  was  in 
trusted  to  Estete,  with  instructions  to  explore  the 
country,  particularly  for  minerals,  to  take  possession 
for  Pedrarias,  and  to  found  settlements  on  the  river 
and  along  the  sea-shore,  as  desired  by  the  king.  On 
the  river,  where  it  receives  the  waters  of  the  lake,  was 
formed  the  settlement  of  Nueva  Jaen,  flushed  at  first 
with  brilliant  anticipations  of  a  vast  entrepot  trade 
and  a  flourishing  colony,  but  doomed  to  speedy  aban 
donment.  From  the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan  the 
party  followed  the  coast  northward,  blazing  their  way 
with  branding-iron  and  sword,  and  finding  good  mines 
at  Cape  Gracias  d,  Dios,  as  rumored.  There  they  es 
tablished  another  colony,  of  which  Rojas  was  left  in 
charge,  while  Estete  returned  to  Leon. 

Their  pathway  thither  had  been  stained  sanguine 
by  the  most  abominable  cruelty  against  the  natives, 
in  the  form  of  wholesale  enslavement  and  wanton 
bloodshed,  and  this  in  face  of  the  repeated  and 
stringent  orders  from  the  king  for  their  good  treat- 


60S  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

ment.12  Of  what  avail  were  orders  which  suited  not 
the  taste  of  Master  Pedrarias!  On  setting  out  for 
Cape  Gracias  d  Dios,  Estete  received  from  the  chest, 
in  which  it  was  kept  under  three  locks  by  order  of  the 
crown,  the  branding-iron,  which  was  intended  to  be 
used  only  on  rebels  and  criminals,  and  pursuing  his 
circuitous  route,  he  captured  and  branded  indiscrimi 
nately  all  natives  who  fell  into  his  hands,  and  sent 
them  as  slaves  to  Pedrarias  at  Leon.  Captives  were 
secured  by  iron  collars  around  the  neck,  chained 
together  in  gangs,  and  forced  to  carry  heavy  burdens. 
When  one  fell  from  exhaustion,  in  order  to  save  time 
and  trouble,  his  head  was  severed  from  the  body, 
and  this  released  the  collar  so  that  the  others  might 
pass  on.13 

This  and  other  kidnapping  expeditions,  made  chiefly 
in  the  interest  of  Pedrarias,  fairly  glutted  Leon  and 
Granada  with  captives ;  but  if  they  could  not  be  used 
here  there  was  another  means  of  utilizing  them.  The 
native  population  of  the  Isthmus,  as  we  have  seen, 
had  already  been  so  greatly  reduced  by  the  ever  drip 
ping  sword,  by  the  hardly  less  speedy  measures  of 
relentless  taskmasters,  and  by  the  flight  of  panic- 
stricken  border  tribes,  that  the  settlers  found  it  diffi 
cult  to  fill  the  constantly  occurring  gaps  in  their  labor 
gangs.  A  slave  market  had  accordingly  been  opened 
at  Panamd,  where  natives  were  sold  by  auction.  Its 
origin  was  with  Pedrarias,  and  with  a  fatherly  regard 
for  his  former  government  he  felt  it  a  duty  to  sustain 
an  institution  so  useful  to  the  colonists  and  so  com 
forting  to  his  coffers.  A  regular  trade  thereupon 

12  Besides  the  usual  humane  injunctions  it  was  ordered  that  towns  should 
be  founded  near  the  Indians,  so  that  they  might  be  brought  by  example  and 
gentle  means  to  a  knowledge  of  the  true  faith,  and  be  led  to  adopt  the  manners 
and  customs  of  Christians.  To  promote  this  desirable  end  the  royal  officers 
were  enjoined  to  watch  strictly  over  the  moral  and  economic  features  of  the 
Spanish  settlements.  The  revolted  Chorotegas  were  to  be  pacified  by  kind 
ness,  and  the  native  slaves  brought  from  Panama  were  to  be  returned.  Her- 
rent,  dec.  iv.  lib.  i.  cap.  viii.  See  chap,  v.,  note  5,  this  volume. 

13'Lleuando  los  Indios  cargados,  y  encadenados,  co  argollas,  porq  no  se 
boluiessen.  y  porq  vno  se  canso,  por  no  quitarle  el  argolla  le  quitaron  la 
cabe9a,  y  lo  dissimulo.'  Herrera,  dec.  iv.  lib.  iii.  cap.  ii. 


DEPOPULATION.  609 

sprang  up  in  Indian  slaves,  and  several  ship-loads  were 
taken  down  to  Panamd  about  this  time  by  different 
persons.1* 

The  supply  of  unfortunates  was  drawn  not  only 
from  the  outlying  districts,  but  from  the  very  centre 
of  the  lake  settlements,  and  their  capture  assisted 
the  sword  and  lash  to  no  small  extent  in  decimating 
the  population.  When  Gil  Gonzalez  first  entered  the 
country  it  was  densely  populated,  and  the  city  of 
Managua  alone  contained  forty  thousand  souls,  it  was 
said.  A  few  years  of  Spanish  rule  sufficed  to  turn 
whole  tracts  of  flourishing  country  into  uninhabited 
wilds,  leaving  here  and  there  only  small  communities 
of  terrorized  natives  groaning  under  extortionate  and 
cruel  masters.  On  appealing  to  their  idols  they  were 
assured  that  a  flood  could  be  called  forth,  but  in  it 
would  perish  Indians  as  well  as  Spaniards.  *  Such  was 
the  comfort  derived  from  their  religion.  Although 
they  had  not  courage  enough  to  adopt  this  remedy, 
women  widely  formed  the  resolution  not  to  perpetuate 
a  race  foredoomed  to  slavery  and  cruel  death. 

At  first,  when  numbers  still  gave  self-reliance,  they 
ventured  to  renew  the  hostilities  which  under  Salcedo 
had  led  to  such  bloody  results.  Soon  after  Estete's 
departure  for  Cape  Gracias  a  general  revolt  broke  out. 
In  the  districts  of  Leon  and  Granada  bloodshed  was 
averted,  but  in  the  interior  the  slaughter  of  natives 
was  great,  and  if  the  Spaniards  lost  comparatively 
few,  the  loss  was  increased  by  the  horrors  of  canni 
balism.15  Among  the  victims  were  Alonso  Peralta, 
the  royal  treasurer,  an  hidalgo  named  Zurita,  and  two 
brothers  of  the  name  of  Ballas,  who  in  1528  set  out 
from  the  city  of  Leon  to  visit  the  Indians  that  had 
been  allotted  to  them  respectively.  None  ever  re 
turned;  all  were  slain  by  their  vassals.  Pedrarias 

14  Ponce  de  Leon  and  Hernando  de  Soto,  for  instance,  took  two  cargoes  at 
one  time,  according  to  Pizarro,  Relation,  in  Col.  Doc.  In6d. ,  v.  209. 

15  « Ellos  matar5  a  los  Castellanos  q  acertaron  a  hallar  fuera  del  lugar, 
y  los  comieron.'  Herrera,  dec.  iv.  lib.  iii.  cap.  ii. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    39 


610  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

despatched  a  band  of  soldiers,  who  captured  eighteen 
caciques  supposed  to  be  implicated  in  the  murders. 

The  Indians  becoming  daily  more  bold  and  trouble 
some  a  new  method  of  striking  them  with  terror  was 
invented.  As  in  the  conversion  of  the  natives  to 
Christianity  strategy  was  frequently  made  to  take  the 
place  of  logic,  so  in  war  and  punishment  a  refined 
cruelty,  in  the  exercise  of  which  the  aged  Pedrarias 
Ddvila  stood  unexcelled,  was  deemed  the  most  effectual 
means  of  pacification.  The  governor  of  Leon  deter 
mined  on  a  grand  spectacle,  modelled  somewhat  after 
the  gladiatorial  exhibitions  of  Rome.  An  inclosure 
was  made  in  the  public  square  of  the  town,  and  on  a 
fixed  day  the  Indian  chieftains  were  brought  forth. 
One  of  them  was  led  into  the  arena  and  given  a  stout 
stick  or  club  with  which  to  defend  his  life  against  the 
dogs  to  be"  let  loose.  At  first  five  or  six  young  and 
inexperienced  animals  were  set  upon  him,  which  he 
could  easily  keep  at  bay  with  his  stick.  After  wit 
nessing  this  sport  until  it  grew  tame,  and  just  as  the 
unfortunate  captive  began  to  rejoice  in  the  hope  that 
through  his  skill  and  bravery  his  life  was  saved,  two 
fierce  bloodhounds  rushed  in,  seized  him  by  the  throat, 
brought  him  to  the  ground,  tore  into  shreds  the  flesh, 
and  devoured  the  entrails,  assisted  by  the  still  yelping 
whelps.  On  the  authority  of  Oviedo,  an  eye-witness, 
this  horrible  scene  was  repeated  seventeen  times. 
Pedrarias  ordered  the  dead  bodies  to  be  left  on  the 
ground  as  a  warning  to  others,  but  soon  the  stench 
became  insupportable,  and  the  Indians  were  allowed 
to  remove  them.16 

Thus  did  the  effort  to  open  a  transcontinental  route 
by  way  of  San  Juan  not  only  fail,  but  it  carried  a 
host  of  evils  with  it,  as  we  have  seen.  Pedrarias  was 
not  content,  however,  to  abandon  to  Panama  so  fruit 
ful  a  project  without  another  struggle,  and  since  the 
strip  of  land  between  Leon  and  Caballos  was  well 

16  '  Los  quales  eran  del  valle  de  Olocoton  6  de  su  comarca.'  Oviedo,  iv.  100. 


SALVADOR.  611 

suited  for  a  road,  he  prepared  to  open  one.  But 
orders  came  from  the  king  forbidding  the  work.  The 
Isthmus  was  regarded  as  sufficient  for  present  traffic, 
and  it  was  also  feared  that  too  many  lives  would  be 
lost  in  constructing  the  new  road. 

One  of  the  objects  of  Pedrarias  in  connection  with 
the  undertaking  was  to  secure  possession  of  the  west 
ern  territory  wrested  from  Salcedo,  and  in  this,  at  any 
rate,  he  resolved  not  to  be  defeated.  Estete  was  ac 
cordingly  despatched  northward  with  a  strong  force, 
accompanied  by  Rojas.  He  was  first  to  explore  the 
northern  lakes  to  determine  their  outlet,  and  then  to 
occupy  the  district  between  Golfo  Dulce  and  the 
South  Sea,  north  of  Fonseca  Bay.  This  province, 
known  as  Salvador,  had  already  been  conquered  by 
Alvarado,  the  lieutenant  of  Cortes;  but  Pedrarias 
knew  that  the  settlers  left  in  possession  were  not 
numerous,  and  that  the  king  would  be  more  apt  to 
favor  the  annexation  of  the  province  to  the  adjoining 
small  government  of  Nicaragua  than  to  the  distant 
and  too  extensive  New  Spain.  Besides,  Honduras 
had  claimed  it,  and  that  claim  was  now  his.  Estete 
advanced  into  the  heart  of  Salvador  and  occupied  the 
town  there  founded  by  Alvarado.  Few  as  they  were 
the  settlers  refused  to  recognize  the  authority  of  the 
Nicaraguan  governor,  and  his  lieutenant  retired  to 
the  town  of  Perulapan,  upon  which  he  bestowed  the 
high-sounding  title  of  Ciudad  de  los  Caballeros,  to 
gether  with  a  batch  of  officials  who  were  to  aid  him 
in  the  congenial  task  of  oppression  and  enslavement. 
His  sway  was  not  of  long  duration,  however,  for 
Jorge  de  Alvarado,  then  in  charge  of  the  Guatemalan 
government,  receiving  notice  of  the  intrusion,  came 
down  upon  his  settlement  and  compelled  him  to  evacu 
ate  the  province  in  hot  haste,  with  the  loss  of  half 
his  force,  which  deserted  to  the  enemy.17 

17  Despite  his  want  of  success,  says  Oviedo,  iv.  61,  Estete  received  from 
Pedrarias  another  important  command,  to  the  prejudice  of  another  officer. 
The  details  of  the  expedition  will  be  given  in  connection  with  Salvador. 


612  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

Pedrarias'  schemes  for  aggrandizement  were  evi 
dently  not  succeeding  according  to  his  desire,  and  he 
grieved  at  the  thought  of  the  many  heavy  ducats  lost 
on  this  last  expedition.  It  was  the  more  deplorable 
in  view  of  the  failure  to  direct  through  Nicaragua 
the  transcontinental  traffic,  which  would  have  yielded 
so  rich  a  harvest  for  himself.  But  above  all  hovered 
a  deeper  grief  than  any  of  these.  Peru,  with  its  glit 
tering  wealth,  was  now  dawning  on  the  world,  and 
none  would  have  been  more  dazzled  by  the  sight  than 
Pedrarias,  had  not  the  agonizing  fact  intruded  itself 
that  he  had  been  tricked  out  of  these  very  treasures, 
or  at  least  a  large  share  of  them. 

When  the  first  expedition  was  organized  for  this 
conquest  by  Pizarro,  Almagro,  and  Luque,  Pedrarias, 
then  governor  at  Panamd,  had  stipulated  for  a  fourth 
interest,  in  return  for  which  he  bestowed  the  weighty 
sum  of  his  patronage.  But  the  opening  events  proved 
to  be  less  flattering  than  he  had  expected,  and  when 
demands  came  for  pecuniary  aid  toward  the  enter 
prise,  he  shrank  from  the  prospect,  and  allowed  him 
self  to  be  bought  off  for  the  paltry  consideration  of 
one  thousand  pesos  de  oro.  Soon  came  glowing  re 
ports,  however,  and  bitter  were  his  denunciations 
of  the  folly  which  had  permitted  so  rich  a  prize  to 
escape  him;  and  deep  his  feeling  rankled  against  the 
late  partners,  whom  he  never  ceased  to  suspect  of 
duplicity  and  of  having  beguiled  him  with  misrepre 
sentation. 

While  he  was  thus  brooding,  it  happened  that  Nic- 
olds  de  Bibera  arrived  in  Nicaragua,  commissioned  by 
the  Peruvian  conquerors  to  procure  reinforcements. 
He  sought  in  particular  to  win  for  this  purpose 
Hernando  de  Soto,  Hernan  Ponce,  and  Francisco 
Companon,  all  men  of  means,  who  had  two  vessels  on 
the  stocks,  nearly  finished  and  available  for  the  voy 
age.  By  revolving  before  their  eyes,  in  kaleidoscopic 
harmony,  a  few  specimens  of  the  Inca's  treasures, 
illustrated  by  tales  no  less  alluring,  he  secured  the 


THE  PERUVIAN  ADVENTURE.  613 

active    sympathy  not    only  of  these  men,  but  of  a 
crowd  of  beggared  adherents. 

Not  least  dazzled  was  Pedrarias.  Indeed,  he  could 
not  sleep  for  the  visions  that  crowded  upon  his  brain. 
Finally  the  idea  struck  him  that  he  might  here 
retrieve  his  folly  by  securing  an  interest  in  the  ves 
sels  and  reinforcements,  and  obtain  a  fair  proportion  of 
that  gold-enameled  region,  perhaps  the  whole.  Pizarro 
and  Almagro  had  already  prepared  the  way,  and  it 
might  even  be  his  fortune  to  secure  the  results  of 
their  victories.  In  order  to  lull  the  Peruvian  emis 
saries  he  promised  to  do  everything  to  aid  Pizarro 
and  Luque ;  as  for  Almagro,  he  had  been  deceived  by 
him,  and  deceit  his  confiding  nature  could  not  endure. 
He  thereupon  entered  secretly  into  negotiation  with 
the  owners  of  the  vessels,  but  overreached  himself  by 
demanding  the  lion's  share  in  command  as  well  as  re 
turns.  Feeling  himself  in  duty  bound  to  spare  his 
own  purse,  he  looked  about  for  victims  to  furnish 
means,  and  bethought  himself  of  Ribera's  vessel. 
An  alguacil  was  sent  to  seize  it,  but  Bibera  received 
timely  warning  and  escaped,  after  prevailing  on  Ponce, 
Soto,  and  their  adherents,  to  sail  away  to  Panamd  and 
there  arrange  with  Pizarro  for  a  liberal  share  in  the 
conquest,  leaving  behind  the  foiled  Pedrarias.18 

The  governor's  mortification  was  increased  by  local 
troubles,  as  might  be  expected  from  his  arbitrary 
rule  and  irascible  temper,  which  had  now  reached 
octogenarian  crabbedness.  A  most  distasteful  feature 
had  been  the  arrival  of  Alcalde  Mayor  Francisco  de 
Castaiieda,  appointed  by  the  king  to  take  charge  of 
the  judicial  affairs  of  the  province.  This  division,  of 
authority  was  intolerable,  and,  on  the  pretence  that 
disorders  must  result  where  different  persons  exercised 
judicial  and  gubernatorial  powers,  he  urged  his  friends 
in  Spain  to  obtain  for  him  the  privilege  to  appoint  and 

18  Soto  alone  brought  about  100  men  to  Peru.  Pizarro,  Rel.,  in  Col.  Doc. 
Incd.,  v.  211-15;  Ilerrera,  dec.  iv.  lib.  vi.  cap.  iii. :  Oviedo,  iii.  119-20. 
This  conquest  will  be  spoken  of  in  a  later  volume  of  this  history. 


614  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

remove  at  pleasure  alcaldes  mayores  and  lieutenants. 
Meanwhile  he  made  an  effort  to  exercise  this  power, 
alleging  the  possession  of  a  royal  cedula  authorizing 
him  to  do  so;  but  Castaiieda,  who  was  not  so  easily 
imposed  upon,  challenged  him  to  produce  the  docu 
ment,  and  this  not  being  done,  he  added  to  his  chagrin 
by  ignoring  him. 

There  was  little  likelihood  of  any  arbitrary  powers 
being  conferred  on  the  governor,  for  complaints  of 
abuses  were  fast  pouring  in  against  him,  headed  by 
the  influential  ayuntamiento  of  Leon.  A  grave  charge 
was  peculation.  When  Rodrigo  del  Castillo  surren 
dered  his  office  to  the  formally  appointed  treasurer  he 
took  the  opportunity  to  inform  the  king  that  large 
sums  in  gold  had  been  taken  from  the  Indians  by 
Cordoba.  All  this  the  governor  had  laid  hands  upon 
without  any  accounting  therefor  to  the  crown.  He 
had  also  managed  to  appropriate  the  confiscated  es 
tate  of  Cordoba,  and  to  defraud  a  host  of  others, 
besides  perpetrating  outrages  and  cruelties  of  every 
description.19 

In  the  midst  of  the  brewing  troubles,  in  the  year 
1530,20  this  Timur  of  the  Indies  died  at  Leon,  nearly 
ninety  years  of  age.  His  body  was  buried  in  the 
same  church  with  his  victim  Hernandez  de  Cor 
doba,  and  his  spirit  went  to  meet  the  spirit  of  Vasco 
Nunez,  and  the  spirits  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  slaughtered  savages  whose  benighted  souls  he  had 
sent  on  before.21  Not  that  he  quailed  at  the  thought. 
No;  the  faith  of  the  pacificators  in  their  religion  was 

19  In  1527,  as  has  been  intimated,  there  was  an  outcry  for  his  removal,  but 
with  the  aid  of  influential  friends  he  managed  to  retain  his  seat.  Castillo  states 
that  one  expedition  alone,  under  Cordoba,  had  brought  over  100,000  pesos  de 
oro  into  Leon,  none  of  which  reached  the  crown.  After  beheading  Cordoba 
he  had  conjured  up  a  partner  for  him,  named  Tellez,  in£ojvhose  hands  was 
placed  the  confiscated  estate,  so  that  it  might  with  better  pretence  be  ap 
propriated.  Carta,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  xii.  84-6. 
J  'En  fin  de  lulio.'  Herrera,  dec.  iv.  lib.  ix.  cap.  xv. 

'^Oviedo,  iii.  172,  attributes  to  Pedrarias  the  release'of  two  millions  of 
souls  from  dusky  bodies  during  a  period  of  sixteen  years.  'Ni  han  tenido 
mas  largas  jornadas  que  caminar  dos  millones  de  indios  que  desde  el  ano  de 
mill  6  quinientoa  y  catorce  que  Ileg6  Pedrarias  a  la  Tierra-Firme  hasta  quel 
muri6. '  Two  million  murders  ! 


DEATH  OF  PEDRARIAS.  615 

unbounded,  a  faith  comforting  beyond  measure,  for 
the  performance  of  a  simple  rite,  at  the  close  of  an 
infamous  life,  launched  the  murderer  of  countless 
multitudes  at  once  into  the  joys  of  bliss. 

A  disposition  so  ready  to  find  solace  is  to  be  envied, 
the  more  so  since  it  forms  a  redeeming  feature.  No 
man  is,  for  that  matter,  wholly  depraved,  nor  are  any 
faultless.  In  the  worst  there  is  much  that  is  good;  in 
the  best  much  evil.  And  the  difference  between  the 
best  and  the  worst  is,  in  the  eye  of  the  Creator,  much 
less  than  in  the  eye  of  the  creature.  For  a  period  of 
sixteen  years,  during  the  most  important  epoch  in  the 
history  of  Darien,  an  irascible  old  man,  cruel  and  vin 
dictive,  plays  a  prominent  part.  His  name  is  infa 
mous,  and  so  it  deserves  to  be.  Some  of  his  misdeeds 
may  be  attributed  to  inherent  wickedness,  others  to 
infirmities  of  temper;  but  many  to  peculiar  conditions 
incident  to  the  colonization  of  a  new  country,  and  to 
the  teachings  of  the  times.  Spanish  colonists  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  reared  under  the  influences  of  ex 
cessive  loyalty,  and  suddenly  withdrawn  from  the 
presence  of  their  august  sovereign  to  distant  parts, 
were  like  children  for  the  first  time  freed  from  the 
arbitrary  rule  of  injudicious  parents.  While  the  safe 
guards  of  society  were  removed,  and  free  scope  thus 
given  to  passion,  there  yet  remained  the  grossest  su 
perstition,  the  fruit  of  early  teachings.  That  strange 
fanaticism  which  blended  avarice  and  deeds  diabolical 
with  exalted  piety  and  the  glory  of  God,  not  only 
permitted  but  demanded  blood  and  vengeance.  Under 
the  circumstances,  therefore,  the  wonder  is,  not  that 
we  find  so  much  that  is  wicked  in  these  Spanish  ad 
venturers,  but  that  men  so  taught  and  conditioned 
display  so  many  qualities  noble  and  magnanimous. 
Farewell  Pedrarias!  Few  there  are  who  came  to 
these  parts  of  whom  so  much  of  evil,  so  little  of  good, 
may  be  truthfully  said.  And  thou  Death,  almighty 
leveller !  who  by  thy  speedy  compensation  hast  brought 
this  rusty,  crusty  old  man,  these  several  centuries, 


616  RIVAL  GOVERNORS. 

and  for  all  the  centuries  time  shall  tell,  to  be  no  better 
than  Vasco  Nunez,  than  Cordoba,  than  the  meanest 
of  the  multitude  of  savages  he  has  vilely  slain,'  we 
praise  theel22 

22  Additional  authorities  for  the  preceding  two  chapters  are :  Various 
documents  in  Col.  Doc.  Intd.,  v.  209,  211-12,  215;  also  in  Pacheco  and  Car 
denas,  Col.  Doc.,  vii.  556-7;  xii.  84-6;  xiv.  54;  xvi.  324;  Squler's  MSS.,  iv. 
xx.  2-5,  11-43;  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  164;  Andayoya,  Narr.,  32-9;  Chimal- 
pain,  Hist.  Conq.,  ii.  181;  Navarrete,  Col.  deViayes,  iii.  416-17;  Las  Casas, 
Hist.  Apolog.,  MS.,  29;  Pelaez,  Mem.  Guat.,  i.  54-9;  Beaumont,  Gr6n.  Mech., 
MS.,  322-3;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.t  iv.  616;  Belly,  Nica 
ragua,  i.  171-2. 


CHAPTEK  XXII. 

MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 
1522-1524. 

RUMORS  IN  MEXICO  CONCERNING  THE  COUNTRY  TO  THE  SOUTH-EASTWARD — 
PACIFICATION  IN  THAT  QUARTER — THE  CHIEFS  OF  TEHUANTEPEC  AND 
TUTUTEPEC — AT  THE  GATE  OF  GUATEMALA — SUMMARY  OF  ABORIGINAL 
HISTORY — ALLEGIANCE  AND  REVOLT — PREPARING  OF  AN  EXPEDITION — 
DELAYED  BY  THE  TROUBLES  AT  PANUCO— A  SECOND  ARMY  ORGANIZED — 
THE  MARCH — SUBJUGATION  OF  SOCONUSCO— THE  TAKING  OF  ZAPOTITLAN. 

SOME  time  before  Olid  entered  Honduras  the  at 
tention  of  Alvarado  was  directed  toward  Guatemala. 
Lying  between  Mexico  and  Nicaragua,  this  country 
was  one  of  the  first  links  in  Cortes'  chain  of  pro 
jected  conquests;  it  was  the  foreground  in  the 
glowing  picture  which  rumor  had  painted  of  the 
regions  to  the  south.  Here  were  the  greatest  of 
cities  and  the  finest  of  palaces,  maintained  by  a 
people  as  numerous  and  cultured  as  any  in  Andhuac. 
A  vast  table -land,  with  an  Italian  climate,  made 
bright  with  meandering  streams,  studded  with  ver 
dure-fringed  lakes,  produced  in  abundance  the  choicest 
of  products,  while  the  mountains  and  river-beds,  in 
the  ardent  imagination  of  the  conquerors,  at  least, 
were  veined  with  gold.  Soft  sensuous  pearls  were 
distributed  by  an  equally  lavish  fancy  along  the  shore 
bathed  by  the  southern  sea. 

On  first  touching  the  borders  of  New  Spain  vague 
stories  had  reached  Corte's  to  this  effect,  and  while 
captive  Montezuma  still  held  sway  at  Tenochtitlan  he 
had  sought  further  information.  The  reports  poured 
into  his  ears  served  only  to  magnify  the  mystery 

[617] 


618  MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 

and  render  the  allurement  irresistible.  As  soon, 
therefore,  as  the  contest  with  the  empire  was  over 
he  despatched  two  small  parties  southward,  and  once 
again  the  drama  of  Vasco  Nunez  was  performed,  once 
more  was  discovered  and  claimed  the  boundless  ocean, 
emblem  of  infinity,  incentive  to  ever  greater  deeds,  to 
ever  grander  discoveries,  "  for  within  it/'  writes  Cortes 
to  the  emperor,  "  must  be  found  islands  rich  in  gold 
and  pearls,  and  precious  stones  and  spices,  and  many 
other  secrets  and  wonderful  things,  as  men  of  experi 
ence  and  learning  affirm."1 

There  was  more  than  speculation  in  this  statement, 
for  the  explorers  returned  with  native  envoys  bearing 
gold  and  pearls  and  other  specimens  of  riches.  Nor 
had  they  failed,  in  accordance  with  the  Catholic  doc 
trine  of  appropriation,  as  I  have  intimated,  to  take 
possession  of  the  new  shores  in  the  royal  name  and 
to  erect  the  cross,  emblematic  indeed  of  what  the 
natives  would  soon  have  to  bear.  With  doubled  im 
pulse  the  conquerors  now  advanced  along  the  new 
route  opened,  and  speedily  the  vast  provinces  of 
Michoacan  and  Oajaca  were  overrun.  About  the 
same  time  Pilot  Andres  Nino  had  stretched  the  limit 
of  discovery  by  sea  from  the  gulf  of  Nicoya  to  very 
near  this  parallel,2  disclosing  to  the  world  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  sea  baptized  with  the  blood  of  Magellan, 
and  by  him  endowed  with  a  new  name. 

Native  envoys  were  meanwhile  entering  into  Mex 
ico  to  lay  homage  and  rich  gifts  at  the  feet  of  the 
bearded  white  chief.  Made  happy  in  return  with 
Castilian  trumpery  and  the  gracious  condescension 
of  the  demi-gods,  they  went  back  to  pour  into  the 
ears  of  their  princes  the  tales  impressed  upon  them 
by  the  strangers,  of  the  power  and  grandeur  of  their 
king,  and  of  the  kindness  and  vast  benefits  to  be  de 
rived  from  a  submissive  alliance  with  them.  Among 
the  first  of  the  meek  and  friendly  spirits  to  act  upon 

1  Cartas,  259. 

2  See  p.  493,  this  volume. 


TEHUANTEPEC  AND  TUTUTEPEC.  619 

these  reports  was  the  lord  of  Tehuantepec.  Less 
credulous  was  his  neighbor  of  Tututepec,  who  had 
great  wealth,  and  by  no  means  relished  the  idea  of 
throwing  open  his  gates  to  rapacious  invaders.  He 
expostulated  with  his  neighbor,  saying  that  the  course 
meditated  would  be  ruinous  to  them  all.  The  two 
chieftains  had  quarrelled  before  on  a  less  momentous 
issue  than  the  present,  and  it  was  quite  easy  for  them 
to  quarrel  now,  and  fight.  If  the  silly  lord  of  Te 
huantepec  wished  to  throw  away  himself  and  all  his 
belongings,  it  were  better  they  should  fall  into  a 
neighbor's  hands  than  to  strangers;  so  he  of  Tutu 
tepec  attacked  him  and  pressed  him  hard,  until  the 
ruler  of  Tehuantepec  called  to  Cortes  for  help. 

In  answer  to  this  request  Pedro  de  Alvarado  was 
sent  to  his  aid.  Leaving  Mexico  early  in  1522,  with 
a  strong  force,  he  swept  southward  like  a  whirlwind, 
and  within  a  few  weeks  entered  the  doomed  capital 
of  Tututepec,  captured  the  chieftain  and  his  heir,  and 
held  them  subject  to  heavy  ransom.  Nor  was  this  all. 
There  were  rich  mines  thereabout,  so  he  was  told ;  and 
at  the  sea,  into  which  he  entered  with  brandished 
sword  to  take  possession,  his  eyes  feasted  on  lustrous 
pearls.  Thte  sealed  the  fate  of  the  ocean -bordered 
realms,  and  permanent  footholds  were  established,  to 
serve  as  nuclei  for  radiating  conquest,  and  as  retreats 
for  booty -laden  raiders.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that 
Soconusco  was  peaceably  occupied  by  the  Spaniards.3 
Still  more  dazzling  was  the  confirmation  received 
of  the  wonderful  kingdoms  of  the  Quiches  and  the 
Cakchiquels,  hitherto  invested  by  distance  with  the 
charm  of  mystery,  but  now  by  proximity  disclosing 

tliinpses  of  no  mean  splendor.     He  found  himself,  in 
ict,  not  far  from  the  border,  and  guides  being  at  hand, 
he  resolved  to  send  two  soldiers  to  investigate,  with 
instructions  to  spy  out  the  land  and  speak  of  their 
king  and  their  religion. 

3  Cortts,  Cartas,  289-90.  But  this  state  of  things  did  not  last  long.  Ixtlil- 
xochitl  includes  Soconusco  in  a  list  of  provinces  which  were  in  revolt  in  1523. 
Horribles  Crueldades,  65. 


620  MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 

And  thus  are  opened  the  portals  of  Guatemala,*  a 
region  within  whose  parallels  centuries  rocked  the 
cradle  of  American  civilization,  now  disclosed  by 
monuments  the  most  imposing  of  any  on  the  conti 
nent.  The  history  of  their  origin  is  hidden  in  the  re 
mote  past,  of  which  only  an  occasional  glimpse  is 
permitted  the  investigator.  A  mighty  Maya  empire 
looms  forth  under  the  name  of  Xibalba,  founded  per 
haps  by  Votan,  the  culture-hero,  and  centring  round 
the  famous  Palenque.  A  golden  age  was  followed  by 
long  struggles  with  a  growing  power,  which  brought 
about  its  downfall  toward  the  beginning  of  our  era. 
The  Nahuas  now  rise  into  prominence,  but  some  five 
centuries  later  disaster  falls  also  on  them,  and  a  general 
breaking-up  ensues,  leading  to  mighty  migrations  and 
the  formation  of  smaller  independent  nations,  such  as 
the  Toltecs,  Chichimecs,  and  Quiches.  After  this  even 
tradition  ceases  to  speak,  save  in  alluding  vaguely  to  a 
later  foreign  immigration.  With  this  come  also  certain 
Toltecs,  who,  after  the  downfall  of  their  empire  in  the 
more  northerly  Analmae,  seek  here  an  asylum  where 
once  again  may  bloom  the  culture  that,  cradled  in  this 
very  region,  now  returns  with  invigorating  elements. 
Mingling  with  the  natives,  they  stir  anew  the  progress 
paralyzed  by  civil  wars,  infuse  fresh  spirit  into  totter 
ing  institutions,  and,  combining  with  the  aboriginal 
culture,  develop  the  new  era  apparent  in  the  art  relics 
of  this  western  plateau. 

A  series  of  struggles  soon  ensues,  out  of  which  rises 
in  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century  the  Quiche 
empire.  Subordinate  tribes  gradually  acquire  suffi 
cient  strength,  however,  to  cast  off  a  yoke  which  has 

4  According  to  Fuentes  y  Guzman,  derived  from  Coctecmalan — that  is  to 
say,  Pa/o  de  leche,  milk-tree,  commonly  called  Yerba  mala,  found  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Antigua  Guatemala.  See  also  Jtiarros,  Guat.,  ii.  257-8.  In  the 
Mexican  tongue,  if  we  may  believe  Vazquez,  it  was  called  Quauhtimali,  '  rotten 
tree.'  Chronica  de  Gnat.,  68.  Others  derive  it  from  Uhatezmalha,  signify 
ing  '  the  hill  which  discharges  water ;'  and  Juarros  suggests  that  it  may  be 
from  Jaitemal,  the  first  king  of  Guatemala,  by  a  corruption,  as  Almolonya 
from  Atmulunga,  and  Zonzonate  from  Zezonllatl  The  meaning  of  the  word 
would  then  be  'the  kingdom  of  Guatemala.'  Guat.,  i.  4;  ii.  259-60. 


SIGNS  AND  OMENS.  621 

grown  burdensome,  and  foremost  among  the  new 
nations  figure  the  Cakchiquels,  who  in  the  early  part 
of  the  fifteenth  century  are  dividing  domination  with 
the  Quiches.  The  Cakchiquels  themselves  divide  soon 
after,  the  northern  and  weaker  branch  forming  the 
Zutugils,  their  respective  capitals  being  Patinamit  and 
Atitlan.  These,  with  their  former  masters,  are  the 
three  rival  monarchies  of  Guatemala  in  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  Quiches,  who  govern 
at  Utatlan,  nevertheless  maintain  a  certain  preemi 
nence,  both  in  political  standing  and  culture.  There 
are,  besides,  a  number  of  minor  independent  peoples 
only  too  eager  to  stimulate  enmity  between  the  leading 
powers,  and  to  ally  themselves  with  that  which  is 
likely  to  favor  their  own  interests.  This  condition  of 
things,  so  favorable  to  foreign  intrigue,  has  not  escaped 
the  attention  of  the  ambitious  Aztecs,  who  are  already 
masters  of  the  Soconusco  border  province.  Their 
agents  are  in  fact  scattered  throughout  the  country, 
laying  plans  for  further  conquests,  when  the  Spaniards 
step  in  to  lay  their  iron  hand  upon  the  country,  which 
here  as  in  other  parts  they  find  too  well  prepared  for 
them  by  ambition  and  misrule. 

Nor  do  we  fail  to  find  foreshadowed  here,  as  else 
where  upon  the  pages  of  history,  the  momentous 
event.  There  were  startling  occurrences,  such  as  con 
flagrations  and  locust  ravages;  there  was  a  ball  of  fire, 
which  for  many  evenings  rose  in  the  east  and  followed 
the  path  of  the  sun ;  and  there  were  other  like  omens. 
When  the  troubled  priests  went  to  seek  an  explanation 
from  the  oracular  black  stone  at  Cahbaha,  their  awe 
was  increased  by  finding  it  broken  in  twain.  In 
1520  cholera  swept  the  Cakchiquel  country,  followed 
in  1521  by  the  small-pox,  which,  after  desolating 
Mexico,  fell  upon  these  southern  provinces  and  carried 
off  half  the  population,  including  the  two  kings  and 
the  flower  of  the  nobility,  leaving  gaunt  famine  in  its 
trail  by  way  of  remembrance.  Amid  such  presages 
it  was  that  the  news  came  of  the  achievements  of  the 


622  MARCH  OF  ALVABADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 

white  men  in  Montezuma's  realms,  of  their  wonderful 
war  enginery  and  invincible  prowess.  Less  awed  by 
these  reports,  the  Quiches,  who  had  probably  suffered 
less  from  epidemics,  prepared  to  resist  the  prospective 
invasion  with  the  same  determination  that  they  had 
formerly  shown  against  the  Aztecs;  but  the  Cakchi- 
quels  were  more  broken  in  power  and  spirit,  and  more 
inclined  to  welcome  the  new-comers,  particularly  since 
the  Quiches  were  again  becoming  dangerous.5 

Thus  stood  affairs  when  the  two  messengers  of 
Alvarado  appeared  at  Patinamit.  On  their  arrival  at 
the  capital  they  were  peaceably  received.  When  ad 
mitted  into  the  presence  of  King  Belehe  Qat6  they 
were  asked  if  they  had  been  sent  by  Malinche,7  and 
whether  they  had  come  on  great  sea  monsters  similar 
to  those  that  had  been  seen  off  the  coast  the  year 
before,8  and  whether  they  were  accustomed  to  tell  the 
truth;  whereupon  they  made  answer  that  they  had 
come  from  the  emperor  of  the  world,  and  from  his 
invincible  captain,  who,  though  no  god,9  had  found  his 
way  hither  to  show  them  the  path  to  paradise.  Their 
journey  had  been  by  land,  they  said,  and  they  would 
by  no  means  lie,  their  truthfulness  being  as  unvarying 
as  the  polar  star.  Then  one  of  them10  drew  an  enor 
mous  carac  with  six  masts,  and,  Peter  Martyr  adds, 
as  many  decks,  which  was  indeed  a  fair  specimen  of 
Spanish  veracity.  The  Indian  nobles  gazed  in  wonder 

5  See  Native  Races,  v.,  passim. 

6  There  were  two  royal  families  among  the  Cakchiquels.     The  succession 
alternated  between  them.     The  king's  title  was  Ahpozotzil,  while  that  of  the 
heir  of  the  other  branch  was  Ahpoxahil.     The  eldest  sons  of  these  had  re 
spectively  the  titles  of  Ahpop  Qamahay  and  Galel  Xahil.  Native  Races,  ii.  640. 

7  This  Mexican  name  of  Corte"s  was  already  known  to  the  natives  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  the  far  north  to  the  far  south ;  in  fact,  to  them  it  was  almost 
his  only  name. 

8  Gomara  surmises  that  the  ships  of  Andres  Nino  were  referred  to,  Hist. 
Ind.,  266,  while  Peter  Martyr  believes  them  to  have  been  those  of  Gil  Gon 
zalez,  seen  off  the  coast  of  Yucatan. 

9  '  El  qual  pregunto,  si  eran  de  Malinxe, . .  Dios  caydo  del  cielo. '  Gomara, 
Hist.Ind.,  266. 

10  A  carver  in  wood,  and  no  ordinary  pilot,  Peter  Martyr  says,  dec.  viii. 
cap.  v.,  while  Gomara's  words  are,  '  Treuino,  y  era  carpintero  de  naos.'  HisL 
Ind.,  266. 


"KING  BELEHE  QAT.  623 

at  the  enormous  vessel,  with  its  sails,  and  spars,  and 
countless  ropes,  and  thought  it  must  indeed  be  a  true 
representation,  since  there  were  so  many  adjuncts. 

At  length  the  king  spoke.  "  How  is  it  that  the 
Spaniards  are  so  invincible,  being  no  larger  than  other 
men  ?"  ' '  In  the  God  of  heaven  our  strength  lies  1" 
came  the  answer;  "  He  whose  holy  law  we  proclaim, 
he  gives  us  victories,  lending  us  courage  sharp  like 
iron,  and  intelligence  powerful  like  caged  thunder,  and 
beasts  withal,  which  are  in  themselves  a  host."  And 
the  diplomatic  Apelles  drew  a  colossal  horse,  of  fierce 
aspect,  mounted  by  a  man.  The  spectators  were  awe- 
stricken.  Right  willingly  now  would  the  king  enter 
into  an  alliance  with  these  wonderful  beings.  He 
would  supply  them  with  fifty  thousand  warriors  if 
they  would  overthrow  the  neighboring  foes  who  were 
devastating  his  land.  Alas  I  for  ready  friendship,  the 
humble  oiler  of  vassalage,  and  open  hand;  peaceful 
policy  or  bold  defiance  alike  led  to  the  oppressor's 
yoke.  The  embassadors  were  dismissed,  promising  to 
report  the  ruler's  wishes  to  their  commander,  and 
gayly  they  went  their  way,  accompanied  by  five  thou 
sand  slaves,  laden  with  the  products  and  manufactures 
of  the  land,  with  cacao,  maize,  and  poultry,  besides 
raiment,  and  vases,  and  jewelry  to  the  value  of  twenty 
thousand  pesos  de  oro.11 

On  receiving  this  earnest  of  advantage  Alvarado 
hastened  back  to  impart  the  news  to  his  chief  and  to 
assist  him  in  plans  for  conquest.  It  was  determined 
to  advance  at  once  by  sea  and  land.  A  force  of  forty 
Spaniards,  mostly  carpenters  and  seamen,  was  de 
spatched  to  Zacatula,  on  the  Pacific  coast,  to  engage 
in  ship-building,  as  an  aid  to  proposed  conquest  and 
colonization.  We  find,  moreover,  that  during  this 

11  One  of  the  messengers  sought  to  appropriate  to  himself  a  quantity  of 
the  gold,  while  his  comrade,  disapproving,  first  admonished  him,  then  held 
his  peace,  dissembling,  and  accused  him  to  Cortes  of  theft.  The  culprit  was 
convicted,  publicly  flogged,  and  banished  from  New  Spain.  Peter  Martyr^ 
dec.  viii.  cap.  v.  '  Esta  fue  la  primera  entrada,  y  noticia  de  Quauhtemallan. 
Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.y.  267. 


624  MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 

same  year,  1522,  two  Spanish  envoys,  with  certain 
natives  of  Mexico  and  of  the  province  of  Soconusco, 
were  s.ent  to  Utatlan  and  Guatemala,12  and  on  their 
return  they  met  Cortes  at  Tuxpan,13  on  his  way  back 
from  Pdimco,  where  he  had  been  engaged  in  pacifi 
cation.  About  one  hundred14  embassadors  accom 
panied  these  messengers,  sent  by  the  rulers  of  those 
cities  to  tender  friendship  and  service  to  the  king  of 
Spain.  Nothing  could  be  more  courteous  and  dig 
nified  than  the  bearing  of  Corte's  while  accepting  this 
allegiance,  as  he  terms  it,  and  the  costly  offerings  of 
gold  ware,  rare  plumes,  and  feathered  tapestry  brought 
by  the  Indian  envoys;  and  again  were  produced  and 
presented  with  imposing  mien  the  gewgaws  of  Spain. 
Especial  favor  and  kind  treatment,  the  embassadors 
were  assured,  should  be  extended  to  these  princes  and 
their  subjects,  inasmuch  as  this  tender  of  friendship 
was  voluntary  and  in  good  faith.  An  appropriate  dis 
play  of  warlike  power  was  made  before  the  visitors, 
who  were  then  dismissed.15 

About  the  beginning  of  1523,  however,  rumors 
reached  Cortes  that  these  allies  were  scarcely  to  be 
relied  on,  and  that  the  settlers  in  Soconusco  were 

12  Cortts,  Cartas,   289;    Gomara,  Hist,   fnd.,  267;    Vazquez,  Chronica  de 
Gvat.,  4;  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  2-3.     Gomara  erroneously  gives  1523  as 
the  year  of  this  embassy,  as  well  as  Alvarado's  expedition  to  Tututepec. 

13  Or  Tuzapan,  on  the  coast  of  Vera  Cruz,  some  leagues  south  of  Tampico. 

14  Gomara  says  200  men,  to  ratify  the  treaty  of  peace  with  a  reasonable 
present.    Hist,   Ind.,  266-67.      Remesal  states  that  the  embassadors  from 
Guatemala  found  Cortes  at  the  port  of  Villa  Rica  [Vera  Cruz]  in  high  good 
humor,  having  received  the  news  of  his  appointment  as  governor  and  captain- 
general  of  New  Spain.  Hist.  Chyapa,  3. 

15  Vazquez  makes  no  mention  of  embassadors  from  the  lord  of  Utatlan;  on 
the  contrary,  he  states  that  the  king  of  the  Cakchiquel  nation  had  invested 
with  independent  sovereignty  over  a  portion  of   his  kingdom  his  brother 
Ahpoxahil,  who  held  his  court  at  Tecpanatitan  [Tzolola] ;  and  that  these  two 
rulers,  without  informing  the  neighboring  lords  of  their  intention,  conjointly 
sent  embassadors  to  Cortes  with  offers  of  peace  and  submission.  Chronica  de 
Gvat. ,  68.     Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  takes  this  view,  and  states  that  when  the 
secret  alliance  became  known  the  indignation  was  general.     A  confederation 
for  the  destruction  of  the  Cakchiquels  was  formed,  and  a  struggle  of  fearful 
bloodiness  had  been  carried  on  for  some  months  when  the  confederates  re 
ceived  the  news  that  the  Tonatiuh  was  advancing  through  Soconusco  against 
them.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ. ,  iv.  630.     But  Cortes  distinctly 
states  that  he  both  sent  messengers  to  Utatlan  and  received  envoys  from 
that  city.    Cartas,  289.     See  also  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  viii.;  Bernal 
Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  174. 


PERSONNEL  OF  THE  EXPEDITION.  625 

molested  by  inroads  from  the  southern  provinces.16 
Although  the  truth  of  the  reports  was  doubtful, 
Cortes  deemed  it  not  adverse  to  his  interests  to  re 
gard  them  as  true,  for  there  were  advantages  in  the 
conquest  of  rich  provinces  which  peaceful  possession 
could  not  give.17 

The  subjugation  of  the  districts  being  thus  resolved 
on,  naturally  the  leadership  fell  to  Alvarado,  who  had 
already  taken  some  steps  in  that  direction,  as  we  have 
seen.  He  had  probably  stronger  claims  upon  Corte's 
than  any  captain  in  the  Mexican  conquest,  having 
shared  with  him,  as  second  in  command,  many  des 
perate  battles  and  many  brilliant  triumphs.  Perhaps 
more  so  than  with  any  of  the  others,  his  character  was 
apparent  on  the  surface:  reckless,  impetuous,  merci 
less,  lacking  in  veracity  if  not  in  common  honesty,  he 
was  still  zealous  and  courageous;  and  with  his  native 
dexterity,  and  past  experiences  under  Grijalva  and 
Cortes,  he  may  now  be  called  an  able  commander.  If 
less  staid  and  regular  than  Olid,  his  loyalty  was  re 
garded  as  above  suspicion.  At  all  events,  the  general 
could  not  himself  undertake  the  work,  and  the  best 
proxy  was  this  captain.18 

Preparations  were  begun  early  in  1523.  A  force 
was  quickly  organized,  but  operations  were  diverted 
by  the  inopportune  arrival  at  Panuco  of  the  adelan- 
tado  Francisco  de  Garay,  who  endeavored  to  supplant 
Cortes  in  that  quarter.  Alvarado  was  therefore  de 
spatched  against  the  interloper,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  6th  of  December  that  the  expedition  set  out  for 
Guatemala.  It  was  a  gallant  array,  as  finally  formed, 
the  very  flower  of  New  Spain  chivalry,  one  hundred 

16  Gomara  states  that  at  the  time  of  their  overtures  to  Cort6s  the  Guate 
malans  were  at  war  with  Soconusco,  and  now,  encouraged  by  their  alliance, 
pressed  hostilities  with  increased  vigor.  Hist.  Ind.,  267.     Ixtlilxochitl  claims 
that  in  1523  the  Mexican  princes  Ixtlilxochitl  and  Quauhtemoctzin  learned 
that  the  provinces  of  the  south  coast,  among  which  he  includes  Socouusco, 
had  risen   against   those  who   were   friendly  to  the   Christians,   and   they 
straightway  informed  Corte's.  Horribles  Crueldades,  65-6. 

17  'Y  porque  ya  yo  tenia  muchacosta  hecha. .  .y  porque  dello  tengo  creido 
que  Dios  nuestro  Senor  y  V.  S  M  han  de  ser  muy  servidos.'  Cartas,  304. 

18  For  more  concerning  his  character  see  Hist.  Mex.t  i.  73-5,  this  series. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    40 


626  MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 

and  twenty  horsemen,  three  hundred  infantry,  of 
whom  one  hundred  and  thirty  were  cross-bowmen 
and  arquebusiers,  and  over  twenty  thousand  picked 
native  warriors.19  Spiritual  guides  were  present  in  the 
persons  of  two  friars  and  two  army  chaplains.20  And  it 

19  Cort6s,  Cartas,  304.  With  regard  to  both  date  and  number  authorities 
differ.  Bernal  Diaz  assigns  December  13th  as  the  day  of  departure;  Ixtlil- 
xochitl,  December  8th.  Horribles  Crueldades,  71 ;  Fuentes,  November  19th,  and 
Vazquez,  November  13th.  Vazquez  states  that  this  last  is  the  date  given  in  the 
original  manuscript  of  Bernal  Diaz,  though  the  printed  copy  gives  December 
13th.  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  523.  The  number  of  forces  at  the  second  mustering 
is  stated  by  Cortes  to  have  been  120  horsemen,  with  40  spare  animals,  and  300 
foot-soldiers,  of  whom  130  were  cross-bowmen  and  arquebusiers.  There  were 
also  several  persons  of  high  rank  from  Mexico  and  the  neighboring  cities  with 
the  native  troops ;  but  the  latter  were  not  numerous,  on  account  of  the  dis 
tance  of  the  proposed  scene  of  action.  A  park  of  four  pieces  of  artillery  com 
pleted  the  equipment.  Oviedo  follows  Corte"s.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad. , 
174,  gives  the  number  of  arquebusiers  and  cross-bowmen  as  120,  and  that  of 
the  horsemen  135,  with  above  200  Tlascaltecs  and  Cholultecs,  besides  100 
picked  Mexicans.  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  viii.,  assigns  300  Spaniards, 
100  of  whom  were  arquebusiers,  with  160  horses.  Vazquez,  Chronica  de  Gvat. , 
4,  says  the  force  consisted  of  300  Spaniards  with  Tlascaltec,  Mexican,  and 
Cholultec  allies.  Without  making  any  mention  of  the  guns,  which  the 
above  authorities  do  not  omit,  Fuentes  says  the  force  was  composed  of  750 
hombres  de  calidad,  as  follows:  300 foot-soldiers,  arquebusiers,  and  cross-bow 
men,  135  horsemen,  and  four  guns  under  the  artilleryman  Usagre,  written  in 
Bernal  Diaz  as  Viagre ;  but  750  must  be  an  error,  since  the  artillerymen  would 
thus  number  315 ;  450  is  probably  the  intended  number.  To  these  were  added 
200  Tlascaltec  and  Cholultec  bowmen,  and  100  picked  Mexicans.  This  author, 
moreover,  gives  a  list  of  the  names  of  nearly  200  conquistadores.  Recordacion 
Florida,  MS.,  25-7.  Gomara  has  420  Spaniards,  with  170  horses,  four  pieces 
of  artillery,  a  great  quantity  of  stores,  and  a  large  number  of  Mexican  troops. 
'  Mucha  gente  Mexicana. '  Hist.  Ind. ,  267.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  gives  the 
forces  as  300  foot-soldiers,  120  of  whom  were  arquebusiers  or  cross-bowmen, 
135  horsemen,  with  four  pieces  of  artillery,  200  warriors  of  Tlascala  and 
Cholula,  10,000  each  of  Mexico  and  Acolhuacan,  besides  a  large  number 
of  porters  and  carriers.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  632.  This  last  author  is  sup 
ported  by  Ixtlilxochitl,  who  states  that  Ixtlilxochitl  and  Quauhtemoctzin 
supplied  Cortes  each  with  10,000  warriors,  under  the  command  of  able  cap 
tains.  Horribles  Crueldades,  65-6.  And  with  regard  to  the  native  contingent 
troops,  we  have  additional  evidence  that  they  were  far  more  numerous  than 
Cortes  chose  to  represent  them  to  the  Spanish  monarch.  The  Xochimilco 
Indians,  whose  city  lay  five  leagues  from  Mexico,  sent  in  a  petition  for  re 
dress  of  grievances,  dated  2d  May,  1563,  in  which  they  claim  to  have  fur 
nished  Alvarado,  their  encomendero,  with  2500  warriors  for  the  conquest  of 
Honduras  and  Guatemala.  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  viii.  293-4.  By 
royal  edict  the  employment  of  natives  beyond  their  own  borders  had  been 
forbidden ;  hence,  to  diminish  the  magnitude  of  the  disobedience,  the  number 
was  diminished. 

20  The  former  were  Franciscans,  named  Juan  de  Torres  and  Francisco 
Martinez  de  Pontaza,  according  to  Vazquez,  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  524.  This 
writer  enters  into  a  long  argument  to  prove  that  Bartolome  de  Olmedo,  of  the 
order  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Merced,  could  not  have  accompanied  the  expe 
dition,  as  stated  by  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  174.  Vazquez,  with  the  aid 
of  two  other  friars,  compared  the  original  manuscript  of  Bernal  Diaz  with 
the  printed  work  published  in  1632,  and  found  the  last  mention  of  Olmedo 


AT  TEHUANTEPEC.  627 

was  a  proud  moment  for  Alvarado  as  he  marched  out 
of  ^  the  Mexican  capital  the  chief  commander  of  that 
brilliant  company,  the  panoplies  of  the  cavalry  glit 
tering  high  above  the  flashing  helmets  of  the  in 
fantry,  while  the  long  sombre  line  of  swarthy  allies 
was  broken  here  and  there  by  the  colored  insignia 
and  gaudy  plumes  of  some  great  chieftain.  For  a 
little  way  Cortes  himself  rode  beside  his  subordinate 
and  friend,  reiterating  his  instructions,  charging  him 
specially  to  render  punctually  his  report,  and  such  a 
one  as  would  be  acceptable  to  his  majesty.  Nor  was 
the  parting  devoid  of  pleasure,  for  one  would  be  rid 
of  sometimes  unpleasant  interference  in  affairs  at  the 
capital,  while  the  other  would  be  independent  of  any 


superior.21 


It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  dry  season;  and 
the  time  of  year,  the  weather,  and  the  condition  of 
the  roads  all  were  favorable,  so  that  the  southward 
march  promised  to  be  an  easy  one.  After  turning 
aside  to  quell  an  insurrection  in  the  mountains  of 
Tehuantepec22  Alvarado  continued  his  course,  and  on 
the  12th  of  January,  1524,  wrote  to  Cortes  from  Te 
huantepec  city,  where  he  had  been  received  in  all 
friendship  and  with  reiterated  expressions  of  alle 
giance.  He  then  entered  the  province  of  Soconusco, 
upon  whose  people  the  Spanish  yoke  seemed  to  rest  a 
little  heavy. 

The  shadows  which  flit  behind  substantial  record 
in  Soconusco's  history  represent  the  people  as  inde- 

in  the  manuscript  to  be  in  chapter  clvii.  He  had  a  suspicion  that  the  pas 
sages  in  later  chapters  where  Olmedo's  connection  with  the  expedition  is 
mentioned  may  be  interpolations  by  the  Friar  Alonso  Remon,  who  was  of 
the  same  order  as  Olmedo,  and  who  first  published  the  Hixtoria  Verdadera. 
The  two  clergymen  were  Juan  Godinez,  Remcsal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  4,  and  Juan 
Diaz,  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado,  128. 

21  Rcmesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  3.     This  authority  also  states  that  Cortes  con 
ferred  'on  Alvarado  the  title  of   lieutenant-governor  and   captain-general. 
Cortds,  in  his  letter  to  the  king,  expresses  great  confidence  in  the  expedition, 
and  regrets  that  inopportune  circumstances  in  connection  with  the  fleets  had 
retarded  the  discovery  of  many  secrets,  and  the  collection  of  gold  and  pearls 
for  the  royal  treasurj^.   Cartas,  305. 

22  In  some  rocky  fastnesses,  penoles,  called  the  Peuoles  de  Guelamo,  being 
in  the  encomienda  of  a  soldier  of  that  name.  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdatl.,  174; 
Fucntes,  Conq.  Guat.,  MS.,  1. 


C>$  MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  W  GUATEMALA. 

pendent  for  ages  and  in  the  usual  state  of  chronic 
warfare  with  "their  neighbors,*  bv  reason  whereof 
they  beo&mo  so  weakened  as  to  fall  under  the  sway 
of  the  Ohnees,  who  oppressed  them  almost  beyond 
endurance.  Numbers  indeed  abandoned  their  homes, 
lea\  in£  many  tracts  nearly  depopulated*  Under  Aztec 
domination,  however,  they  regained  somewhat  their 
strength,  and  when  the  Kuropoans  ea.me  the  district 
was  quite  populous  and  advanced  in  civilization.  And 
now,  when  the  purposes  of  the  Spaniards  were  made 
known  to  them,  they  turned  aim  joined  the  nations 
of  Guatemala  confederated  for  resistance. 

At  no  great  distance  from  the  Tehuanterxv  border 
Alvarado  first  encountered  serious  opposition,  and 
before  the  Guatemalan  border  was  reached  many 
patriots  had  been  punished  and  many  freemen  made 
slaves.  The  subjugation  of  the  Soconuscans  was  de 
cided  by  a  pitched  battle  at  Tonal;!,  a  town  of  fifty 
thousand  inhabitants,*1  where  a  large  army  under  a 
Quiche  prince  was  defeated.45  At  the  bonier  of  Guate 
mala  proper  the  army  entered,  early  in  February,  the 
dense  forests  of  Zapot  it  Ian/*  now  Costa  Cuea  and  Costa 
Grande,  For  three  days  they  marched  in  the  shadow 
of  lofty  evergreens,  through  uninhabited  wilds,  skirt- 

88  Ijarrainzar  finds  no  difficulty  in  looking  beyond  the  myths  to  a  time 
when  this  people  was  included  in  tho  Chiftp&rtec  nation.  7/f,^  .Sowwtcsro,  7. 

-•'IVmal  Pia.7  assumes  that  the  province  contained  only  15,000  families, 
estimated  by  Pneutes  to  represent  a  population  of  frXOOO  inhabitants, 
.,  1  74s 


dr  (?nrf.,  4;  Hcrrera^  dec^  iii.  lib.  v,  cap,  viii,  IVmal  PiaA,  followed  by 
Fnent.es,  states  that  in  Soconwseo  Alwraao  •«•»«  peaceably  received,  A.nd  that^ 
the  natives  ^resented  offering*  of  gold.  Ufa  Prr^/r/f,,  174>  This  idea,  may* 
have  arisen  Iron*  the  fact  that  some  tovms  did  snlvmit  without  active  oppo 
sition,  as  recorded  or  implied  bv  tvomara  a,nd  Herretu.  Re.mesa.l  says  that 
Alva,rado  passed  on  like  a  thnncWbolt,  conmiering  by  force  of  arms  and  ex 
citing  great  terror  by  roastw  of  the  carnage  at  Nvonusco.  That  the  destruction 
was  great  is  evident  from  the  niins  to  l^>e  seen  at  the  entrance  into  Ouatemal*. 
in  the  locality  called  the  Sacriticadero,  If  fa  Chyawt^  H.  BrAssenr  de  lV>nr- 
boxirg  alarms  that  Alvarado,  as  he  passed  throwgli  this  districts  founded  A 
Spanish  colony  at  Huehuetan,  which  was  long  the  capital  of  the  territory  after 
i>u  lU'sinu  tii-.n  r«f  tho  city  of  Soeonnsco,  Hfa  Xa&  <  ».  ,  i\\  6SS-4^  Thiseould 
havolx>cii  only  ,1  eonoo.ntration  of  the  already  resident  Spaniards,  for  Alvavado 
would  scarcely  have  left  behind  him,  at  this  juncture,  many  of  his  own  men. 
26Fuentes  and  Guzman,  MS.,  2,  cive  the  later  name  of  Zapotitlaa  W 
Suchitepeque-,  which  signifies  Hill  of  Flowers, 


AFffcOACH  TO  ZAK/HTLAM, 

ingpertiferooi  *w*mp*  or  plunging  into  •oake-infrif  fd 

canebrakes;  now  hacking  their  way  through  thicket*, 
now  fording  high-banked  stream*  or  scaling  rugged 
hiH*Hide4,  while  painted  macaw*  *eteamed  at  tner/j, 
and  poisonous  insect**  left  their  Siting-  Amidst  the 
customary  prayings  and  euningp  they  fbnigded  for 
ward  ,  and  finally  emerged  from  the  fore^  ana  entered 
cnltivated 


Messengers  had  been  s^nt  forward  summoning  the 
provinces  in  due  form  to  allegiance.  And  now  were 
captured  three  natives,  believed  to  be  spies  from  Hie 
city  of  Zapptitlan,*  who  were  despatched  with  a 
second  requirement,  to  which  there  was  no  repoma 
The  Spaniards  then  advanced  along  a  broad  open 


rr. 


(530  MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 

highway,  and  soon  after  entered  a  narrower  road, 
which  they  found  barricaded ;  whereupon  they  pitched 
camp  in  an  open  plain  near  by.  On  a  height  beyond 
a  deep  ravine,  through  which  flowed  a  river,28  stood 
the  city,  bathed  in  the  bright  rays  of  the  setting  sun, 
like  a  beautiful  maiden  arrayed  for  the  sacrifice.  Be 
tween  the  plain  and  the  city  the  ground  was  thickly 
covered  with  plantations  of  cacao,  which  would  ma 
terially  impede  the  action  of  cavalry. 

The  Spaniards  had  not  long  to  wait  attack.  In 
the  dusk  of  evening  a  small  band  sprang  from  cover 
and  slew  a  number  of  the  allies.  The  cavalry  were 
thereupon  ordered  to  sweep  the  plain.  They  came 
upon  a  large  force,  and  a  skirmish  ensued  in  which 
some  of  the  horses  were  injured.  Alvarado's  blood 
was  now  up,  and  he  ordered  an  immediate  march  on 
the  city.  No  serious  opposition  was  encountered  until 
the  army  came  to  the  ravine,  spanned  by  a  narrow, 
rudely  built  wooden  bridge,  the  crossing  of  which  was 
fiercely  contested  by  a  large  body  of  warriors.  The 
artillery  was  accordingly  brought  into  action  and  did 
efficient  service.  The  doomed  natives  fought  well, 
rallying  again  and  again  under  the  frightful  havoc  of 
the  guns,  until  a  great  breastwork  was  formed  of  their 
slain.  At  length  the  cavalry,  under  cover  of  a  heavy 
fire,  succeeded  in  forcing  a  way  across  the  stream  and 
began  to  climb  the  height  to  a  bench  overlooking  the 
ravine.  The  infantry  followed.  The  passage  was 
made  in  the  midst  of  the  fiercest  attacks;  but  Alva- 
rado  protected  his  rear  with  consummate  skill,  and 
soon  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  drawing  up  his  troops  • 
on  the  open  ground  above,  safe  from  molestation.  In 
the  streets  of  the  city,  which  the  army  now  entered, 
the  natives  made  another  desperate  effort  to  save 
themselves;  but  without  avail.  Those  terrible  guns! 
those  terrible  horses  I  that  life-compelling  steel,  falling 

25  The  Zamala,  bearing  at  its  source  the  name  Seguila,  and  lower  that  of 
Olin tepee.  Near  the  village  of  this  latter  name  it  is  joined  by  the  Tziha, 
from  which  junction  down  to  the  sea  it  is  called  the  Zamala.  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  635. 


RESULT  OF  BATTLE.  631 

with  a  force  and  precision  worthy  the  death-dealing 
enginery  of  the  gods  I  For  half  a  league  beyond  the 
town  the  allies  were  permitted  to  pursue  and  slay, 
after  which  the  victors  took  up  their  quarters  in  the 
abandoned  market-place,  where  for  two  days  they 
rested  and  reconnoitred.29 

2a  The  loss  to  the  natives  was  of  course  severe.  Of  the  Spaniards  two  only 
were  killed,  but  many  were  wounded.  The  allies  were  greater  sufferers,  and 
a  number  of  the  horses  were  badly  injured.  See  further  Alvarado,  Relation,  in 
Barcia,  Hist.  Prim.,  i.  157-8;  Oviedo,  iii.  475-6;  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad., 
174;  Salazar,  Conq.  Alex. ,  125-6;  Ixtlilxochitl,  Horribles  Crueldades,  66;  Fuentes 
y  Guzman,  Recordacion  Florida,  MS.  2;  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  250. 


C30       MARCH  OF  ALVARADO  TO  GUATEMALA. 

highway,  and  soon  after  entered  a  narrower  road, 
which  they  found  barricaded;  whereupon  they  pitched 
camp  in  an  open  plain  near  by.  On  a  height  beyond 
a  deep  ravine,  through  which  flowed  a  river,28  stood 
the  city,  bathed  in  the  bright  rays  of  the  setting  sun, 
like  a  beautiful  maiden  arrayed  for  the  sacrifice.  Be 
tween  the  plain  and  the  city  the  ground  was  thickly 
covered  with  plantations  of  cacao,  which  would  ma 
terially  impede  the  action  of  cavalry. 

The  Spaniards  had  not  long  to  wait  attack.  In 
the  dusk  of  evening  a  small  band  sprang  from  cover 
and  slew  a  number  of  the  allies.  The  cavalry  were 
thereupon  ordered  to  sweep  the  plain.  They  came 
upon  a  large  force,  and  a  skirmish  ensued  in  which 
some  of  the  horses  were  injured.  Alvarado's  blood 
was  now  up,  and  he  ordered  an  immediate  march  on 
the  city.  No  serious  opposition  was  encountered  until 
the  army  came  to  the  ravine,  spanned  by  a  narrow, 
rudely  built  wooden  bridge,  the  crossing  of  which  was 
fiercely  contested  by  a  large  body  of  warriors.  The 
artillery  was  accordingly  brought  into  action  and  did 
efficient  service.  The  doomed  natives  fought  well, 
rallying  again  and  again  under  the  frightful  havoc  of 
the  guns,  until  a  great  breastwork  was  formed  of  their 
slain.  At  length  the  cavalry,  under  cover  of  a  heavy 
fire,  succeeded  in  forcing  a  way  across  the  stream  and 
began  to  climb  the  height  to  a  bench  overlooking  the 
ravine.  The  infantry  followed.  The  passage  was 
made  in  the  midst  of  the  fiercest  attacks;  but  Alva- 
rado  protected  his  rear  with  consummate  skill,  and 
soon  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  drawing  up  his  troops  • 
on  the  open  ground  above,  safe  from  molestation.  In 
the  streets  of  the  city,  which  the  army  now  entered, 
the  natives  made  another  desperate  effort  to  save 
themselves ;  but  without  avail.  Those  terrible  guns ! 
those  terrible  horses  1  that  life-compelling  steel,  falling 

28  The  Zamala,  bearing  at  its  source  the  name  Seguila,  and  lower  that  of 
Olintepec.  Near  the  village  of  this  latter  name  it  is  joined  by  the  Tziha, 
from  which  junction  down  to  the  sea  it  is  called  the  Zamala.  Brasseur  de 
ttourbourg.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  635. 


RESULT  OF  BATTLE.  631 

with  a  force  and  precision  worthy  the  death-dealing 
enginery  of  the  gods  I  For  half  a  league  beyond  the 
town  the  allies  were  permitted  to  pursue  and  slay, 
after  which  the  victors  took  up  their  quarters  in  the 
abandoned  market-place,  where  for  two  days  they 
rested  and  reconnoitred.29 

29  The  loss  to  the  natives  was  of  course  severe.  Of  the  Spaniards  two  only 
were  killed,  but  many  were  wounded.  The  allies  were  greater  sufferers,  and 
a  number  of  the  horses  were  badly  injured.  See  further  Alvarado,  Relation,  in 
Barcia,  Hist.  Prim.,  i.  157-8;  Oviedo,  iii.  475-6;  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad., 
174;  Salazar,Conq.Mex.,  125-6;  Ixtlilxochitl,  Horribles  Crueldades,  66;  Fuentes 
y  Guzman,  Recordacion  Florida,  MS.  2;  Juarros,  Guat.t  ii.  250. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CONQUEST  OF  GUATEMALA  BEGUN. 
FEBRUARY-  MARCH,  1524. 

OVERTURES  OF  KICAB  TANUB  TO  THE  LORDS  OF  THE  ZUTUGILS  AND  CAKCHI- 
QUELS — DEATH  OF  THE  QUICHE  KING — TECUM  UMAM  HIS  SUCCESSOR — 
GATHERS  A  GREAT  ARMY — INTRENCHES  HIMSELF  AT  ZACAHA — PASSAGE 
OF  PALAHUNOH  BY  THE  SPANIARDS — A  SKIRMISH — A  BLOODY  EN 
GAGEMENT —  QUEZALTENANGO  ESTABLISHED  —  THE  ARMY  ADVANCES  ON 

XELAHUH — THE  CITY  DESERTED — BATTLE  OF  XELAHUH — TECUM  UMAM 
SLAIN — FORCIBLE  PROSELYTING. 

As  we  may  well  imagine,  the  presence  of  the  con 
quering  army  created  a  profound  sensation  through 
out  the  whole  Quiche  dominion.  They  were  a  warlike 
people,  rulers  and  subjects,  and  proud  withal.  It  is 
stated  that  while  Alvarado  was  yet  in  Soconusco, 
Kicab  Tanub,  king  of  Utatlan,  had  endeavored  to 
bring  the  lord  of  the  Zutugils  and  the  lord  of  the 
Cakchiquels  into  a  combination  which  he  was  forming 
for  purposes  of  defence  against  the  approaching  army. 
But  they  haughtily  declined  the  overtures;  one  be 
cause  the  Quiche  king  had  secretly  aided  a  rebel 
lious  vassal  of  his,  and  the  other  because  he  felt 
sufficiently  powerful  to  defend  his  gates  against  all 
comers.  The  ruler  of  the  Cakchiquels,1  indeed,  de 
clared  openly  for  the  Spaniards,  while  the  king  of  the 
Zutugils  was  so  insulting  in  his  rejection  of  the  pro 
posed  confederation  that  King  Kicab  Tanub  was 
deeply  humiliated.  His  chagrin,  added  to  the  anxie- 

1  With  whom  the  king  of  the  Quiche's  was  actually  at  war,  and  who 
with  sneers  and  insults  affirmed  that  without  aid  he  could  defend  his  kingdom 
against  a  greater  army  than  that  which  the  strangers  were  bringing  against 
the  Quiche's.  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  247. 

(632) 


DEATH  OF  KICAB  TAXUB.  633 

ties  attending  preparations  for  defence,  brought  on 
a  fever,  from  which  he  died  in  a  few  days.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  son,  Tecum  Umam. 

Meanwhile  all  the  forces  of  the  kingdom  were  placed 
under  arms,  and  a  general  muster  of  allies  and  tribu 
taries  was  appointed  to  be  held  at  Totonicapan. 
Thither  marched  Tecum  Umam  at  the  head  of  sixty 
thousand  warriors,  and  he  was  soon  joined  by  a  still 
larger  force.  With  this  army  he  occupied  the  table 
land  on  which  stood  the  strong  city  of  Xelahuh,2  and 
which  overlooked  the  ravines  of  the  Tziha  and  the 
Olintepec.  Ten  lords  governed  this  city,  and  with  all 
their  armies  brilliantly  equipped  they  went  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Quiche  monarch.  Never  since  the 
days  of  the  great  Kicab3  had  there  been  seen  on  the 
Central  American  plateau  a  military  display  so  im 
posing.  Redoubtable  warriors  were  there,  made  fierce 
of  aspect  by  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  the  lion,  the 
jaguar,  and  the  bear,  and  a  vast  array  of  fighting 
men,  two  hundred  thousand  and  more,4  while  con 
spicuous  above  them  all  in  military  splendor  wTas  the 
Quiche  king  and  the  royal  retinue.  On  one  side  of 
the  elevated  plain  was  Zacaha,  a  line  of  fortifications 
commanding  the  defile  through  the  mountains  by 
which  the  invading  army  had  to  enter.  The  place 
was  now  strengthened  by  throwing  up  round  many 
of  the  hills  stone  walls,  along  the  sides  of  which  a 
ditch  was  carried,  set  with  poisonous  stakes.  A  num- 

2  That  is  to  say,  '  Under  the  government  of  Ten.'     The  city  was  ruled  by 
ten  lords,  each  having  under  him  a  xiquipil,  or  8000  dwellings.    Fuentes  esti 
mated  that  this  city  contained  300,000  inhabitants.    So  strongly  was  it  forti 
fied  that  it  had  never  been  taken,  though  attempts  had  often  been  made. 
Juarros,  Gitat.,  ii.  240. 

3  The  most  powerful  of  the  Quich6  monarchs,  said  to  have  reigned  about 
the  time  of  Julius  Coesar.     For  list  of  Quich6  kings  see  Native  Races,  v.  566. 

4  Juarros  states  that  Tecum  Umam  set  out  with  72,000  fighting  men.     At 
Chemequena,  now  Totonicapan,  the  number  was  increased  to  90,000  by  the 
forces  of  eight  fortified  places  and  eighteen  towns ;  on  the  plains  of  Xelahuh 
ten  lords  joined  him  with  24,000  men,  and  46,000  arrived  from  other  quarters, 
so  that  in  all  his  army  amounted  to  232,000  warriors.  Juarros,  Gudt.,  ii.  248. 
Vazquez  affirms  that  these  forces  came  from  more  than  100  populous  towns, 
which  owed  allegiance  to  the  Quich6  monarch,  and  that  no  aid  was  given  by 
the  Cakchiquels  or  Zutugils.  C/tronica  de  Gvat.,  5. 


634  CONQUEST  OF  GUATEMALA  BEGUN. 

ber  of  military  machines  were  constructed,  such  as 
towers  on  wheels,  and  catapults  for  hurling  missiles, 
which  would  have  done  honor  to  the  man-killing  pro 
fession  of  any  European  nation  of  that  day.  There 
King  Tecum  Umam  intrenched  himself  and  awaited 
the  incoming  army. 

And  to  this  inland  plateau,  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  Quiche  country,  Alvarado  was  now  with  difficulty 
making  his  way  through  a  narrow  gorge  of  the  sierra, 
leaving  the  people  of  Zapotitlan  quite  subdued.  After 
crossing  two  rapid  rivers  a  steep  ascent  six  leagues 
in  lenorth  was  begun,  leading  to  Palahunoh,  as  the 

O  O  '  O  ' 

pass  was  called.  It  was  indeed  a  rugged  way,  more 
in  the  nature  of  a  height  to  be  scaled  than  an  opening 
in  a  chain  of  mountains.  So  severe  were  the  strug 
gles  with  nature  and  Satan,  to  whom  these  soldiers 
of  the  cross  ascribed  most  ills,  that  their  former 
troubles  seemed  to  them  as  pastime  now.  The  place 
was  so  steep  and  rough  that  it  was  with  the  utmost 
difficulty  the  horses,  plunging  and  struggling,  could 
make  their  way  up.  It  was  impossible  to  accomplish 
the  whole  distance  in  one  day,  and  the  panting  and 
foot-sore  army,  too  exhausted  to  proceed  farther,5  was 
ordered  to  encamp  when  half  the  ascent  had  been 
made.  The  next  day  through  similar  efforts  they 
reached  the  summit,  where  a  woman  and  a  dog  were 
found  sacrificed,  in  token  of  defiance  and  challenge  to 
war,  as  the  interpreters  explained. 

During  the  descent  to  the  plain,  at  no  great  dis 
tance,  in  a  narrow  part  of  the  pass,  a  strong  breast- 

5  Vazquez  describes  both  the  natural  difficulties  and  the  artificial  defences 
of  this  pass  as  offering  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  invaders.  The  gorge  had 
been  protected  by  palisades  and  ditches,  and  only  by  the  most  indefatigable 
exertions,  now  destroying  trenches  and  stone  barricades,  now  climbing  rugged 
steeps  by  help  of  feet  and  hands,  were  the  Spaniards  able  to  reach  the  plain 
above.  Moreover,  the  devil  was  at  hand  to  help  his  own,  and  he  wrought 
against  the  good  Spaniards  by  means  of  diabolical  transformations  in  light 
ning  and  whirlwinds,  and  otherwise  convulsed  elements;  and  by  fearful 
apparitions  and  transformations  into  wild  beasts.  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  5.  This, 
from  Fray  Francisco's  description,  will  enable  the  reader  to  form  some  opinion 
of  the  religio-historical  narration  representing  this  achievement. 


PALAHUNOH  PASS.  635 

work  of  undefended  palisades  was  discovered,  quite 
incomprehensible  to  the  Spaniards,  as  a  few  men 
properly  disposed  could  have  held  the  place  against 
any  invading  army. 

The  nature  of  the  ground  was  still  so  unfavorable 
for  cavalry  that  Alvarado  sent  forward  the  infantry, 
and  presently  the  enemy  was  encountered.  A  body 
of  three  or  four  thousand  fell  upon  the  allies  and 
threw  them  into  confusion.  The  cross-bowmen,  how 
ever,  came  to  their  support,  and  soon  the  entire  in 
fantry  were  engaged  in  the  contest,  which  was  carried 
on  along  the  hill-tops  and  down  the  slopes  until  the 
ravine  of  Olintepec  River  was  reached.  There  the 
Spaniards  were  drawn  into  an  ambuscade,  formed  by 
over  six  thousand  warriors  from  Utatlan,  from  whom 
they  received  some  wounds.6  The  troops  were  soon 
collected  on  the  other  side  of  the  ravine,  however; 
but  none  too  soon,  for  presently  was  seen  advancing 
with  bold  front  a  detachment  of  the  grand  army, 
thirty  thousand  strong,  as  if  to  annihilate  them  at 
one  blow.  Fortunately  the  ground  here  was  level 
and  favorable  for  the  cavalry.  The  horses  being 
greatly  fatigued,  Alvarado  determined  to  wait  till 
the  last  moment  before  charging.  After  permitting 
the  enemy  to  amuse  themselves  with  the  allies  during 
a  brief  breathing  space,  their  confidence  momentarily 
increasing,  the  commander  at  length  gave  the  order 
to  the  impatient  horsemen,  who  swept  forward  in 
stantly  like  an  avalanche,  and  as  if  the  hills  indeed 
had  fallen  on  them  the  affrighted  Quiches  scattered. 
Mad  Ajax  among  the  defenceless  sheep  took  not 
more  lives  than  did  each  Spaniard  on  that  day.  Like 
sheep  the  poor  natives  scattered,  and  like  sheep  they 
were  pursued  and  slaughtered.7 

A  league  farther  brought  the  thirsty  troops  to  some 

6Bernal  Diaz  states  that  the  Spaniards  had  three  men  and  two  horses 
wounded  in  this  struggle.  Fuentes  says  six  men  and  two  horses  were 
wounded.  Fuentes  y  Guzman,  Recordaclon  Florida,  MS.,  3. 

T  Alvarado,  Relation,  in  Barcia,  i.  158;  Oviedo,  iii.  476;  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist. 
Verdad.,  174;  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  229. 


636  CONQUEST  OF  GUATEMALA  BEGUN. 

springs,  but  the  period  of  refreshment  was  short.  At 
hand  was  a  yet  more  formidable  native  force,  led  by 
Prince  Ahzumanche,  one  of  the  highest  among  the 
relatives  and  officers  of  the  king. 

The  engagement  which  followed  was  exceptionably 
bloody.  The  Quiches  approached  over  the  extensive 
plains,  and  when  they  had  arrived  at  a  position  favor 
able  for  the  Spaniards  to  make  the  attack  the  horse 
men  charged  upon  them.  But  the  Quiches  were 
better  on  their  guard  than  before.  Recovered  from 
their  panic,  and  animated  by  the  example  of  their 
leader,  they  displayed  greater  bravery  this  time, 
standing  the  shock  unflinchingly,8  fighting  foot  to 
foot,  or  banded  two  and  three  together,  endeavoring 
by  their  own  strength  to  overthrow  the  horses,  seizing 
them  by  mane  and  tail,  and  trying  to  pull  them  down, 
and  laying  hold  of  the  riders  to  unhorse  them.  The 
Spaniards  were  indeed  closely  beset,  and  for  a  time 
it  seemed  by  no  means  certain  that  victory  would 
finally  declare  for  them.  But  what  naked  power  could 
long  withstand  the  steady  fire  of  arquebuse  and  cross 
bow,  the  steady  fall  of  sword-blow  and  lance-thrust! 

Relaxing  their  efforts  for  a  moment,  the  natives 
were  charged  by  the  cavalry  with  deadly  result,  and 
were  trampled  under  foot  by  hundreds,  and  speedily 
routed.  For  a  league  they  were  followed  with  great 
havoc,  till  they  took  refuge  in  a  stronghold  of  the 
sierra.  By  pretending  flight,  however,  Alvarado  drew 
them  from  their  position  to  the  open  plain,  and  then 
wheeled  and  fell  upon  them.  The  carnage  for  a  time 
was  dreadful ;  the  ground  was  covered  with  the  mangled 
bodies  of  the  dead  and  dying,  and  the  waters  of  the 
Olintepec  ran  crimson  with  blood.  And  henceforth 
the  stream  was  called  Xequiqel,  that  is  to  say,  River 
of  Blood.9 

8  'I  aqui  hicimos  otro  alcance  mui  grande,   donde  hallamos  Gente,  que 
esperaba  vno  de  ellos  a  dos  de  Caballo.'  Alvarado,  Relation,  uiBarcia,  i.  158. 
See  also  for  a  description  of  this  engagement,  Iferrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  ix. 

9  '  La  mucha  sangre  de  Indios  que  avia  corrido  en  Bios  en  Xcquikel  (que  por 
esso  se  llamo  assi).'    Vazquez,  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  524.     '  Xequif/el,  que  quiere 


,  A  MAGNIFICENT  PRIZE.  637 

Among  the  fallen  was  Prince  Ahzumanche,  and  a 
number  of  the  nobility  and  chiefs.  The  contest  being 
over,  the  army  encamped  for  the  night  at  the  springs 
before  mentioned.  The  loss  to  the  Spaniards,  as 
usual,  was  insignificant.10 

Let  us  pause  for  a  moment  to  review  the  position 
of  the  invaders.  They  had  surmounted  with  irresist 
ible  progress  the  coast  range,  had  crossed  the  summit, 
fought  their  way  down  the  corresponding  slopes,  and 
were  within  a  league  of  Xelahuh,  the  great  stronghold 
of  the  Quiches,  on  their  western  confines.  All  the 
defences  to  it  had  been  won,  the  Zacaha  fortifications 
had  been  carried,  passive  nature's  majestic  guardian 
ship  had  been  overcome,  and  human  opposition  had 
proved  futile.  Far  behind  them  stood  the  deadly 
forest  through  which  they  had  struggled ;  over  the 
golden-edged  hills,  the  rugged  steep  by  which  they 
had  made  their  way  hither.  Around  them  now  were 
open  pine  woods,11  and  at  their  feet  the  wide  culti 
vated  plains  of  the  table-lands  on  which  the  sun  shed 
its  uninterrupted  rays.  Dotted  with  towns  and  parti 
colored  with  maize-fields  and  orchards,  silver-threaded 
by  streams,  the  landscape  displayed  before  the  Span 
iards  the  picture  of  a  paradise.  And  this  beautiful 
realm  now  lay  helpless  in  the  conqueror's  grasp,  its 
very  air12  becoming  traitorous  by  refreshing  and  in- 

decir  rio  de  sangre.'  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  250.  This  last  author  states  that 
from  the  river  Zamala  to  the  Olintepec  six  battles  were  fought,  but  that  this 
was  the  most  strongly  contested  and  the  most  bloody.  Compare  A  Ivarado, 
Relation,  in  Barcia,  158;  Bcrnal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  174;  Faentes  y  Guz 
man,  Recordacion  Florida,  MS.,  3-4;  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  229. 

10  'Muri6  vn  senor  de  quatro  que  son  en  Vtatlan.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex., 
229.     Besides   Prince   Ahzumanche,    two   principal   lords   of   Utatlan  were 
slain   in   the   battles  of   the   pass — the  one  Ahzol,    a  great   captain,  and  a 
relative  of  the  king,  and  the  other  Ahpocoh,  his  shield-bearer,  whose  office 
in  the  army  was  of  the  highest.  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  250;  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist. 

Verdad.,  174.  The  words  Ahzol  and  Ahpocoh  are  not,  however,  patronymics, 
but  titles. 

11  The  district  is  called  El  Pinar  by  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  248;  and  El  Pinal 
by  Vazquez,  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  524. 

12 '  Corriendo  la  Tierra,  que  es  tan  gran  Poblacion  como  Tascalteque,  i  en 
las  Labrancas,  ni  mas,  ni  menos,  i  friisima  en  demasia.'  Alvarado,  Relation, 
in  Barcia,  i.  158. 


638  CONQUEST  OF  GUATEMALA  BEGUN.         % 

vigorating  the  invaders,  bracing  their  nerves  and  in 
spiring  their  hearts  to  new  enterprise. 

At  dawn  the  Spanish  camp  was  astir;  and  while 
the  voices  of  Christian  priests  chanting  praises  to  God 
for  past  victories  floated  over  the  hideous  battle-field, 
Christian  soldiers  were  buckling  on  their  armor  for 
the  further  butchering  of  helpless  human  beings  who 
had  done  them  no  harm.  A  hermitage  and  a  town 
were  established  at  Zacaha,  the  former  under  the 
charge  of  Friar  Francisco  Martinez  de  Pontaza,13 
whose  memory  was  ever  after  fragrant  in  those  parts, 
the  latter  under  the  direction  of  Juan  de  Leon  Car- 
dona.14  The  natives  of  the  subjugated  neighborhood 
finally  came  in  and  helped  to  swell  the  numbers  of  the 
town,  which  was  called  Quezaltenango.15 

These  measures  taken,16  the  army  advanced  on 
Xelahuh,17  only  to  find  it  abandoned.  The  inhabi 
tants,  terror-stricken  at  the  success  of  the  invaders, 
had  fled  to  the  mountains.  Alvarado  took  up  his 
quarters  in  the  deserted  city,  where  for  six  clays  he 
remained,  resting  and  reconnoitring.18 

"Vazquez  visited  this  hermitage  at  Zacaha  in  1690,  and  there  saw  a 
picture  of  the  virgin,  which  had  been  brought  by  the  conquerors,  and  was 
known  as  La  Conquistadora,  for  a  description  of  which  the  reader  can  consult 
Chronica  de  Gvat.,  9.  In  his  time  the  shrine  was  a  place  greatly  revered. 
It  was  a  current  belief  that  some  member  of  the  priestly  order,  the  object  of 
devotion,  was  interred  there,  a  strong  supposition  prevailing  that  the  remains 
were  those  of  the  first  bishop  of  Guatemala ;  but  this  is  wrong,  for  Bishop 
Marroquin  died  in  the  Episcopal  palace  at  Guatemala.  The  remains  were 
probably  those  of  the  priest  Pontaza.  Chronica  de  Gvat. ,  8-10,  526. 

14  The  descendants  of  this  conquistador  were  still  living  in  the  same  locality 
in  the   time  of  Vazquez,  who   describes  them  as  raisers  of  small  stock,  as 
poverty-stricken  as  the  descendants  of  the  conquered  natives.  /(/.,  8-9. 

15  Four  years  later  the  town  was  removed  to  the  present  site.    Id.,  7-8; 
Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  241.      The  meaning  of  the  term  Quezaltenango  is  the  'place 
of  the  quetzal,'  the  American  bird  of  paradise,  called  'trogoii'  by  the  natur 
alists.     The  name  was  of  Mexican  origin,  and  was  probably  applied  not  only 
to  the  district  but  to  the  city  of  Xelahuh. 

16  During  a  stay  of  two  to  three  days.   Fuentes  y  Guzman,  JRecordacion 
Florida,  MS. 

17  Four  years  later  the  inhabitants  were  removed  to  the  new  town  of 
Quezaltenango,  which  the  Indian  population  still  call  Xelahuh. 

18  On  the  authority  of  a  manuscript  of  sixteen  leaves  found  at  San  Andre's 
Xecul,  a  town  not  far  from  Quezaltenango,  Juarros  states  that  on  the  second 
day  four  caciques  humbly  surrendered  themselves,  and  owing  to  their  influ 
ence  the  inhabitants  peaceably  returned  and  tendered  allegiance.    Guat.,\\. 
240-1.     No  mention  of  such  an  event  is  made  by  Alvarado,  Bernal  Diaz,  or 


THE  GRAND  ARMY.  639 

Tecum  Umam  was  an  ambitious  prince  and  a  brave 
commander.  With  no  small  concern  he  had  seen  de 
feated  one  after  another  the  forces  sent  against  the 
foe,  and  he  now  resolved  to  take  the  field  in  person. 
About  noon  on  the  seventh  day  of  their  sojourn  at 
Xelahuh  the  Spaniards  saw  converging  to  that  point 
from  every  quarter  dense  masses  of  warriors.19  Well 
aware  that  his  great  strength  lay  in  the  cavalry, 
Alvarado  with  a  large  part  of  his  force20  hastened  to 
occupy  an  open  plain,  three  leagues  in  length,  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  city.  Tecum  Umam  was 
shrewd  enough  to  comprehend  the  manoeuvre,  and 
before  the  last  Spaniard  was  a  bow-shot  from  camp 
the  Quiche  army  in  two  principal  divisions  was  upon 
them.  Alvarado  had  divided  his  cavalry  into  two 
bodies,  commanded  respectively  by  Pedro  Puerto- 
carrero  and  Hernando  de  Chaves,  who  were  directed 
to  assail  at  different  points  one  of  the  opposing  bodies 
when  well  in  position,  while  the  infantry,  commanded 
by  himself,  were  to  engage  with  the  other.  The  onset 
was  terrible.  Through  and  through  the  dense  columns 
rush  the  horsemen,  heedless  alike  of  the  flint-tipped 
arrow,  the  javelin  with  fire-hardened  point,  and  the 
slung  pebble.  Resistance  was  not  possible.  Plunged 
through  and  hurled  to  earth,  crushed  beneath  the  horses' 
hoofs,  the  broken  ranks  of  this  division  sought  the 
protection  of  the  other.  Thus  half  of  Tecum's  last 
hope  was  lost,  while  the  other  half  was  fast  dwindling. 
Early  in  the  combat  the  Quichd  king  had  recognized 

Herrera;  and  Vazquez  distinctly  states  that  these  four  chiefs  were  won 
over,  with  some  difficulty,  after  the  final  battle  and  the  death  of  Tecum. 
Though  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  follows  Juarros,  I  incline  to  the  opinion 
that  the  pacification  of  Xelahuh  was  subsequent  to  the  battle  which  is  yet 
to  follow. 

19 Twelve  thousand  of  whom  were  from  the  city  of  Utatlan.  Relation,  i. 
158.  Juarros  says  the  first  contingent  contained  16,000  men.  Guat.,  ii.  251. 
Bernal  Diaz  gives  the  whole  number  as  more  than  16,000.  I  list.  Verdad.,  174. 
Herrera  uses  the  indefinite  but  safe  expression  '  vn  gran  exercito  de  Quazal- 
tenalco.'  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  ix. 

ao  The  numbers  are  differently  given.  Alvarado  says  there  were  90  hone* 
men;  Juarros,  135  horse;  Herrera,  that  the  whole  force  consisted  of  80  horse, 
200  infantry,  and  a  strong  body  of  Mexicans.  Bernal  Diaz  uses  the  general 
expression,  'with  his  army.' 


640  CONQUEST  OF  GUATEMALA  BEGUN. 

the  conspicuous  figure  of  the  mounted  Spanish  com 
mander,  and  as  Tecum  now  saw  his  forces  broken  by 
the  cavalry,  he  determined  upon  one  last  desperate 
effort.  Gathering  around  him  a  few  chosen  warriors, 
he  threw  himself  in  person  upon  Alvarado,  and  with 
his  own  hand  so  wounded  his  horse  that  the  Spaniard 
was  obliged  to  fall  back  and  mount  another.  A  second 
and  a  third  time  the  undaunted  warrior  assailed  his 
superior  foe,  till  pierced  by  Alvarado's  lance  he  fell, 
staining  with  his  life-blood  the  ground  he  had  fought 
so  bravely  to  defend. 

It  was  not  often  that  the  heavenly  powers  deigned 
to  help  the  poor  natives  in  their  dire  struggle  with 
the  steel-clad  Europeans,  as  was  so  frequently  the  case 
with  the  Spaniards.  The  gods  usually  prefer  fighting 
on  the  strongest  side;  but  here  we  find  an  exception. 
It  is  my  duty  to  relate,  as  a  truthful  historian,  that 
during  the  mortal  combat  between  these  two  leaders 
an  eagle  with  great  pinions  was  observed  by  the 
Quiche  army  circling  round  and  round  the  Spanish 
commander,  ever  and  anon  swooping  down  upon  him, 
and  with  beak  and  claw  attacking  him  about  the  head. 
It  was  the  nagual,  the  guardian  spirit  of  Tecum 
Umam.  But  less  strong  than  Santiago  or  the  virgin, 
it  was  discomfited  at  the  moment  of  the  monarch's 
death,  and  disappeared  from  the  sight  of  the  van 
quished  Quiches.21 

Contrary  to  the  usual  course  pursued  by  natives  in 
warfare,  the  fall  of  their  commander  did  not  immedi 
ately  disperse  the  Quiche*  warriors,  but  seemed  rather 
to  enrage  them;  for  the  moment  after  there  fell  upon 
the  Spaniards  such  a  blinding  tempest  of  javelins  as 
would  have  delighted  the  Spartan  Dieneces.  It  was 
but  for  a  moment,  however;  it  was  their  last  expiring 
effort,  for  soon  the  cavalry  came  thundering  on  their 
flanks,  dispersing  and  slaying  after  the  usual  fashion. 
For  two  leagues  along  the  plain  they  were  pursued  by 

21  Such  is  the  legend  long  retained  among  the  Quiches.  Guatemala,  Chron- 
tea  de  la  Prov.,  i.  13;  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  641. 


PERSUASIVE  PROSELYTING.  641 

the  horsemen,  who  then  turned  and  rode  back,  repeat 
ing  the  carnage  over  the  same  field.  The  slaughter 
was  particularly  bloody  at  a  stream  on  one  side  of  the 
plain,  and  the  commander  proudly  refers  to  it  in  his 
despatch.22  The  infantry  captured  a  vast  multitude 
which  had  taken  refuge  from  the  insatiate  horsemen 
on  a  hill  near  by. 

Thus  ended  another  day  in  the  annals  of  the  grand 
extermination,  a  day  dark  indeed  for  the  noble  Quiche 
nation,  but  of  which  European  progress  and  propa 
gandizing  might  well  be  proud.23 

•  The  religion  of  Christ  being  thus  revealed  to  these 
heathen,  opportunity  was  now  offered  them  to  come 
forward  and  join  the  fold.  Indeed,  four  captive  chief 
tains24  of  Xelahuh  received  the  intimation  that  it 
would  be  as  well  for  them  to  cast  their  lots  with  the 
saintly  crusaders.  Being  promised  their  liberty  they 
submitted  to  baptism  at  the  hands  of  the  priests  Torres 
and  Pontaza.  Christian  raiment  with  swords  were 
then  given  them  and  they  were  entertained  at  the 
table  of  Alvarado.25  After  this  they  were  sent  out 
as  missionaries  to  their  affrighted  brethren,  bringing 
quite  a  number  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Savior.  They 
also  aided  in  erecting  a  more  suita.ble  hermitage  at 
Zacaha,  and  in  building  houses  for  the  Donatis.26  Nay 

22  *  I  nuestros  Amigos,  i  los  Peones  hacian  vna  destruicion,  la  maior  del 
Mundo,  en  vn  Arroio.'  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  158. 

23  Vazquez  asserts  that  this  engagement  took  place  on  the  14th  of  May, 
1524,  while  the  despatch  by  Alvarado  reporting  the  event  to  Corte"s  is  dated 
more  than  a  month  earlier,  April  llth. 

21  It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  any  approximation  to  the  number  of  slain 
during  the  series  of  engagements  on  the  Pinar.  Vazquez  is  the  only  authority 
who  ventures  to  put  down  figures.  '  Viniendo  sobre  el  Exercito  Christiano . .  . 
de  trece  mil,  en  trece  mil,  cada  dia,  aquellos . . .  Barbaros  tan  imperterritos  d 
la  muerte,  y  al  estrago  que  las  Catholicas  armas  hacian  en  su  numeroso  Exer 
cito,  quedando  muertos  mas  de  diez,  y  doze  mil  infieles,  encendiendo  en  loa 
que  quedauan  viuos . .  .  que  a9oradas  con  la  vertida  sangre  de  sus  compaiieros 


avivaban  mas  su  rabia,  para  embestir  con  irracional  despecho  a  las  Espanoles. ' 
Chroi/ira  de  Gvat.,  5.  See  also  Uernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  159. 

23  The  names  of  these  caciques,  given  by  Juarros,  were  Calel  Ralak,  Ahpop- 
queham,  Calelahau,  and  Calelaboy,  as  supplied  by  the  manuscript  previously 
mentioned  in  note  17,  this  chapter. 

20  So  they  called  the  Spaniards,  as  the  soldiers  of  Alvarado,  generally 
known  by  the  name  of  Tonatiuh,  the  initial "T. '  being  changed  by  the  Quiche's 
into  'D.'  Vazquez,  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  524. 


HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    41 


642  CONQUEST  OF  GUATEMALA  BEGUN. 

more;  in  their  growing  enthusiasm  they  suggested 
that  the  place  where  Tonatiuh  had  gained  his 
crowning  victory,  and  over  which  still  hung  the 
odor  of  corruption  and  blood,  the  blood  of  their 
slain  countrymen,  should  be  called  by  the  name  of 
Espiritu  Santo. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

DOWNFALL  OF  THE  QUICHti  NATION. 
APRIL,  1524. 

UTATLAN,  CAPITAL  OF  THE  QUICHES — ITS  MAGNIFICENCE — THE  ROYAL 
PALACE  AND  PYRAMIDAL  FORTIFICATIONS — PRIVATE  APARTMENTS  AND 
GARDENS — PLAN  TO  ENTRAP  THE  SPANIARDS — A  FEAST  PREPARED — THE 
ENEMY  INVITED — THE  TREACHERY  DISCOVERED — MASTERLY  RETREAT 
OF  ALVARADO — THE  QUICHE  KING  AND  NOBLES  ENTRAPPED — THEY  ARE 
MADE  TO  GATHER  GOLD — AND  ARE  THEN  DESTROYED — UTATLAN  BURNED 
AND  THE  COUNTRY  DEVASTATED — SUBJUGATION  OF  THE  QUICHES  COM 
PLETE. 

UPON  the  central  plateau,  near  the  present  town  of 
Santa  Cruz  del  Quiche*,  stood  Utatlan,1  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  Quiche  nation.  It  was  surrounded  by 
a  deep  ravine,  and  could  be  entered  only  at  two  points. 
To  one  of  these  entrances  over  thirty  stone  steps 
led  up  an  almost  perpendicular  cliff;  to  the  other 
a  narrow  artificial  causeway,  connected  at  one  point 
by  a  bridge  which  could  be  easily  destroyed.  The 
city  was  further  strengthened  by  the  grim  fortress 
of  Atalaya,  four  stories  in  height,  and  the  pyram 
idal  fortification  of  El  Resguardo,2  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  high.  In  wealth  and  splendor  Utatlan, 
in  which  twenty  generations  of  the  present  dynasty 
had  reigned,  vied  with  the  city  of  the  Aztec  kings 

1  Also  called  Gumarcaah.  It  is  represented  to-day  by  the  town  of  Santa 
Cruz  del  Quiche",  which  is  situated  so  near  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  that 
it  might  be  considered  an  outlying  suburb.  About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century  Utatlan  was  entirely  abandoned  and  the  inhabitants  removed  to  Santa 
Cruz.  Juarros,  Guat.,  i.  66;  Brasscur  de  Bourbourg,  Hi*t.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  647. 

'2Juarros,  Guat.,  i.  66-7;  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  159;  Ramirez,  Proceso 
contra  Alvarado,  32.  See  also  Native.  Races,  ii.  744,  788-9.  Atalaya  and 
Resguardo  are  Spanish  terms,  the  first  signifying  'Watch-tower'  and  i  tie  other 
'Guard.' 

(643) 


644  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  QUICHE  NATION. 

and  the  gardened  capital  of  the  Incas.  In  its  centre 
stood  the  royal  palace,  surrounded  by  the  imposing 
residences  of  the  nobles,  and  beyond,  the  humbler 
dwellings  of  the  common  people.  The  palace  was 
one  of  the  most  magnificent  structures  of  Central 
America.  It  was  built  of  hewn  stone  of  various 
colors,  mosaic  in  appearance,  and  its  colossal  dimen 
sions,  and  elegant  and  stately  architectural  form,  ex 
cited  mingled  awe  and  admiration.3 

Within  the  lofty  portals  the  quarters  of  the  house 
hold  guards,  surrounding  a  spacious  barrack  yard,  were 
first  presented  to  view.  Dusky  warriors,  lancers,  and 
archers,  clad  in  wildly  picturesque  garbs  of  dappled 
tiger-skins  or  sombre  bear-hides,  in  brilliant  plumes 
and  polished  arms,  with  silent  tread  measured  the 
well  paved  court.  In  the  principal  apartments  near 
at  hand  the  various  arms  and  paraphernalia  of  battle 
lay  ready  for  immediate  use,  while  on  the  walls  hung 
hard- won  trophies  of  war.  Next  lay  the  residence 
of  the  unmarried  princes,  and  beyond  this  the  palace 
proper,  containing  besides  the  apartments  of  the  mon 
arch  the  council-chamber,  with  the  gorgeous  throne 
canopied  with  costly  tapestry  of  feather  work  of  rare 
designs  and  wrought  with  cunning  skill ;  also  the  royal 
treasury,  the  hall  of  justice,  and  the  armory.  Three 
separate  suites  of  rooms,  for  morning,  afternoon,  and 
night,  were  each  day  occupied  by  the  monarch,  and 
all  these  more  private  apartments  looked  out  upon 
delightful  gardens,  with  trees,  and  flowers,  and  fruits, 
and  in  their  midst  menageries  and  aviaries,  with  rare 
and  curious  collections.  Beyond  lay  the  separate 
palaces  of  the  monarch's  queens  and  concubines,  with 
their  baths,  and  gardens,  and  miniature  lakes;  and 
lastly  the  maidens'  college,  in  which  were  reared  and 
educated  the  female  offspring  of  royal  blood. 

3  Torguemada,  i.  311.  The  frontage  of  the  palace  was  376  paces,  while  its 
depth  reached  728  paces.  The  chronicler  Fuentes  visited  Santa  Cruz  del 
Quiche*  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  the  ruins,  from  which,  as  well  as  from 
manuscripts,  he  gathered  much  information. 


OXIB  QUIEH  SUCCEEDS  TECUM  UMAM.  645 

And  all  this  was  but  one  pile  of  buildings,  the 
largest,  it  is  true;  but  there  were  others  of  no  mean 
pretensions,  the  residences  of  the  nobles  and  of  the 
wealthy  trading  class.  Of  a  truth  Utatlan  was  a  fine 
city,  and  a  strong  and  noble  one.  And  must  it  now 
be  yielded  to  the  spoiler?  Is  there  no  hope?  None. 
Then  perish  all,  for  who  would  live  with  king  and 
country  gone;  and  with  its  occupants,  also  this  fair 
capital  which  so  long  has  harbored  kings.  Ah !  if  this 
strong  trap  could  but  be  baited,  and  the  white  foxes 
enticed  thereto  and  strangled.  Rare  thought!  It 
were  worth  dying  a  dozen  times  to  see  these  brag 
garts  but  once  die.  And  so  the  Quichd  cunning  ones 
determined.  In  general  council  it  was  agreed  that 
the  Spaniards  should  be  invited  to  a  feast,  and  while 
there  the  city  should  be  burned  and  brought  down 
upon  their  heads  I 

By  the  death  of  Tecum  Umam  his  son  Oxib 
Quieh4  succeeded  to  the  throne.  His  situation  was 
not  an  enviable  one.  The  best  troops,  in  fact  the  very 
flower  of  the  nation,  had  been  destroyed  or  scat 
tered.  His  father,  with  numbers  of  the  first  men 
of  the  land,  had  fallen,  without  having  in  a  single  in 
stance  gained  a  battle  or  baffled  the  foe.  Their  puny 
efforts  were  as  gnats  stinging  or  destroying  a  band  of 
wild  boars. 

Yet  the  grandson  of  the  great  Kicab  Tanub 
would  not  abandon  the  field  without  a  struggle.  The 
council  might  burn  the  city  if  they  chose.  And 
though  their  hopes  and  the  prospects  of  success  were 
great,  the  king  and  his  nobles  relaxed  none  the  less 
their  efforts  to  raise  fresh  troops.  Should  the  plan 
fail,  they  would  again  take  the  field.  Not  only  did 
Oxib  Quieh  draw  all  the  forces  possible  from  his  own 
provinces,  but  he  adopted  every  means  to  smooth 
the  differences  that  existed  between  himself  and  the 
neighboring  provinces.  By  these  exertions  at  length 
a  strong  league  was  formed,  and  again  the  natives  in 

*  Juarros  calls  him  Chignauivcelut. 


646  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  QUICHE  NATION.     . 

formidable  numbers  were  ready  to  do  battle  for  their 
gods  and  their  country  at  the  proper  moment. 

These  preparations  completed,  an  embassy  with 
presents  of  gold  was  despatched  to  greet  the  con 
queror,  to  sue  for  peace,  and  to  tender  their  king's 
submission  as  vassal  to  the  king  of  Spain.  Alvarado 
was  also  invited  to  the  court  of  Utatlan,  where  the 
king  was  waiting  to  offer  in  person  his  allegiance  and 
entertain  with  all  due  honor  the  redoubtable  Spaniard. 
Alvarado  graciously  accepted  both  the  presents  and 
the  invitation,  and  made  presents  in  return,  and  on 
the  following  day  set  out  with  his  army  to  pay  the 
promised  visit.  It  was  quite  natural  on  both  sides, 
the  invitation  and  the  acceptance.  Here  were  war 
and  a  conquered  country;  here  the  conquered  with 
overtures  of  peace;  and  so  the  Spaniards  marched 
into  the  trap  without  suspicion. 

But  as  they  passed  along  the  narrow  causeway  and 
came  to  the  bridge,  certain  soldiers5  fancied  they  saw 
where  it  had  been  recently  weakened.  When  the 
attention  of  Alvarado  was  called  to  it  he  made  no 
alarm,  nor  did  he  turn  a  moment  from  his  course. 
He  relished  the  flavor  of  such  an  adventure,  and 
grasping  his  sword  the  tighter  he  commanded  the 
strictest  caution  and  the  closest  observation.  On 
entering  the  city  the  suspicions  of  the  Spaniards  were 
confirmed.  The  men  were  armed;  the  women  and 
children  had  been  withdrawn;  there  were  few  pro 
visions  at  hand  and  little  valuable  merchandise  in  the 
storehouses;  in  many  buildings  throughout  the  city 
brush  and  firewood  had  been  deposited,  while  the 
anxiety  displayed  in  the  uneasy  deportment  of  the 
natives  themselves  could  not  be  disguised.  It  was 
observed,  too,  that  the  streets  were  so  narrow  and 
the  houses  so  compact  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  the  cavalry  to  move;  and  lastly,  the  Quezalte- 
nango  allies  who  accompanied  the  Spaniards  obtained 

5  Francisco  Flores  claims  that  he  and  Juan  de  Oriza  made  the  discovery. 
Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado,  32,  34. 


THE  PLOT  DISCOVERED.  647 

and  brought  to  Alvarado  positive  information  of  the 
intentions  of  the  Quiche  chiefs.6 

Not  only  are  prompt  measures  now  necessary,  but 
they  must  be  such  as  will  not  arouse  the  suspicions  of 
a  most  suspicious  foe,  whose  keen  eyes  are  watching 
every  movement.  Without  formally  summoning  a 
council  Alvarado  moves  in  holiday  mien  among  his 
officers,  dropping  here  a  hint  and  laying  there  a 
stern  command;  meanwhile,  outwardly  undisturbed, 
he  rides  forward  into  the  nest  of  nobles  awaiting  him 
and  greets  them  with  a  frank  smile  amid  renewed 
protestations  of  friendship.  This  done  he  looks  about 
for  the  disposal  of  the  horses.  They  are  worshipful 
brutes,  in  some  respects  the  equals  and  even  the 
superiors  of  men;  they  are  not  given  to  feasting  like 
men,  but  they  must  not  be  forgotten  at  the  feast. 
Their  greatest  delight  will  be  to  feed  upon  the  open 
plain ;  he  will  conduct  them  there  and  return  without 
delay.  Greatly  disconcerted  the  nobles  press  the 
Tonatiuh  to  immediate  entertainment,  which  even 
now  awaits  him;  under  tlie  direction  of  the  soldiers 
they  will  provide  the  best  care  for  the  noble  animals. 
By  no  means,  Alvarado  intimates;  the  horses  will 
never  forgive  him  if  he  neglects  them  on  so  impor 
tant  an  occasion.  Thus  all  the  Spaniards  return  over 
the  causeway,  and  the  weakened  bridge,  and  with  a 
feeling  of  intense  relief  reach  the  plain  in  safety. 

Now  for  a  sweet  morsel  of  revenge.  While  gather 
ing  grass  for  the  horses  the  soldiers  are  fired  on  from 
the  ravines  and  thickets,  and  one  Spaniard,  a  servant 
of  the  commander,  is  killed.  The  king  and  his  nobles, 
who  remain  near  the  city  entrance,  on  witnessing  the 
outrage  from  this  distance  are  distressed,  and  take 
measures  to  prevent  hostile  demonstrations  on  the  part 
of  their  people.  Alvarado  pretends  to  regard  it  all  as 

6  Bernal  Diaz  states  that  some  Indians  of  Quezaltenango  warned  Alvarado 
that  they  intended  to  kill  them  all  that  night  if  they  remained  there,  and 
that  they  had  posted  in  the  ravines  many  bands  of  warriors,  who,  when  they 
saw  the  houses  in  flames,  were  to  unite  with  those  of  Utatlan  and  fall  on  the 
invaders  at  different  points. 


648  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  QUICHfi  NATION. 

of  no  moment,  and  continues  his  attitude  of  confidence 
and  cordiality  with  the  chiefs.  It  is  unfortunate,  this 
accident  of  the  servant;  but  after  what  has  happened 
probably  the  feast  had  better  be  postponed.  As  a 
Further  mark  of  friendship  and  esteem,  will  Oxib 
Quieh  and  his  companions  look  in  upon  the  camp  of 
the  Spaniards?  Poor  boy!  So  easily  caught,  and  in 
a  trap,  a  steel  one,  quite  different  from  the  bungling 
bridge-drop  at  Utatlan.  Now  may  all  men  open  their 
eyes  and  judge  as  gods,  for  these  present  must  die! 

The  mask  is  thrown  aside,  and  the  avenger  in  his 
wrath  stands  revealed.  Oxib  Quieh  and  his  caciques 
are  seized  and  charged  with  their  treacherous  inten 
tions.  Their  condemnation  is  a  matter  predetermined, 
but  execution  is  delayed  a  little  that  the  tiger  may 
sport  with  his  prey.  Little  gold  has  been  gathered 
on  this  expedition,  and  it  may  be  well  to  put  upon  the 
scene  in  Guatemala  the  grand  drama  of  Montezuma 
not  long  since  performed  at  the  Mexican  capital.  The 
prisoners  shall  have  their  lives  if  they  gather  much 
gold.  This  done,  they  shall  have  their  lives  if  they 
gather  more  gold.  And  when  the  kingdom  is  stripped 
of  its  gold  and  the  Spaniards  become  impatient,  a  great 
fire  is  built,  into  which  those  of  the  prisoners  who  are 
not  hanged  are  thrown  alive;  and  the  smoke  ascends 
to  heaven  as  grateful  incense  to  their  god.7 

7  It  is  possible  that  Oxib  Quieh  was  hanged,  and  not  burned,  though 
Alvarado  makes  no  mention  of  such  weakness  on  his  part,  but  states  dis 
tinctly  '  Yo  los  quemeV  Relation,  i.  159.  Bernal  Diaz,  however,  asserts  that 
through  the  intercession  of  Fray  Bartolomd  Olmedo  a  respite  of  two  days  was 
granted  the  unfortunate  king,  during  which  time  he  was  converted  and 
baptized,  and  that  his  sentence  was  commuted  to  hanging.  IJixt.  Verdad.,  175. 
This  view  is  taken  by  Salazar  y  Olarte,  Conq.  Mex.,  125-6,  and  Juarros,  Cuat., 
ii.  253,  but  not  by  Ixtlilxochitl,  Horribles  Crueldades,  67.  At  the  trial  of 
Alvarado  this  act  of  barbarity  constitutes  one  of  the  charges,  and  the  testimony 
tends  to  prove  that  110  exception  was  made  in  favor  of  any  one  of  the  victims. 
The  witness  Francisco  Flores,  mentioned  in  note  5,  this  chapter,  states  that 
one  of  the  nobles  was  spared,  because  he  had  disclosed  the  plot.  His  testimony 
may,  however,  be  founded  on  a  respite  granted  to  Oxib  Quieh,  incorrectly 
understood  by  Flores.  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado,  32.  Alvarado  in 
formed  Cortes  that  the  victims  made  full  confession  of  the  plot  before  they 
were  put  to  death,  and  his  use  of  the  expression  '  Como  parecera  por  sus  coii- 
fesiones '  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  confessions  were  taken  down  in 
writing  and  forwarded  to  Cortes.  Relation,  i.  159.  In  conclusion,  Brasseur 


COURAGE  OF  THE  QUICHES.  640 

Notwithstanding  these  merciless  lessons,  during 
which  three  of  the  Quiche  kings,  of  three  several 
generations  in  direct  line  of  succession,  had  been 
sacrificed,  hostilities  were  speedily  renewed.  A  fierce 
attack  was  made  on  all  sides,  the  natives  issuing  in 
great  numbers  from  the  many  ravines  which  in 
tersected  the  neighboring  ground,  and  the  assault 
was  obstinately  maintained  for  some  time;  but  the  ar 
tillery8  committed  such  dreadful  destruction,  opening 
through  their  dense  masses  lanes  strewn  with  muti 
lated  bodies  and  torn-ofF  limbs,  that  they  speedily 
recognized  the  futility  of  their  attempts,  and  fled 
back  to  the  gulches.  Keeping  ever  to  inaccessible 
ground,  and  avoiding  open  engagement,9  they  harassed 
the  army  incessantly,  by  cutting  off  stragglers  and  in 
flicting  harm  in  any  way  that  they  were  able.  At 
length  Alvarado  determined  upon  the  plan  of  burning 
their  city  and  devastating  the  country ;  and  he  sent  to 
the  friendly  king  of  the  Cakchiquels,  requesting  a 
contingent  of  troops  to  assist  him  in  dislodging  the 
Quiches  from  their  fastnesses.  Four  thousand  war 
riors  were  at  once  sent10  by  the  submissive  lord,  with 

do  Bourbourg  says  that  only  the  monarch  and  the  heir  presumptive  were 
burned,  which  is  at  variance  with  Juarros'  expression,  '  Ni  las  muertes  de  sus 
primeros  capitanes,  ni  las  de  sus  dos  Reyes,  executadas  por  los  Castellanos,' 
Guat.,  ii.  253,  and  also  with  the  testimony  of  Flores,  who  says,  '  E  los  prendio 
a  todos. .  .e  despues  los  quemo.'  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alrarado,  32.  Las 
Casas  affirms  they  were  burned  alive  without  any  form  of  trial.  Reyio.  Ind. 
Dcvastat.,  35. 

8  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  253.    Alvarado  never  alludes  to  his  artillery  in  this  or 
any  future  campaign  of  the  year,  though  he  repeatedly  speaks  of  the  arque- 
busiers.     Juarros,  so  far  as  I  can  discover,  is  the  only  author  except  Bras- 
seur  de  Bourbourg  who  mentions  artillery. 

9  '  I  es  la  Tierra  tan  fuerte  de  quebradas,  que  ai  quebradas  que  entraii 
docientos  estados  de  hondo,  i  por  estas  quebradas  no  pudimos  hacerles  la 
Guerra. '  A  fvarado,  Relation,  i.  159. 

10  His  object  in  making  this  demand  was  twofold :  he  wished  to  test  the 
Cakchiquel  king's  feelings  toward  him,  and  at  the  same  time  to  increase  his 
native  forces,  who  would  be  useful  in  this  work.    Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  159. 
According  to  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  the  princes  of  the  Cakchiquel  nation 
met  with  much  opposition  from  their  subjects  in  supporting  the  Spaniards, 
and  the  nobles  refused  to  supply  the  troops  demanded  by  Alvarado.     In  this 
embarrassment  the  Alipozotzil  raised  4000  warriors  in  his  capital.    Hist.  Nat. 
Civ. ,  G48.  Bernal  Diaz,  followed  by  Juarros,  gives  a  different  account  from  that 
of  Alvarado,  which  is  followed  in  the  text.    It  is  to  the  effect  that  the  people 
of  Guatemala,  hearing  of  Alvarado's  repeated  victories,  and'  learning  that  he 


650  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  QUICHE  NATION. 

which  additional  force,  and  the  energetic  measures  he 
pursued,  Alvarado  carried  on  the  process  of  subjec 
tion  with  effect.  The  warlike  Quiches,  their  city 
burned,11  their  crops  destroyed,  hunted  from  one  retreat 
to  another,  driven  from  their  lands,  at  length  were 
forced  to  yield.  Alvarado  received  their  overtures 
with  generosity.  He  pardoned  the  repentant  in  his 
great  mercy,  and  promised  them  their  lives,  at  the 
same  time  ordering  them  to  return  and  occupy  their 
lands.  He  moreover  released  two  captive  sons  of  the 
royal  line  and  put  them  in  possession  of  their  father's 
realm,  the  leading  monarch  being  named  Sequechul.12 
Thus  was  terminated  for  a  time  the  struggle  of  the 
Quiches  for  independence — a  struggle  that  ceased  only 
with  the  destruction  of  their  principal  nobility  arid  all 
the  bravest  warriors  of  the  nation.  To  their  obstinate 
valor  the  conqueror  himself  bears  testimony,13  and 
recognizing  the  difficulties  of  his  position,  and  how 
man  of  himself  can  do  so  little,  he  begs  Cortes  to  order 

'  O 

in  the  Mexican  capital  a  procession  of  all  the  clergy, 
so  that  the  virgin  might  help  him.  And  further, 
would  he  "  please  take  care  to  inform  his  Majesty  how 
we  are  serving  him  with  our  persons  and  means,  and 
at  our  own  cost,  in  order  that  his  Majesty  may  reward 

was  stationed  at  Utatlan,  sent  an  embassy  with  presents  of  gold,  offering  their 
services  against  the  Quiche's,  with  whom  they  were  at  enmity.  These  were 
accepted  by  Alvarado,  who,  to  test  their  sincerity,  and  also  because  he  was 
ignorant  of  the  road,  asked  and  received  assistance  across  the  many  gullies 
and  through  the  difficult  passes.  Hist.  Verdad.,  175. 

11  '  Mande  quemar  la  Ciudad,  i  poner  por  los  cimientos.'  Alvarado,  Rela 
tion,  i.  159. 

12  Derived  from  ce,  'one,'  and  'quechutf,'  a  bird  similar  to  the  flamingo,  for 
a  description  of  which  see  Native  Races,  iii.  374.    His  native  name  was  Tepe- 
pul,  Id.,  v.  566,  but  I  have  preferred  to  use  his  Mexican  name  in  order  to 
avoid  confusion,  as  another  Tepepul,  king  of  the  Zutugils,  will  appear  later 
in  the  narrative.     The  date  of  this  submission  of  the  Quiche's  must  have  been 
a  day  or  two  before  the  1 1th  of  April,  on  which  day  Alvarado  wrote  his  despatch 
to  Corte"s,  stating  that  he  would  leave  for  the  city  of  Guatemala  on  the  same 
day,  which  was  a  Monday.     Juarros    states  that  Alvarado  remained  eight 
days,  Bernal  Diaz  seven  or  eight,  in  Utatlan,  occupied  in  the  pacification  of 
the  surrounding  tribes.  Guat. ,  ii.  254.    Herrera  states  that  the  war  terminated 
on  the  25th  of  April,  which  can  only  be  explained  by  supposing  that  Alvarado 
did  not  leave  Utatlan  on  the  llth,  as  he  intended.  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v. 
cap.  x. 

13  'Estamos  metidos  en  la  mas  recia  Tierra  de  Gente  que  se  ha  visto.' 
Relation,  i.  160. 


ENSLAVEMENT.  651 

us?"  Nor  did  the  lieutenant  fail  to  report  that  his 
majesty's  interests  had  been  carefully  attended  to,  all 
captives  taken  in  the  war  having  been  branded  and 
reduced  to  slavery.14  The  royal  fifth  of  these  captive 
Quiches  had  been  delivered  to  the  treasurer,  Baltasar 
de  Mendoza,  who  sold  them  at  auction  for  the  better 
security  of  the  revenue. 

"Relation,  i.  159;  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad.,  175. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  CAKCHIQUELS  AND  ZUTUGILS  MADE  SUBJECTS  OF  SPAIN. 
APRIL-MAY,  1524. 

MARCH  TO  THE  CAKCHIQTJEL  CAPITAL — WITH  A  BRILLIANT  RETINUE  KING 
SINACAM  COMES  FORTH  TO  MEET  THE  SPANIARDS — DESCRIPTION  OP 
PATINAMIT — OCCUPATION  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUEL  CAPITAL — EXPEDITION 
AGAINST  TEPEPUL,  KING  OF  THE  ZUTUGILS — THE  CLIFF  CITY  OF  ATIT- 
LAN — A  WARM  BATTLE — ENTRY  INTO  THE  STRONGHOLD— RECONCILIA 
TION  AND  RETURN  TO  PATINAMIT — LOVE  EPISODE  OF  ALVARADO. 

THE  lieutenant-general  was  now  ready  to  advance, 
and  on  the  llth  of  April,.  1524,  he  left  Utatlan  for 
Patinamit,  the  capital  of  the  Cakchiquels.1  The  weak 
and  yielding  Sinacam,2  king  of  the  Cakchiquels,  had 
already  sent  with  his  troops  a  present  of  gold  to 
Alvarado,  and  renewed  his  assurances  of  allegiance. 
He  now  prepared  to  meet  him  with  such  stately  pomp 
as  would  be  sure  to  gratify  his  future  master.  By  this 
means  he  hoped  his  tottering  throne  might  be  secured 
to  him.  Servility  and  profuse  hospitality  would  surely 
win  their  hearts,  he  thought ;  and  then,  with  the  power 
ful  strangers  on  his  side,  he  might  laugh  at  his  enemies. 

1  Alvarado's  line  of  march  on  this  occasion  seems  to  have  been  confounded 
by  different  authors  with  routes  followed  by  him  at  later  dates.    Juarros  says 
that  he  did  not  pass  through  the  towns  of  the  coast,  but  along  the  Itzapa  road ; 
for^in  a  land  title  possessed  by  the  Indians  of  Parramos,  extended  in  the  year 
1577,  on  the  10th  of  November,  in  a  reference  to  a  plain  on  said  road,  this 
expression  occurs :   '  Where  they  say  the  camp  of  the  Spaniards  was  pitched 
when  the  Adelantado  D.  Pedro  de  Alvarado  came  to  conquer  this  land.'  Guat., 
ii.  255.     By  these  remarks  Juarros  supports  Fuentes'  opinion  that  the  capital 
of  the  Cakchiquel  nation  was  situated  on  the  slopes  of  the  Volcan  de  Agua. 
I  am,  however,  persuaded  that  the  encampment  mentioned  in  the  land  title 
took  place  later,  on  the  occasion  of  Alvarado's  campaign  southward. 

2  Vazquez  calls  this  ruler  King  Ahpotzotzil,  Ckronica  de  Gvat.,  68,  which 
was  only  his  title.     His  proper  name  was  Sinacam,  by  which  he  was  called  in 
the  books  of  the  cabildos  of  Guatemala.  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  256.     Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg  gives  his  name  as  Beleh6  Qat. 


SINACAM  GREETS  THE  SPANIARDS.  C53 

As  the  Spanish  army  approached  his  capital  he  issued 
forth  with  native  pageantry  to  meet  it.  He  was 
borne  aloft  by  his  nobles  on  a  litter,  beneath  a  canopy 
which  dazzled  the  eye  with  blazing  ornaments  of  gold 
and  changing  hues  of  quetzal  feathers,  and  round 
him  were  the  members  of  the  royal  family  in  litters 
scarcely  less  conspicuous  than  his  own,  while  a  large 
body  of  warriors,  with  their  plumed  head-dresses  and 
warlike  apparel,  marched  in  the  rear  and  on  either 
side.  Alvarado's  greeting  was  not  of  that  unalloyed 
cordiality  which  Sinacam  had  hoped.  The  Spaniard 
was  suspicious.  He  had  but  just  escaped  destruction, 
and  the  late  danger  had  taught  him  discretion.  What 
he  had  observed  on  the  march  had  not  tended  to  in 
spire  confidence  or  promote  peace  of  mind.  All  along 
the  route  despoiled  corpses  of  slain  Indians  had  met 
his  sight,  and  the  ground  was  discolored  with  human 
blood.  Large  bands  of  armed  warriors  were  every 
where  seen,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  whole  country 
was  in  arms.  But  fear  was  no  part  of  Alvarado's 
character;  therefore,  when  the  king  came  near,  he 
calmly  dismounted,  approached  him  with  courteous 
mien,  and  with  expressions  of  esteem  placed  in  his 
hands  a  rare  and  curious  piece  of  silver  jewelry;  then 
he  asked  with  sombre  brow,  "  Why  dost  thou  seek 
to  do  me  harm,  when  I  come  to  do  thee  good?" 
Informed  of  the  meaning  of  the  words  so  seriously 
addressed  to  him,  and  conscious  of  his  own  faithful 
intentions,  Sinacam,  with  calm  yet  somewhat  severe 
dignity  thanked  him  first  for  the  present,  replying, 
"  Quiet  thy  heart,  great  captain,  scion  of  the  sun, 
and  trust  in  my  love."  It  was  then  explained  to 
Alvarado  that  the  warlike  demonstrations  he  had 
discovered  were  directed  against  a  rebellious  vassal, 
who,  with  the  aid  of  the  kings  of  the  Quiches  and 
the  Zutugils,  had  revolted  and  attempted  to  make 
himself  a  ruler.3 

3Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  254-5.     The  account  given  by  the  Cakchiquel  manu 
script  of  this  conversation  differs  somewhat  from  the  above,  stating  that  it 


654  THE  CAKCHIQUELS  AND  ZUTUGILS. 

Alvarado  professed  to  be  satisfied,  and  permitted 
himself  to  be  escorted  by  the  monarch  to  the  capital.4 
Patinamit,5  like  Utatlan,  was  situated  in  a  naturally 

took  place  in  the  palace ;  that  the  martial  aspect  of  the  population,  and  the 
number  of  warriors,  excited  the  suspicions  of  Alvarado ;  and  that  on  the  night 
after  his  arrival,  agitated  by  his  apprehensions,  he  suddenly  entered  the  royal 
apartments,  followed  by  his  officers.  His  unexpected  presence  caused  great 
confusion,  and  the  nobles  in  waiting  rallied  round  their  sovereign.  The  con 
versation  then  followed,  when  Sinacam  spoke  thus :  '  Would  I  have  sent  my 
warriors  and  braves  to  die  for  you  and  find  a  tomb  at  Gumarcaah  if  I  had 
such  treacherous  intentions?'  In  his  explanation,  also,  the  king  states  that 
the  armed  troops  were  intended  to  be  directed  against  the  provinces  of  Itz- 
cuintlan  and  Atitlan,  with  which  nations  the  Cakchiquels  were  at  war.  Bras- 
seur  de  Bonrbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  650-1. 

4  Bernal  Diaz,  or  his  editor,  here  introduces  Friar  Bartolome  de  Olmedo. 
His  story  is  this :   When  the  Spaniards  arrived  at  Guatemala,  Alvarado  told 
the  friar  that  he  had  never  been  so  hard  pressed  as  when  fighting  with  the 
Indians  of  Utatlan,  describing  them  as  most  brave  and  excellent  warriors, 
and  at  the  same  time  claimed  to  himself  the  merit  of  having  done  a  good 
work.    The  friar  chided  him,  and  said  it  was  God  who  had  wrought  the  deed ; 
and  in  order  that  he  might  regard  it  as  good,  and  aid  them  in  future,  it  would 
be  well  to  give  thanks  to  him,  appoint  a  holiday,  celebrate  mass,  and  preach 
to  the  Indians.    This  injunction  was  carried  out,  and  resulted  in  the  baptism 
of  more  than  30  natives  in  two  days.    Others  also  were  anxious  to  be  baptized 
when  they  perceived  that  the  Spaniards  held  intercourse  more  freely  with  the 
converts  than  with  others.   Hist.  Verdad.,  175. 

5  Patinamit,  or  Iximche",    called   by  Alvarado   the   city  of   Guatemala. 
Juarros  is  in  doubt  as  to  the  site  of  the  ancient  Cakchiquel  capital.    Remesal 
makes  no  mention  of  it,  though  he  speaks  of  the  founding  of  the  Villa  de 
Guatemala.     Fuentes  argues  that  it  was  not  Patinamit,  but  a  city  on  the 
slope  of  the  Volcan  de  Agua,  occupying  the  same  position  that  San  Miguel 
Tzacualpa  occupied  when   he  wrote.     His  reasons  are,  first,  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  Indian  name  Guatemala,  indicating  that  the  Spaniards  did  not 
found  a  new  town,  but  occupied  the  existing  city ;  the  custom  of  the  Span 
iards  being  to  give  Spanish  names  to  cities  founded  by  them,  as  Trujillo, 
Granada,  Cartago,  and  others,  while  those  cities  which  were  already  founded 
retained  their  native  names,  as  Mexico,  Cuzco,  Tlascala,  and  the  like.   Again, 
as  observed  elsewhere,  the  word  Guatemala  is  derived  from  Coctecmalan, 
which  means  Palo  de  leche,  milk-tree,  commonly  called  Yerba  mala.     This 
is  found  only  at  Antigua  Guatemala,  and  within  a  league  around,  in  which 
space,  therefore,  the   capital  must  have  stood.     But  it  was  not  situated 
where  Antigua  Guatemala  stands,  because  that  place  was  always  called  Pan- 
choy,  or  Great  Lagoon ;  nor  where  the  Pueblo  of  Ciudad  Vieja  stands,  which 
locality  was  called  A  tmulunca,  meaning  Gushing  Water.     Therefore  it  must 
have  been  on  the  spot  where  stood  the  city  of  the  Spaniards,  which  was 
destroyed  in  1541,  and  where  now  exists  the  little  village  of  Tzacualpa,  which 
name  in  itself  is  an  additional  argument  in  favor  of  this  supposition,  inasmuch 
as  its  meaning  is  Old  Town.     The  third  argument  of  Fuentes  is  based  on  the 
improbability  that  the  Spaniards  would  found  a  city  in  an  unpopulated  dis 
trict  when  the  court  and  capital  of  the  Cakchiquels  were  at  their  command. 
Consequently  the  court  of  King  Sinacam  was  situated  where  the  Spaniards 
first  established  themselves,  that  is  where  Tzacualpa  stands.    See  also  Juarros, 
Ouat. ,  ii.  255-9.    Vazquez  maintains  that  this  capital  was  the  city  Patinamit, 
antonomastically  so  called,  meaning  the  'metropolis'  or  'the  city'  par  excel 
lence.     The  locality  on  which  it  was  built  was  called  '  Iximche', '  and  in  his 
own  time  Ohertinamit,  which  means  Old  Town.     The  Mexicans  who  Came 
with  the  Spaniards  called  it  Quauhtemali,  meaning  rotten  tree,  from  an  old 


PATIKAMIT.  655 

impregnable  position.  It  occupied  an  elevated  plain, 
surrounded  by  ravines,  the  side  of  which  nearest 
the  city  was  perpendicular  to  a  depth  of  five  or  six 
hundred  feet.  Across  this  chasm,  at  one  point  only, 
could  entrance  into  the  capital  be  gained,  by  means 
of  a  narrow  causeway,  which  was  closed  by  two  gate 
ways  of  stone,6  one  on  each  side  of  the  city  wall. 
This  isolated  plateau  was  about  three  miles  long  and 
two  broad.  The  chronicler  Fuentes  describes  the 
remains  of  this  city  with  much  minuteness,  leaving 
vivid  impressions  of  its  former  grandeur.  On  one 
edge  of  the  natural  platform,  according  to  that  writer, 
were  the  ruins  of  a  magnificent  building  one  hun 
dred  paces  square,  of  extremely  well  hewn  stone. 
In  front  of  this  edifice  extended  a  plaza,  on  one  side 
of  which  were  the  remains  of  a  splendid  palace,  and 
in  close  proximity  the  foundations  of  many  residences. 

worm-eaten  Iximche"  tree.  To  distinguish  it  from  the  Ciudad  de  Santiago 
founded  by  the  Spaniards,  it  was  afterward  named  Tecpan  Guatemala,  that 
is,  Palace  or  Royal  House  of  Guatemala,  a  meaning  different  from  that  given 
by  Fuentes,  who  says  that  Tecpan  means  '  above, '  encima,  as  Tecpan  Atit- 
lan,  a  town  situated  on  a  more  elevated  site  than  Atitlan.  The  city  Tecpan 
Guatemala  still  exists  about  half  a  league  distant  from  the  old  site.  Vazquez, 
moreover,  supports  his  opinion  on  the  extent  and  magnificence  of  the  palace 
and  public  buildings  indicated  by  the  ruins,  which  he  visited  in  person ;  and 
also  on  the  fortified  position  of  the  place.  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  7,  10,  G8,  73; 
Juarros,  Gnat.,  ii.  243,  256-7.  That  the  arguments  of  Fuentes  are  fallacious, 
and  that  Vazquez  is  right,  Alvarado's  own  despatches  prove  almost  to  a  cer 
tainty.  In  his  report  to  Cortes,  dated  llth  April,  at  Utatlan,  he  says,  'Embie  & 
la  Ciudad  de  Guatemala,  que  est&  diez  Leguas  de  esta, '  and  afterward  informs 
Cortes  that  on  that  day  he  will  leave  for  the  city  of  Guatemala,  '  Yo  me  parto 
para  la  Ciudad  de  Guatemala  Lunes  once  de  Abril.'  At  the  commencement 
of  the  next  despatch  he  writes,  '  Yo,  Senor,  parti  de  la  Ciudad  de  Uclatan,  i 
vine  en  dos  Dias  &  esta  Ciudad  de  Guatemala. '  Now  this  '  city  of  Guatemala' 
was  the  capital  of  the  king  of  the  Cakchiquels,  and  where  Alvarado  was  en 
tertained  by  him,  as  will  be  told  in  the  text,  and  it  was  ten  leagues  from 
Utatlan,  a  distance  which  would  occupy  the  army  two  days,  as  stated  by 
Alvarado;  for  it  was  difficult  ground  to  march  over,  being  intersected  by 
numerous  ravines.  Vazquez,  Chro?iica  de  Gvat.,  7.  The  site  proposed  by 
Fuentes  is  nearly  twice  the  distance  from  Utatlan,  and  could  not  have  been 
reached  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  short  period  of  two  days,  except  by  very  ex 
hausting  and  forced  marches,  to  which  it  is  most  improbable  that  Alvarado 
subjected  his  men  when  on  a  visit  to  a  friendly  power.  Again,  Alvarado 
reports  that  when  on  his  expedition  against  Atitlan  he  left  the  city  of  Guate 
mala  and  by  a  forced  march  entered  that  territory  the  same  day — '  I  anduve 
tan  to,  que  aquel  Dia  llegue  a  su  Tierra' — a  distance  that  could  be  accom 
plished  from  the  existing  ruins  of  Patinamit,  but  apparently  not  from  the 
Volcan  de  Agua. 

6  Juarros  calls  it  'chay.' 


056  THE  CAKCHIQUELS  AND  ZUTUGILS. 

The  city  was  divided  by  a  ditch  running  north  and 
south,  more  than  eight  feet  deep,  and  surmounted  by 
concrete  breastworks  three  feet  high.  This  was  the 
dividing  line  between  the  dwellings  of  the  nobles  and 
those  of  the  commoners.  The  streets  were  straight 
and  wide,  and  extended  in  the  direction  of  the  four 
cardinal  points.  To  the  west  was  a  mound  dominating 
the  city,  on  the  summit  of  which  stood  a  round  build 
ing  five  to  six  feet  high,  resembling  the  breastwork  of 
a  well.  Around  this  the  judges  held  courts;  but 
before  their  sentences  could  be  executed  they  had  to 
be  confirmed  by  the  sacred  oracular  stone,  which  was 
preserved  in  a  shrine  in  a  deep  gulch.  It  is  described 
as  of  a  black  diaphanous  material,  more  precious  than 
the  ordinary  building  material.  In  its  gloomy  trans 
parency  the  demon  made  visible  the  judgments  that 
were  to  be  passed.  If  no  manifestation  occurred,  the 
accused  was  released;  otherwise  the  sentence  was 
carried  into  effect  on  the  same  mound  where  the  judges 
sat  in  deliberation.  This  oracle  was  consulted  also 
in  matters  of  war.7 

King  Sinacam's  reception  of  the  guests  in  this  his 
capital  and  court  fully  equalled  his  promises.  Sumptu 
ously  lodged,  and  bountifully  supplied  with  all  the 
luxuries  the  land  could  produce,  Alvarado  himself 
admits  that  they  could  not  have  met  kinder  treat 
ment  in  their  own  land.8  For  eight  days  the  Span 
iards  feasted,9  and  in  return  Sinacam  succeeded  in 
obtaining  the  aid  of  his  powerful  friends  against  his 
hostile  neighbors.  Frequent  conversations  were  held 
relative  to  the  subjugation  of  the  Zutugils,  and  to 

1Jnarros,  Guat.,  ii.  243-4.  This  author  adds  that  Bishop  Marroquin, 
having  heard  of  this  stone,  caused  it  to  be  cut  into  a  square  and  consecrated 
as  part  of  the  high  altar  in  the  church  of  Tecpan  Guatemala.  Stephens  saw 
it  and  says  that  it  is  a  piece  of  common  slate.  Incid.  of  Travel  in  Cent.  Am.j 
ii.  150. 

f  '  Donde  fui  mui  bien  recibido  de  los  Senores  de  ella,  que  no  pudiera  ser 
mas  en  Casa  de  nuestros  Padres;  i  fuimos  tan  proveidos  de  todo  lo  necesario, 
que  ninguna  cosa  hovo  f alta. '  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  161. 

9  On  this  occasion  Friar  Juan  de  Torres  converted  and  baptized  many. 
Vazquez,  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  7. 


ATITLAK  657 

insure  this  happy  consummation  Sinacam  expatiated 
on  the  contemptuous  pride  of  Tepepul,  king  of  Atit 
lan,10  and  his  further  wickedness  in  not  tendering 
allegiance  to  the  Teules.11  It  seems  that  the  Zutugil 
ruler  had  incurred  the  hatred  of  Sinacam  by  giving 
assistance  to  his  rebellious  vassal,  Acpocaquil,12  and 
making  nocturnal  incursions  into  the  Cakchiquel  ter 
ritory  by  means  of  canoes.  These  outrages  were 
prompted  partly  by  his  reliance  on  the  impregnable 
position  of  his  city,  situated  on  the  hanging  cliffs 
above  Lake  Atitlan,  seven  leagues  from  Patinamit. 
Alvarado  required  little  persuasion  to  engage  in  his 
favorite  pastime  of  gold-hunting  and  blood-letting. 
He  was  well  aware  of  the  supercilious  nature  of 
Tepepul,  and  had  already  determined  to  visit  him  in 
person.  While  at  Utatlan  he  had  sent  four  mes 
sengers  to  the  court  of  Atitlan.  bearing  the  usual 

O  *  O 

requirement;  but  the  haughty  monarch,  instead  of 
paying  the  respect  due  to  so  important  a  demand,  put 
the  messengers  to  death.  This  ruffled  Alvarado, 
though  it  did  not  dishearten  him.  "  I  think,"  he 
writes  to  Cortes  respecting  this  city,  "  that  with  the 
help  of  our  Lord  we  shall  soon  bring  it  to  the  service 
of  his  Majesty."13 

Alvarado  would  help  King  Sinacam,  but  first  he 
would  like  some  money  for  travelling  expenses.  This 
reasonable  request  could  not  be  refused;  not  only  was 
the  treasure  house  of  Patinamit  emptied,  but  the 
entire  district,  so  far  as  possible,  was  stripped  of  its 
gold,  jewels,  and  whatever  the  Spaniards  regarded  as 

10  Atitlan,  in  the  Pipil  language  '  Correo  de  Agua,'  or  'Water  Courier.' 
This  is  according  to  Juarros,  who  states  that  the  place  was  also  called  Atziqui- 
nixai,  which  in  the  Quiche  language  signifies   'House  of  the  Eagle,'  from 
the  device  of  the  kings,  who  wore  as  their  royal  emblem  an  eagle  fashioned 
from  the  plumes  of  the  quetzal.  Guaf.,  245.     Ternaux-Compans  wrongly  in 
terprets  it  'watercourse,'  '  cours  d'eau.'    Voy.,  se'rie  i.  torn.  x.  416. 

11  Its  real  meaning,  however,  is  '  heroes'  or  '  demigods.' 

li!  An  insurrection  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  monarchy  had  been  pro 
moted  by  this  cacique.  These  cities,  according  to  Vazquez,  were  Tecpan 
Atitlan  and  others  of  that  province,  while  Fuentes  believes  them  to  have  been 
Tecpan  Guatemala  and  its  dependencies.  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  277. 

"  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  ICO. 

HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    42 


658  THE  CAKCHIQUELS  AND  ZUTUGILS. 

desirable.14  After  this  the  Spaniards  were  ready  to 
pass  into  the  next  district  and  levy  like  tribute,  with 
or  without  bloodshed. 

In  order  to  proceed  with  regularity,  Alvarado 
again  sent  envoys  to  Atitlan,  demanding  that  Tepepul 
should  cease  hostilities  against  the  Cakchiquels,  who 
were  the  allies  of  the  Teules,  and  again  the  ruler  dis 
played  his  contempt  by  putting  to  death  the  messen 
gers.15  Thereupon  Alvarado  set  out  with  sixty  cavalry, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  infantry,  and  a  large  body  of 
Cakchiquels,  commanded  by  their  chiefs.16  Meeting 
no  opposition  he  advanced  with  thirty  horse  to  the 
height  above  the  lake,  and  descended  over  difficult 
ground  to  a  level  plain  that  lay  in  front  of  a  fortified 
rock  in  the  water.  This  was  approachable  only  by 
means  of  a  narrow  causeway,  intersected  at  different 
points  by  wooden  bridges.  Near  by  the  enemy  were 
now  discovered  drawn  up  in  two  bodies,  each  eight 
thousand  strong.  They  advanced  at  once  to  the  at 
tack,  armed  with  lances,  bows  and  arrows,  and  other 
weapons,  protected,  moreover,  by  cotton  corselets.17 
As  the  rest  of  his  forces  were  not  far  behind,  Alva 
rado  did  not  hesitate  to  charge,  and  when  the  in- 

14  '  Le  dieron  muchos  presentes  de  oro  y  plata  y  joyas  en  gran  cantidad.' 
Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado,  7,  25,  28  et  seq. 

15 'A  los  quales  mataron  sin  temor  ninguno.'  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  161. 
Bernal  Diaz  states  that  Alvarado  sent  messengers  on  three  several  occasions. 
Hist.  Verdad.,  175. 

16  Bernal  Diaz  affirms  that  Alvarado  took  with  him  more  than  140  soldiers, 
of  whom  twenty  were  cross-bowmen  and  arquebusiers,  and  40  horsemen,  with 
2000  Guatemalans.     It  must,  however,  be  concluded  that  the  statements  of 
the  'true  historian'  with  regard  to  the  conquest  of  Guatemala  cannot  be  relied 
on  as  exact,  since  he  admits  that  he  was  not  present :   '  Y  esto  digo,  porque  no 
me   halle  en  estas  Conquistas.'  Hist.  Verdad.,   175-6.     Brasseur  de   Bour- 
bourg  also  states  that  2000  Cakchiquels,  commanded  by  the  Ahpotzotzil  and 
the  Ahpoxahil,  accompanied  the  Spaniards.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ. ,  iv.  652.    Juarros, 
gives  the  forces  as  consisting  of  40  horse,  100  foot,  and  2000  Guatemalans.     It 
is  quite  evident  that  this  author  never  consulted  Alvarado's  despatches,  judg 
ing  from  the  many  instances  of  chronological,  numerical,  and  other  differences. 
Alvarado  says  he  marched  so  rapidly  that  he  reached  the  territory  of  the 
Zutugils  the  same  day  on  which  he  left  the  city  of  Guatemala.  Juarros  writes, 
'  Caminaba  a   convenientes  jornadas.'  Guat.,  278.     Salazar   follows   Bernal 
Diaz.  Conq.  Mex.,  131. 

17  Juarros  states  that  these  forces  were  stationed  upon  the  peuol,  or  insular 
rock,  but  were  so  harassed  by  the  cross-bowmen  that  they  sallied  and  gave 
fight  to  the  Spaniards  on  the  plain.  Guat.,  ii.  278. 


THE  CITY  TAKEN.  G59 

fantry  soon  came  up  the  engagement  became  general. 
For  some  time  it  was  most  obstinately  maintained, 
and  numbers  of  the  Spanish  soldiers  were  wounded. 
The  cavalry,  however,  succeeded  as  ever  in  breaking 
the  enemy's  lines,  relieving  the  hard-pressed  foot- 
soldiers,  who  thereupon  rallied  and  renewed  their 
efforts  so  vigorously  as  soon  to  send  the  enemy  rushing 
for  the  stronghold.  The  pursuing  horsemen  arrived 
at  the  causeway  as  soon  as  the  fugitives;  here  they 
were  obliged  to  dismount,  as  the  place  was  impassable 
for  horses;  yet  they  followed  the  Indians  so  closely 
that  no  time  was  given  to  destroy  the  bridges,  and 
the  Spaniards  entered  the  fort  with  them.  The 
infantry  soon  came  up,  and  though  the  Zutugils 
struggled  desperately  to  maintain  their  position,  the 
volleys  of  the  arquebusiers  made  such  havoc  in  their 
ranks  that  at  last  they  plunged  into  the  lake  and 
swam  to  a  neighboring  island,  whence  many  of  them 
escaped  before  the  tardy  arrival  of  three  hundred 
Cakchiquel  canoes. 

That  evening,  after  sacking  all  the  houses  on  the 
rock,  Alvarado  pitched  his  camp  in  a  field  of  maize. 
On  the  following  morning  he  implored  divine  protec 
tion  and  marched  against  Atitlan.  He  found  the  city 
abandoned,  his  capture  of  what  they  regarded  as  an 
impregnable  stronghold  in  the  lake  having  so  discom 
fited  the  Zutusrils  that  they  dared  not  contend  with 

O  t/ 

him  for  their  city.  At  mid-day  he  took  up  position 
in  the  capital,  and  at  once  set  about  to  overrun  and 
devastate  the  country;  but  it  was  so  rugged  that  the 
men  could  with  difficulty  move,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
content  himself  with  destroying  some  plantations  of 
maize  and  cacao.18  He  succeeded  in  making  a  few 

O 

captives,  three  of  whom  were  despatched  to  King 
Tepepul  with  the  usual  demand  of  submission,  accom 
panied  by  threats  in  case  of  refusal.  Perceiving  the 
necessity,  the  Zutugil  monarch  gracefully  yielded, 

18  '  I  por  la  mucha  agrura  de  la  Tierra,  como  digo,  no  se  mato  mas  Gente.' 
Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  162. 


6GO  THE  CAKCHIQUELS  AND  ZUTUGILS. 

whereupon  the  conqueror  became  gracious.  He  com 
plimented  the  Zutugils  for  their  bravery,  pardoned 
their  offences,  and  exhorted  them  to  remain  faithful, 
and  to  make  no  more  war  on  such  of  their  neighbors 
as  were  the  recognized  subjects  of  the  king  of  Spain. 
To  give  efficacy  to  his  words  he  built  a  strong  fort  in 
a  suitable  position,  and  left  in  it  four  hundred  and 
eighteen  men,  Spaniards  and  Mexican  allies,  under 
the  command  of  Hector  de  Chaves  and  Alonso  del 
Pulgar.  Then  he  returned  to  Patinamit.19 

Within  three  days  the  lords  of  the  lake  district 
presented  themselves,  with  presents  of  gold  and  rai 
ment.  They  expressed  joy  at  becoming  vassals  of  his 
majesty  of  Spain,  for  wars  and  woes  should  thence 
forth  be  unknown  among  them.  The  Spanish  com 
mander  was  extremely  affable  as  he  presented  his 
visitors  with  some  glass  trinkets,  of  great  value  in 
their  eyes,  and  dismissed  them  with  every  demonstra 
tion  of  affection.20 

Perhaps  one  reason  why  the  play  of  Helen  of  Troy 
was  not  oftener  performed  by  the  Spanish  conquerors 
in  America  was  on  account  of  the  cheapness  of  women 
there.  There  might  be  lacking  gold,  or  pearls,  or 
provender,  but  seldom  was  a  people  found  so  poor  that 
they  could  not  furnish  the  army  a  liberal  supply  of 

19  About  the  middle  of  May,  according   to  the  Cakchiquel  manuscript. 
Bernal  Diaz  states  that  Olmedo  preached  the  gospel  to  the  Indians,  and  cele 
brated  mass  on  an  altar  which  they  erected.     The  friar  also  put  up  an  image 
of  the  virgin,  which  Garay  had  brought  and  given  him  when  he  died.  Hist. 
Verdad.,  176. 

20  A Ivarado,  Relation,   in  Barcia,  i.    161-2;  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Verdad., 
175;  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  230-1;  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  x.;  Oviedo,  iii. 
480-1;  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  277-80;  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat,.  Civ., 
iv.  652-5.    In  a  memorial  addressed  by  the  chiefs  of  Atitlan  to  Philip  II., 
and  dated  February  1,  1571,  it  is  stated  that  when  Alvarado  came  into  the 
country  he  was  received  in  a  friendly  spirit  at  Atitlan ;  that  no  one  took  up 
arms  against  him,  but  that  valuable  presents  were  made,  while  each  town 
and  village  paid  tribute  according   to  its  means.     Numbers  of  their  prin 
cipal  men  accompanied  him  on  his  future  campaigns,  and   lost  their  lives 
in  his  service.   Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  i.,  torn,  x.,  419-20.     Though 
the  Atitlan  campaign  was  less  sanguinary  than  the  previous  ones,  this  contra 
diction  of  all  accounts,  in  stating  that  the  Spaniards  were  peaceably  received, 
must  have  proceeded  from  anxiety  on  the  part  of  the  natives  to  gain  some  favor 
or  obtain  some  redress. 


ALVARADO  IN  LOVE.  661 

pretty  slave  girls.  Less  is  found  in  the  chronicles  of 
this  kind  of  traffic  than  of  the  traffic  in  gold  and  the 
traffic  in  religion.  The  merchandise  of  morality,  or 
rather  of  immorality,  was  less  portable  than  the  other 
kinds.  Women  were  to  use  and  throw  away;  gold 
would  keep ;  while  religion  was  always  a  staple  article 
in  the  Spanish  nation. 

Now  the  pious  Alvarado,  next  to  his  delectable 
master  Cortes  the  most  pious  pirate  in  all  the  Indies, 
had  tasted  every  iniquity  condemned  in  his  most  holy 
scriptures  except  that  invented  and  acted  by  the  sweet 
psalmist  of  Israel.  He  had  severally  broken  every 
commandment  of  the  decalogue,  then  he  had  put  them 
together  and  had  broken  them  in  every  conceivable 
combination.  But  while  maidens  were  so  plump  and 
plenty  he  had  never  felt  the  desire,  like  good  King 
David,  to  go  after  the  wife  of  any  Uriah  the  Hittite. 
But  while  enjoying  the  luxurious  hospitality  of  the 
Cakchiquel  capital,  with  a  world  to  give  for  a  new 
sensation,  Alvarado's  eye  fell  on  the  beautiful  Suchil,21 
wife  of  King  Sinacam.  In  some  respects  it  was  the 
Israelitish  tale  reversed,  for  Sinacam  was  by  no  means 
a  poor  man  in  respect  of  women,  nor  was  Suchil  his 
only  ewe  lamb.  The  susceptible  heart  of  the  dashing 
commander  was  smitten  by  the  graces  of  this  queen, 
and  he  resolved  to  possess  her.  Being  a  conqueror, 
with  a  king  for  a  slave,  he  might  have  obtained  his 
desire  by  the  simple  demand ;  but  in  those  days  there 
was  something  sacred  in  royalty,  even  in  heathen  and 
captive  royalty.  Sinacam  was  now  an  acknowledged 
subject  of  Spain,  and  as  such  possessed  rights;  besides, 
that  was  not  the  way  set  forth  by  the  bright  exemplar 
of  his  faith. 

Upon  some  pretext,  therefore,  Sinacam  was  arrested 
and  put  in  irons.  Gold  was  then  demanded,  and  yet 

21  One  witness  at  the  trial  of  Alvarado  in  1528-9  states  that  he  heard 
this  person  was  a  sister  of  the  king,  but  from  the  statement  contained  in  the 
charge,  and  supported  by  many  witnesses,  it  can  only  be  inferred  that  she 
was  one  of  the  wives  of  the  monarch.  Ramirez,  Proccso  contra  Alvarado,  7, 
22,  passim.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg's  version  is  that  Suchil  was  the  wife  of 
one  of  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  crown.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ. ,  iv.  656. 


662  THE  CAKCHIQUELS  AND  ZUTUGILS. 

more  gold.  It  was  the  old  method  of  making  the 
penalty  supply  the  place  of  guilt  and  condemnation. 
Then  Suchil  was  seized,  I  do  not  say  unwillingly,  for 
the  Spanish  commander  was  fair  and  fascinating,  and 
the  Cakchiquel  queen  was  after  all  but  a  woman. 
Above  all  things  on  earth,  or  beyond  the  earth,  Sina- 
cam  regarded  her — and  for  her  restoration  he  offered 
more  jewels,  and  pretty  maidens,  ay,  the  daughters  of 
chieftains,  by  the  hundred.  Alvarado  refused  the 
prayer  but  not  the  offering.  When  love  had  cooled 
he  released  the  king  and  went  his  way.' 


99 


22  The  defence  set  up  by  Alvarado  when  charged  with  this  outrage  is 
exceedingly  weak.  He  had  been  deceived  by  the  Cakchiquel  nobles,  he  said, 
who,  not  wishing  him  to  march  farther  south,  made  false  representations 
regarding  the  difficulties  he  would  meet  with.  A  Spanish  soldier  named 
Falcon  reported  that  a  slave  girl  described  the  country  as  fair  and  rich ;  upon 
which  Alvarado  commanded  her  to  be  brought  forward.  This  was  persistently 
refused  by  the  chiefs,  until  he  seized  one ;  then  an  Indian  girl  of  noble  birth 
was  produced,  but  not  the  right  one.  '  He,  however,  importuned  them  much,' 
and  finally  Suchil  was  delivered  up  to  him.  The  reader  will  appreciate  the 
probability  of  this  story  when  he  considers  how  likely  it  was  that  the  Cak 
chiquel  nobles  would  seek  to  deter  Alvarado  from  proceeding  against  their 
national  enemies.  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado.  See  question  and  charge, 
xvii.  and  xix.,  pp.  7  and  57,  Alvarado's  reply,  p.  77-8,  and  testimony. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

EXPEDITION    TO     SALVADOR. 
1524. 

CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  ITZCUINTLAN — A  ROUGH  MARCH — THE  TOWN  SUR 
PRISED—DESPERATE  DEFENCE — ALVARADO  DETERMINES  TO  EXPLORE 
STILL  FARTHER  SOUTH — CROSSING  THE  RlVER  MlCHATOYAT  —  THE 
SPANIARDS  COME  TO  ATIQUIPAC,  TACUYLULA,  TAXISCO,  NANCINTLAN, 
AND  PAZACO — THE  TOWNS  DESERTED — POISONED  STAKES  AND  CANINE 
SACRIFICE — ENTER  SALVADOR — MOQUIZALCO  AND  ACATEPEC — BATTLES 
OF  ACAJUTLA  AND  TACUXCALCO  —  BLOOD-THIRSTINESS  OF  THIS  CON- 
QUEROR — ENTRY  INTO  CUZCATLAN — FLIGHT  OF  THE  INHABITANTS — 
RETURN  TO  PATINAMIT. 

WHILE  receiving  at  Patinamit,  after  the  Zutugil 
campaign,  the  fealty  of  numerous  chieftains  of  the 
southern  coast  provinces,  Alvarado  was  told  that  the 
district  of  Itzcuintlan1  defied,  him.  And  with  their  re 
fusal  to  accept  the  benefits  of  Christian  civilization  cer 
tain  irritating  expressions  of  contempt  were  reported 
to  have  been  uttered  by  the  ruler  of  the  province. 
Chiefs  of  other  tribes  who  wished  to  pass  through  it, 
in  order  to  tender  allegiance  to  the  Spaniards,  were 
deterred  and  insulted,  and  the  conqueror  was  chal 
lenged  to  enter  the  land.2  Somewhat  ruffled  by  these 
bold  proceedings,  the  impetuous  commander  marched 
against  Itzcuintlan  with  all  his  available  force,  Span 
ish  horse  and  foot,  and  a  large  body  of  Quiches  and 

1  The  native  name  of  the  chief  town,  Panatacat,  was  known  in  the  time  of 
Vazquez  as  Isquintepcque,   Alvarado  calls  it  Iscuyntcpeque,  Relation,  i.   162 ; 
Herrera,   Yzquintrpec,    dec.    iii.  lib.    v.    cap.    x. ;   Gomara,  Izcuintepec,  Hist. 
Alex.,  231.  Its  modern  appellation  is  Escuintla.   See  also  Native  Races,  v.  007. 

2  '  Diciendoles,  qu6  adoiide  iban,  i  que  eran  locos,  sino  que  me  dejasen  a 
mi  ir  alia,  i  que  todos  me  darian  Guerra.'  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  162;  Her 
rera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  x.;  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  231. 

[6G3] 


G64  EXPEDITION  TO  SALVADOR. 

Cakchiquels.8  It  was  a  very  rough  country  through 
which  he  had  to  pass.  Roads  there  were  none,  other 
than  mere  tracks  through  the  thick  woods,  for  in 
tercourse  with  Itzcuintlan  had  been  almost  entirely 
closed,  owing  to  incessant  war;  but  these  circumstances 
favored  a  secret  entrance  into  the  hostile  territory. 
For  three  days  they  forced  their  way  through  an 
uninhabitable  tract  almost  closed  to  man  by  tropical 
undergrowth,  which  required  constant  application  of 
axe  and  knife,  so  that  one  day  they  were  unable  to 
proceed  more  than  two  leagues.  On  reaching  the 
province  it  was  found  covered  with  thick  plantations 
alternating  with  swamps.  Such  ground  being  no  place 
for  horses,  the  arquebusiers  took  the  front,  and  ad 
vanced  upon  the  town  from  three  different  quarters. 
It  was  raining  heavily  at  the  time,  a  shower  prelimi 
nary  to  the  season  of  rain,  and  the  sentinels  had 
retired,  so  that  the  surprise  was  complete.*  Unable 
to  arm  or  unite,  the  inhabitants  fled  to  the  woods  to 
escape  the  swords  of  the  conquerors.  In  the  fort, 
however,  which  commanded  the  town,  a  considerable 
body  of  warriors  had  "gathered,  who  offered  a  de 
termined  resistance,  wounding  many  Spaniards  and 
causing  great  loss  to  the  Indian  auxiliaries.  After  five 
hours  of  unavailing  attempts  to  gain  possession  of  the 
stronghold,  the  enraged  Alvarado  set  fire  to  the  place. 
The  brave  defenders  appear  to  have  escaped,  thanks 
to  the  heavy  rain  and  the  proximity  of  the  sur 
rounding  woods.  Indeed,  according  to  Alvarado's  own 

3  Juarros,  followed  by  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  states  that  the  army,  when 
in   Itzcuintlan,    consisted   of  250   Spanish  infantry,    100  cavalry,  and  0000 
Guatemalan  and  other  Indians.  Guat.  (ed.  London,  1823,)  229.     Now,  Alva 
rado  a  little  later  in  this  campaign  states  that  he  had  150  infantry,  100  horse, 
and  5000  or  GOOO  Indian  auxiliaries.     This  number  of  infantry  is  more  proba 
bly  correct  than  that  given  by  Juarros.     Alvarado  had  only  300  infantry 
when   he   left   Mexico,  and,  though  few  had   been    killed,    numbers   were 
wounded,  and  he  had  left  garrisons  at  various  places.    Relation,  i.  1G3.    That 
he  should  leave  Itzcuintlan  with  250  Spanish  foot-soldiers  and  lose  100  of  them 
in  a  few  weeks  is  a  supposition  that  cannot  be  entertained.     Juarros  appears 
to  have  followed  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  232,  who  gives  the  above  figures. 

4  No  summons  of  surrender  was  sent,  which  omission  was  brought  forward 
as  a  charge  against  the  commander  at  a  later  date.  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra 
Alvarado,  7,  57  et  seq. 


CONQUEST  OF  ITZCUINTLAN.  665 

statement,  he  did  no  harm  beyond  burning  the  town.5 
The  subjection  of  the  district  was  not  yet  accomplished, 
however,  and  messengers  were  sent  to  the  ruler  with 
the  usual  summons  and  threats.  If  they  persisted 
in  keeping  aloof  and  refusing  to  submit,  their  lands 
and  cornfields  would  be  devastated,  and  they  and 
their  children  made  slaves.  This  menace  had  the 
desired  effect;  the  cacique  and  his  chiefs  submitted 
and  swore  obedience,  and  during  the  eight  days  Alva- 
rado  remained  in  this  place  a  number  of  the  surround 
ing  towns  sent  in  their  allegiance.  But  the  restless 
spirit  of  both  leader  and  men  was  not  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  subjugation  of  one  province  only.  The  lieu 
tenant-general  had  heard  exciting  accounts  of  immense 
cities  and  wonderful  palaces,  and  discovery  was  almost 
as  attractive  to  him  as  pacification.  He  had  already 
informed  Cortes  that  it  was  his  intention  to  winter 
fifty  or  one  hundred  leagues  beyond  Guatemala.  As 
an  additional  incentive  he  had  received  positive  infor 
mation  that  a  march  of  twenty -five  days  from  Guate 
mala  would  bring  him  to  the  end  of  the  land :  if  that 
should  prove  to  be  the  case  he  was  confident  of  find 
ing  soon  the  famous  strait,  for  which  so  many  were 
searching.6  Besides  the  strait  he  desired  also  to  find  a 
harbor  where  he  could  construct  vessels  for  exploring 
the  coast  at  a  later  date.  Already  a  great  soldier,  he 
desired  to  become  also  a  great  discoverer.  Even  the 
rainy  season,  which  has  just  set  in,  should  not  deter 
him,  though  his  difficulties  would  be  greatly  increased 
thereby. 

Starting  southward,  then,  from  Itzcuintlan,  the 
first  difficulty  encountered  by  the  army  was  the  River 

5  Juarros  states  that  this  was  a  night  attack,  and  that  the  inhabitants  were 
asleep  when  the  Spaniards  entered ;  Bernal  Diaz  says  that  it  occurred  in  the 
morning. 

0  '  Tambien  me  han  dicho,  que  cinco  Jornadas  adelante  de  vna  Ciudad  mui 
grande,  que  esta  veinte  Jornadas  de  aqui,  se  acaba  esta  Tierra...si  asi  es, 
ccrtisimo  tengo  que  es  el  Estrecho.'  A/vamdo.  Relation,  i.  100.  Pelaez erro 
neously  makes  this  campaign  follow  the  reduction  of  Mixco,  Sacatepeque, 
Mazatenango,  etc.  Mem.  Gnat.,  i.  45-46.  Vazquez  thus  describes  it:  'Sin 
dejar  las  annas  de  las  manos,  ni  dia  alguno  de  batallar  en  los  Pueblos  de  la 
Costa,  corrio  como  un  rayo,  el  y  su  Exercito.'  Chronica  de  G'vat.,  7. 


666  EXPEDITION  TO  SALVADOR. 

Michatoyat,7  which  could  be  crossed  only  by  bridging. 
The  first  town  reached  was  Atiquipac,8  where  the  Span 
iards  were  amicably  received,  but  at  sunset  the  people 
abandoned  their  homes  and  fled  to  the  mountains.9 

7  Laet,  Ogilby,  and  Kiepert  write  R.  Michatoya. 

8  Called  Atiepar  by  Alvarado ;  Caetipar  by  Gomara ;  Atiquipaque  by  Juar- 
ros;  Aticpac  by  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg;  and  by  Ixtlilxocb.it!,  in  Horribles 
Crueldades,  69,  Cala.     Alvarado  states  that  both  the  language  and  race  of 
people  were  here  different. 

9  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado,  7-8  et  seq.     The  account  given  by 
Juarros  differs  so  much  from  Alvarado's  that  I  can  give  the  former  but  little 
consideration  in  the  text.     It  is  to  this  effect:  After  crossing  the  river  the 
Spaniards  were  attacked  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  and  an  obstinate  battle 
ensued,  in  which  Alvarado  was  dismounted  by  a  chief,  who  wounded  his 
horse  with  a  lance.     Alvarado  then  attacked  the  Indian  on  foot  and  killed 
him.     The  victory  was  for  some  time  doubtful,  but  passed  finally  to  the 
Spaniards.     On  the  following  day  they  entered  the  deserted  town,  where 
before  long  they  were  again  attacked  by  a  fresh  body  of  the  enemy.     Cooped 
in  the  narrow  streets,  the  Spaniards  could  not  act,  and  retreated  to  open 
ground,  where  they  soon  threw  the  Indians  into  disorder. 

Alvarado's  despatches  to  Cortes,  Relation  de  Alvarado,  form  the  base  of 
that  portion  of  the  conquest  of  Guatemala  which  begins  witli  the  departure 
of  the  Spaniards  from  Soconusco  and  terminates  with  the  founding  of  the 
Ciudad  de  Santiago  at  Patinamit.  Two  only  of  these  reports  are  extant ;  that 
there  was  at  least  one  more  is  certain  from  the  opening  line  of  the  first, 
wherein  Alvarado  states  that  he  had  written  from  Soconusco ;  '  de  Soncomisco 
escrivi  a  Vuestra  Magestad.'  It  might  be  supposed,  from  the  expression 
'Vuestra  Magestad,'  that  the  letter  was  addressed  to  the  king  of  Spain;  the 
conclusion,  however,  proves  that  such  was  not  the  case,  as  Alvarado  requests 
Cortes  to  report  his  services  to  his  Majesty.  'Magestad'  is  probably  a  mis 
print  for  'Merced,'  or  an  incorrect  reading  of  the  manuscript.  These  de 
spatches  were  first  published  at  Toledo,  October  20,  1525,  with  the  fourth 
report  of  Cortes  to  the  king  of  Spain.  They  were  afterward  translated  into 
Italian  by  Ramusio  and  published  at  Venice  in  1565.  In  1749  Barcia,  a 
member  of  the  royal  council,  reproduced  them,  in  Madrid,  in  his  collection 
of  the  works  of  the  chroniclers,  and  it  may  be  remarked  that  Ramusio's 
translation  does  not  always  agree  with  this  Spanish  edition.  Ternaux- 
Compans  translated  Ramusio's  version  into  French  and  published  the  let 
ters  at  Paris,  in  1S38,  in  his  Collection  of  Voyages.  Alvarado's  style  is 
clear  and  simple,  terse  and  vigorous,  and  his  descriptions  are  vivid.  That 
he  did  not  report  all  his  proceedings  to  Cortes  is  evident  from  the  Proceso 
contra  Alvarado,  already  frequently  quoted,  in  which  numerous  acts  of 
cruelty,  outrage,  and  embezzlement  are  charged  against  him.  Yet  there 
is  no  just  reason  to  doubt  the  truthfulness  of  his  narrations  so  far  as  they 
go,  since  they  are  supported  by  good  authorities.  It  is  suppression  and 
not  misrepresentation  of  facts  that  can  be  charged  against  him.  In  these 
two  despatches  the  \vriter  has  portrayed  his  own  character  most  clearly. 
His  energy,  recklessness,  and  indomitable  will,  his  bravery,  religious  su 
perstition,  and  ambition,  are  all  distinctly  displayed ;  but  in  bold  relief, 
prominent  above  all  other  traits,  is  recognized  his  cruelty:  whenever  the 
carnage  on  the  battle-field  has  been  unusually  dreadful  he  delights  to  report 
it  to  Cortes,  sometimes  even  mentioning  the  matter  twice;  and  when  the 
natives  have  managed  to  escape  him  with  comparatively  small  loss,  he 
regretfully  enters  into  explanations  and  gives  the  reasons  why  so  few  lives 
were  taken.  These  despatches  are  particularly  interesting  for  their  evi 
dence  relative  to  the  site  of  the  first  city  founded  by  the  Spaniards  in 
Guatemala.  They  moreover  correct  many  errors  committed  by  Remesal, 


TOWNS  TAKEN.  667 

There  was  no  time  to  be  wasted  with  them,  f  r  the 
roads  might  at  any  time  be  rendered  impassable  by  the 
rains,  and  so  the  army  pushed  forward  after  branding 
a  few  unfortunates  as  slaves,10  the  commander  taking 
every  precaution  in  the  disposition  of  his  forces  for  the 
security  of  baggage  and  the  protection  of  the  auxilia 
ries.  The  next  town  reached  was  Tacuylula,  standing 
to-day  under  the  same  name.  The  reception  here  was 
similar  to  the  former,  except,  perhaps,  that  the  natives 
detected  the  quality  of  their  visitors  more  quickly  than 
did  the  people  of  Atiquipac.  Within  an  hour  they  had 
all  fled.11 

From  Tacuylula  they  advanced  to  Taxisco,  where, 
according  to  Alvarado's  report,  the  inhabitants  ap 
peared  friendly.12  They  passed  the  night  in  the  town, 
with  every  precaution  against  attack,  for  it  was  strong 
and  populous,  and  the  Spaniards  were  under  no  little 
apprehension  of  an  assault.  They  were  unmolested, 
however,  and  left  on  the  following  morning  for  the 
town  of  Nancintlan.13  For  better  security  the  com 
mander  placed  ten  horsemen  in  the  rear  and  an  equal 
number  in  the  centre  with  his  baggage,  while  with 
the  remainder  of  the  cavalry  he  led  the  van.  He  had 
advanced  between  two  and  three  leagues  when  a  fierce 
assault  was  made  upon  his  rear,  wherein  a  number 

Fuentes,  and  Juarros,  who,  strange  to  say,  could  never  have  seen  these  reports, 
or  even  Oviedo's  almost  verbatim  copy  of  them.  Another  narrative  of  the 
conquest  was  written  by  Gonzalo  de  Alvarado,  which  work  Pelaez,  Mem. 
Gnat.,  i.  47,  considers  that  Herrera  must  have  seen.  It  was  never  published  ; 
Juarros  thus  describes  it :  '  MS.  de  Gonzalo  de  Alvarado,  que  paraba  en  poder 
de  D.  Nicolas  de  Vides  y  Alvarado,  su  descendiente.' 

10  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alv/trado,  7-8  et  seq. 

11  'Me  recibieron  de  paz,  i  se  alcaron  dende  a  vna  hora.'  Alvarado,  Rela 
tion,  i.  103. 

12 . Juarros  states  that  the  army  halted  near  the  city,  and  was  almost 
immediately  attacked  by  three  strong  bands  of  natives,  one  descending  from 
the  heights  of  Nextiquipac,  another  from  Taxisco,  and  the  third  from  Guaza- 
capan.  It  required  all  the  skill  and  strength  of  the  Spaniards  to  resist  the 
combined  onset.  But  the  division  from  Guazacapan  abandoned  the  field, 
while  that  which  came  down  from  the  mountains  was  broken  and  put  to 
flight;  whereupon  the  Taxisco  party  submitted,  and  the  town  remained  in 
the  possession  of  the  Spaniards.  Juarros,  Gnat.  (ed.  London,  1823),  231. 

13 .Called  by  Alvarado  Nacendelan,  and  Necendelan  by  Gomara;  in  Mer- 
cator's  Atlas,  1574,  Nucendele»,  and  in  the  West-hidische  Spieghel,  64,  zVa- 
cedelan.  Its  modern  name  is  Nancintla. 


670  EXPEDITION  TO  SALVADOR. 

Both  of  these  towns  received  the  strangers  hospitably, 
but  the  inhabitants  soon  fled,  overcome  by  terror  at 
the  cruelties  committed.  Angered  by  this  continual 
desertion,  Alvarado  ordered  the  Indians  to  be  pur 
sued,  and  as  many  of  them  as  could  be  seized  were 
branded  as  slaves.  He  then  hastened  forward,  direct 
ing  his  march  to  Acajutla.25  On  arriving  within  half 
a  league  of  the  town  he  encountered  a  mighty  host 
drawn  up  in  battle  array  to  oppose  him,  their  ranks 
extending  over  a  wide  plain  that  lay  before  the  city. 


25  Mentioned  by  the  conqueror  as  Acaxual,  '  donde  bate  la  Mar  del  Sur  en 
el.'  Relation,  i.  163.  Gomara  calls  it  Acaiucatl;  Herrera,  Cayacatl;  and  Oviedo 
Acarral,  while  Ixtlilxochitl  gives  it  the  name  of  Acayncatl.  Its  modern  ap 
pellation  is  Acajutla.  Juarros  incorrectly  states  that  Alvarado  did  not  dis 
cover  it  before  1534.  Guat.,  i.  254.  Fernando  Colon,  1527,  and  Diego  de 
Ribero,  1529,  write  las  matas.  Mercator's  atlas,  1574,  town  and  bay  Acaxutla  ; 
Ogilby,  1071,  Pto  d'  Acaxutla;  Laet,  1633,  P°  de  Acaxutla;  West-Indlsche 
Spieyhe!,  1624,  Caxuita;  Jefferys,  1776,  Sonsonateor Trinidad  City,  RioStJago, 
and  the  southern  point  Izalcos,  southern  cape  P*  de  los  Remedies,  northern 
cape  P*  Dacaxutla,  on  the  coast  near  the  latter  point  Guacapa,  and  in  the  in 
terior  Chiquimula.  A  little  north  river  and  city  las  Esdavos;  Kiepert,  1858, 
B,  de  Sonsonate,  also  a  like  named  city  on  the  R.  &  Jago,  On  the  coast,  A ca- 
jutta  city,  and  eastward,  P.  de  los  Remedies,  Puerto  Libertad,  and  P*  de  la 
Voncordia.  The  coast  is  called  Cuesta  del  Balsamo, 


NOBLE  GAME.  671 

It  was  indeed  an  inspiriting  sight  for  an  Indian  fighter. 
Times  had  been  somewhat  tame  for  the  last  few  days, 
but  here  was  the  promise  of  rare  sport,  indeed.  Al 
varado,  who  was  in  advance  with  the  cavalry, 
approached  to  within  a  cross-bow  shot,  and  then 
halted  for  his  infantry  to  come  up.  As  he  ran  his 
experienced  eye  over  the  forests  of  spears,  and  marked 
the  magnitude  of  the  hostile  array,  he  felt  that  all 
his  coolness  and  all  his  skill  would  be  required  to  save 
his  army  that  day.  War  plumes  waved  from  the 
heads  of  thousands,  and  battle  devices  were  scattered 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  while  the  feathered 
banners  floating  above  the  parti-colored  bands  threw 
over  all  an  air  of  peculiar  brilliance.26  The  foe  had 
chosen,  too,  an  advantageous  position.  In  their  rear 
thick  woods  offered  easy  refuge  in  case  of  need.  Yet 
already,  before  they  were  his  own,  Alvarado  began  to 
plan  that  none  should  escape  him.  He  stood  there 
like  a  hunter  overlooking  a  band  of  antelope,  and 
thinking  how  he  could  best  secure  them  all.  Of  what 
advantage  was  it  to  Charles,  or  Christ,  or  even  to 
these  panting  wolves  themselves,  that  this  ill  fated 
multitude  to  the  last  man  should  die? 

As  the  remainder  of  his  forces27  came  up,  Alvarado 
advanced  a  little  nearer  to  the  enemy.  The  Indians 
manifested  no  inclination  to  leave  their  position ;  they 
appeared  to  be  awaiting  attack.  Alvarado  then  feigned 
retreat,  which  the  army  performed  in  perfect  order, 
though  in  apparent  haste,28  the  commander  himself 
having  charge  of  the  rear.  The  result  was  as  he 
anticipated.  The  duped  natives  eagerly  pursued;  at 

26  '  Parecian  bien  con  los  sacos  como  eran  blancos,  y  cle  colores,  con  muy 
buenos  penachos  q  lleuauan  en  las  cabecas.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  232. 

27  It  is  on  this  occasion  that  Alvarado  gives  the  number  of  his  forces. 
Ixtlilxochitl  says  there  were  not  more  than  7000  Mexicans  and  Tezcucans . . . 
and  Alvarado  had  not  more  than  250  Spanish  foot  and  100  horse,  and  some 
few  thousand  Quauhtemaltecs.  Horribles  Crueldadcs,  69. 

28  Gomara  states  that  Alvarado  dared  not  attack  them,  because  they  were 
so  strong  and  well  drawn  up,  but  that  the  Indians  charged  the  Spanish  army 
as  it  was  moving  by.  Hist.  Mex.,  232.     Ixtlilxochitl's  account  is  similar  to 
that  of  Gomara:   'Pasaron  por  un  lado  del  ejercito  de  los  enemigos;  y  como 
los  vieron  a  la  otra  parte,  envistieron  con  ellos. '  Horribles  Crueldades,  G9-70. 


C72  EXPEDITION  TO  SALVADOR. 

last,  they  thought,  these  beings  maledict  are  afraid. 
And  they  flew  at  them  with  wild  demonstrations  of 
joy  at  the  expected  victory,  making  in  their  onset 
such  a  roar  as  would  have  appalled  any  but  veteran 
troops.  In  their  blind  enthusiasm  they  grappled  and 
struggled  with  the  retiring  cavalry,  seizing  the  horses' 
tails  and  the  riders'  stirrups.  Their  arrows  rattled 
thick  like  hailstones  against  the  metal  armor  of  the 
soldiers,  or  with  angry  hiss  passed  them  by,  reaching 
to  the  farthest  end  of  the  Spanish  army.  For  some 
time  this  movement  continued  over  the  level  plain, 
on  which  no  obstacle  interposed  to  prevent  its  suc 
cessful  achievement.29  After  thus  drawing  the  enemy 
away  from  the  friendly  wood,  and  to  such  ground 
as  best  suited  the  purpose,  the  order  was  given;  the 
Spanish  army  wheeled  and  fell  on  the  unprepared  foe 
like  a  storm  of  Sodom.  Sennacherib's  hosts  before 
Jerusalem  met  no  more  complete  destruction  than 
the  army  of  warriors  before  Acajutla  that  day.  In 
cased  in  cumbersome  cotton  armor,  they  could  not  flee, 
and  when  overthrown  by  the  charging  horsemen  they 
could  not  rise  again.30  As  they  lay  helpless  on  the 
ground  the  infantry  and  auxiliaries  would  cut  and 
pierce  them  as  if  they  had  been  swine,  following  as 
zealously  as  possible  the  example  of  Alvarado,  who, 
severely  wounded31  and  out  of  humor,  vented  his 
malignant  spleen  upon  these  home -defenders.  Ah! 
war  is  a  glorious  thing;  and  that  religion  and  civiliza 
tion  which  refine  and  ennoble  war! 


29  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  misled  by  Ternaux's  translation  from  Ramusio 
of  Alvarado's  letter, says:  'Sans  que  1'indgalit^  du  terrain  permit  aux  Espagnols 
de  leur  opposer  beaucoup  de  resistance.'  Hint.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  662.    See  also 
Alcarado,  Relation,  i.  164,  Bud  Alvarado,  Lettres,  in  Ternaux-Compans,  s^rie  i. 
torn.  x. 

30  For  armor  they  wore  a  sack,  with  sleeves  reaching  down  to  the  feet,  of 
hard  twisted  cotton,  three  fingers  in  thickness.    Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  232; 
AlvaradOt  Relation,  i.  164;  Native  If  aces,  ii.  742. 

31  He  had  been  pierced  through  the  thigh  with  an  arrow,  which  was  shot 
with  such  force  as  to  penetrate  the  saddle.     His  leg  was  shortened  in  conse 
quence  to  the  extent  of  four  fingers'  width,  and  he  remained  lame  for  life. 
Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  164.    Remesal  erroneously  states  that  Alvarado  received 
this  wound  in  Soconusco.  Hist.  Chyapa,  7. 


ANOTHER  C4REAT  BATTLE.  673 

The  revenge  of  the  chivalrous  commander  was  am 
ple;  not  one  of  all  that  multitude  of  warriors  was  left 
alive  upon  the  field.32  When  the  extermination  was 
finished  the  victorious  army  entered  Acajutla,  and 
remained  there  five  days  caring  for  their  wounded,  of 
whom  there  was  a  great  number;  then  they  passed 
on  to  Tacuxcalco.33  Pedro  Puertocarrero  had  been 
sent  forward  to  reconnoitre,  and  succeeded  in  cap 
turing  two  spies,  who  reported  that  the  warriors  of 
this  town  and  its  dependencies  were  assembled  in 
large  numbers  to  oppose  their  advance,  whereupon  the 
scouting  party  proceeded  until  they  arrived  within 
sight  of  the  enemy.  Gonzalo  de  Alvarado,  who  led 
the  van,  his  brother  being  ill  of  his  wound,  presently 
came  up  with  forty  of  the  cavalry,  and  drew  up  in 
order,  waiting  for  the  main  body  to  arrive.  The  com 
mander,  though  still  suffering  severely,  mounted  a 
horse  as  best  he  could  and  issued  his  orders.  The 
Indians  were  drawn  up  in  one  solid  phalanx ;  he  would 
assail  them  on  three  sides  at  once.  Thirty  of  the 
cavalry,  under  the  command  of  Gonzalo  de  Alvarado, 
were  to  attack  the  right,  his  brother  Gomez  was  ordered 
to  lead  twenty  more  against  the  left,  while  Jorge34  was 
to  charge  the  front  with  the  rest  of  the  forces. 

These  arrangements  made,  he  took  his  post  on  ele 
vated  ground  above  the  battle  field.  Even  his  stout 
heart  sank  somewhat  within  him  as  he  viewed  the 
scene.  One  portion  of  the  plain  was  covered  with  a 
forest  of  tall  spears,35  and  the  compact  body  of  foemen 

32  This  is  Alvarado's  own  statement:  'I  fue  tangrande  el  destroco,  que  en 
ellos  hicimos,  que  en  poco  tiempo  110  havia  ninguno  de  todos  los  que  salieron 
vivos;'  and  lower,  'I  en  caiendo  la  Gente  de  pie,  los  mataba  todos.'  Relation, 
i.  164.  Gomara  says,  '  Y  casi  no  dexaron  ninguno  dellos  viuo.'  Hist.  Mex.,  232. 

S3  Tacusocalco.   Oviedo,  iii.  484. 

31  The  three  brothers  who  accompanied  Alvarado  from  Mexico  are  now 
brought  more  into  notice.  There  are  three  other  Alvarados  mentioned  by 
Fuentes  in  his  list  of  conquerors,  but  their  names  do  not  correspond  to  those 
of  the  other  brothers  of  the  lieutenant-general.  Ftteutfs  y  Guzman,  Recorda- 
cion  Florida,  MS.,  25-7;  llarnal  Diaz,  Hist.  Venlad.,  14. 

35  'Que  verla  de  lejos  era  para  espantar,  porque  tenian  todos  losmaslancas 
de  treinta  palmos,  todas  en  Arboledas.'  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  164.  Herrera 
adds  that  the  spears  were  poisoned:  'Las  lancas  eran  mayores,  con  yerua.' 
dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  x. 

HIST.  CKN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.    43 


674  EXPEDITION  TO  SALVADOR. 

told  him  that  they  were  even  more  numerous  than 
the  army  he  had  defeated  a  few  days  before.30  His 
apprehensions  were  in  no  wise  lessened  as  he  watched 
his  forces  draw  near  the  enemy  and  observed  how 
immovable  they  stood,  and  without  sign  of  fear.  But 
what  seemed  to  him  most  strange  was  that  his  own 
men  hesitated  to  charge.  He  afterward  ascertained 
that  between  the  opposing  lines  lay  a  narrow  meadow 
which  the  Spaniards  mistook  for  a  swamp,  and  delayed 
their  onset  until  they  had  assured  themselves  of  the 
firmness  of  the  ground.  Presently  the  stirring  cry  of 
Santiago!  was  heard,  and  Alvarado's  heart  swelled 
within  him:  his  passion  for  human  blood  appears  to 
increase  with  the  slaughter  of  his  tens  of  thousands, 
and  the  lately  gay  and  gallant  cavalier  is  becoming  a 
monster  delighting  in  carnage  and  butchery,  killing 
men  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  it.  With  a  feeling 
of  fierce  delight  the  wounded  man  now  wratched  his 
army  break  into  the  Indian  columns.  He  marked  the 
rout  and  bloody  pursuit,  and  noticed  with  satisfaction 
how  the  plain  became  streaked  with  dead  bodies  in 
the  track  of  the  fugitives  and  pursuers,  which  ghastly 
line  was  soon  over  a  league  in  length. 

Taking  possession  of  the  town,  the  Spaniards  re 
mained  in  it  for  two  days,  and  then  moved  on  to 
Mihuatlan.37  All  the  towns  and  villages  hereabout 
were  found  deserted;  the  natives  seemed  to  have  dis 
covered  that  there  was  no  chance  of  success  in  the 
field,  and  no  escape  from  oppression  when  once  their 
liberty  was  lost.  At  Atecuan38  the  commander  was 
met  by  envoys  from  Atlacatl,  the  king  of  Cuzcatlan, 
bearing  proffers  of  friendship,  which  were  received 
with  satisfaction,  for  the  delay  and  fatigue  of  battle 
with  the  reward  of  empty  towns,  however  pleasur- 

5  'Pele6  despues  con  otro  exercito  mayor,  ymas  peligroso.'  Herrera,  dec. 
iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  x. 

37  Called  by  Alvarado,  Miaguaclan;  by  Herrera,  Mautlan;  by  Ixtlilxochitl 
and  Goinara,  Alahuatlan. 

38  Atehuan,  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  164;  Lechuan,  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v. 
cap.  x. ;   Atlechuan,  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex. ,  232 ;    Athehuan,  Oviedo,  iii.  484. 


MARCH  ON  CUZCATLAN.  675 

able,  seemed  profitless.39  So  far,  indeed,  Alvaraclo 
seems  to  have  effected  little  with  respect  to  the  actual 
conquest  of  the  country.  His  line  of  march  was 
marked  by  heaps  of  slain,  by  burned  cities  and 
deserted  villages,40  but  as  for  native  subjects  of  his 
Majesty,  or  Christian  converts,  or  colonies,  or  any 
permanent  advantages,  they  were  few.  If,  now  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  country,  he  could  gain  a  faithful 
ally,  a  second  Sinacam,  pacification  might  become 
more  permanent  and  profitable.  To  this  end  he  di 
rected  his  march  toward  Cuzcatlan,41  the  capital  of 
that  country,  a  large  and  beautiful  city,  inhabited  by 
a  considerable  population,  and,  according  to  the  re 
port  of  the  conquerors,  hardly  second  to  Patinamit. 

Although  the  Indians  along  the  road  manifested 
their  friendliness  by  supplying  the  Spaniards  with 
fruits  and  fresh  provisions  in  abundance,  and  although 
they  were  cordially  welcomed  into  the  city  by  the 
chiefs,  yet  on  taking  up  their  quarters  the  whole 
population  rushed  to  arms,  and  a  few  hours  after  the 
city  was  deserted.42  All  efforts  at  reconciliation  on 
the  part  of  Alvarado  were  unavailing.  Summons  to 
obedience  and  menaces  were  equally  disregarded,  and 
a  formal  requirement  was  sent,  coupled  with  the 

89  '  Yo  los  recibi  pensando  que  no  me  mcntirian  como  los  otros.'  Alvarado, 
Rdacion,  i.  1G4.  Oviedo,  on  the  contrary,  says,  '  Pensando  que  mentirian, 
como  los  otros.'  i.  485. 

40  'Los  mas  de  los  pueblos  fueron  quemados  e  destruidos.'  Ramirez,  Pro- 
ceso  contra  Alvarado,  26  et  seq. 

41  Written  Cuitlachan  by  Gomara  and  Ixtlilxochitl.     Cuzcatlan,  meaning 
Land  of  Jewels,  Jitarros,  (litat.,  i.  23,  was  the  ancient  name  of  the  province, 
as  well  as  the  city  represented  by  the  modern  San  Salvador.  Nad  re  Races, 
v.  xii.    In  OgHbi/'s  America,  1671,  is  written  town  S.  Salvador,  and  south  of 
it  a  town  La  Trinidad;  Laet,  1633,  8.  Salvador,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river  La  Trinidnd,  and  in  the  interior  to  the  north  a  city  (fratia*  a  Dio*; 
Jeffreys,  1776,  San  Salvador  or  Ciizcnt/an,  west  Nexajia  Giwymoco,  east  Chon- 
tcdes,  north  Istcpcc;  Kiepert,  1858,  San  Salvador,  state,  town  and  volcano. 

42  The  Spaniards  entertained  some  suspicions  of  treachery.     Brasscur  de 
Bourbourg  states  that  the  prince  and  all  his  suite  were  seized  and  kept 
prisoners.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  664.     The  testimony  of  Alvarado's  letter  tends 
on  the  contrary  to  prove  that  they  escaped  from  the  town  with  the  i-est  of  the 
population:  'I  mientras  nos  aposentamos,  no  quedb  Hombre  de  ellos  en  el 
Pueblo,  que  todos  se  fueron  ft  las  Sierras.     E  como  vi  esto,  Yo  embie  mis 
Mensageros  ft  los  Seuores  de  alii  ft  decirles,  que  no  fuosen  malos.'  Relation,  i. 
164.     Compare,  however,  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado,  9  et  seq. 


676  EXPEDITION  TO  SALVADOR. 

usual  conditions;  but  no  reply  came.  Then  the  in 
vaders  tried  force,  but  for  once  they  were  baffled. 
For  fully  seventeen  days  the  most  strenuous  exertions 
were  made  to  subdue  them,  during  which  time  several 
sanguinary  encounters  occurred,  wherein  a  number  of 
Spaniards  were  wounded  and  eleven  horses  killed,  the 
auxiliaries  suffering  severely.  Thus  even  the  occupa 
tion  of  the  capital  failed  to  secure  the  primary  object 
of  the  invasion. 

Alvarado  now  perceived  that  with  the  present  force 
he  never  would  be  able  to  save  the  souls  of  these  Cuz- 
catecs,  and  he  saw  that  his  position  was  becoming 
critical.  The  rainy  season  was  now  well  upon  him, 
the  roads  were  becoming  bad,  arid  every  day  would 
render  retreat  more  difficult.  The  return  march  ex 
tended  over  several  hundred  miles,  and  he  could  not 
expect  to  meet  with  much  hospitality  or  assistance. 
He  decided,  therefore,  to  return  to  Guatemala.  But 
before  he  set  out  he  would  make  legally  secure  his 
claim  upon  the  vassalage  of  the  Cuzcatecs.  With 
this  view  he  instituted  a  process  against  them  in  the 
form  prescribed  by  law,  and  summoned  them  to  sur 
render.  As  no  attention  was  paid  to  his  proclamation, 
proceedings  were  closed  after  the  legal  time  had  ex 
pired  and  sentence  was  passed.  They  were  pronounced 
traitors  and  their  chiefs  condemned  to  death.43 

This  solemn  ceremony  ended/4  Alvarado  was  ready 
to  depart  from  the  country,  though  not  till  he  had 
branded  all  he  could  lay  hands  upon.  He  was  some- 

43  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  164-5;  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado,  58-9 
et  seq.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  regardless  of  all  Spanish  evidence,  boldly  as 
sumes  that  the  king  '  ainsi  que  tous  les  seigneurs  de  sa  cour '  were  in  fact  put 
to  death,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  666-7,  when  in  reality  they  were  fugitives  in 
the  mountains  and  merely  condemned.  It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  in  the 
Cuzcatlan  charge,  No.  xxvi.,  referred  to  above,  Alvarado's  accusers  would 
have  f.ailed  to  bring  against  him  the  deaths  of  the  king  and  chiefs. 

41  The  branding  of  slaves  at  Cuzcatlan  was  one  of  the  charges  brought 
against  Alvarado  at  his  trial.  The  Spaniards  appear  to  have  seized  upon  a 
number  of  the  natives  when  they  first  entered  the  town.  Ramirez,  Proceso 
contra  Alvarado,  9-59,  passim.  Las  Casas  uses  these  words:  'Stigma  enira 
Regium,  iis,  qui  non  evaserunt,  inustum  est.  Ego  etiam  prsecipuo  totius 
civitatis  viri  filio  vidi  imprimi.'  Reyio.  Ind.  DcvastaL,  38. 


CHRISTIANIZING  AND  BRANDING.  G77 

what  chagrined  at  his  failure  to  draw  the  Cuzcatecs 
into  the  fold;  but  he  would  return  again.  Indeed, 
this  was  imperative,  for  the  Cuzcatlan  campaign  had 
been  quite  unproductive45  in  securing  either  wealth  or 
dominion.  From  Itzcuintlan  to  Cuzcatlan  there  was 
scarcely  a  town  that  would  not  require  a  second  sub 
jugation.  An  additional  cause  of  vexation  lay  in  the 
statement  of  natives  that  no  strait  existed  toward  the 
south.46  On  the  other  hand  he  was  gratified  to  learn 
of  great  cities  beyond,  built  of  stone  and  lime,  and 
inhabited  by  dense  populations,  and  he  promised  him 
self  due  compensation  from  them  for  his  present  dis 
appointment.  Of  his  homeward  march  particulars 
are  unnecessary.  That  the  way  was  difficult  and 
that  the  soldiers  suffered  much  we  may  be  sure.47 
Pinched  by  hunger,  drenched  by  rain,  midst  the  light 
ning  and  the  thunder,  they  beat  their  way  back 
over  the  soft  soaked  ground,  braving  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  which  seemed  to  have  risen  against  them. 
At  night,  if  no  deserted  town  afforded  shelter,  the 
worn-out  men,  after  partaking  of  scanty  fare  and 
shivering  in  wet  clothes  round  feeble  camp  fires,  threw 
themselves  upon  the  swampy  ground  to  sleep.  Yet 
with  all  their  sufferings  they  did  not  scruple  to  destroy 
fields,  burn  such  villages  as  fell  in  their  way,  and  so 
reduce  others  to  the  same  sad  plight  as  themselves. 
Sweet  to  us  are  the  misfortunes  of  others  1 

45  'Huuo  poco  despojo.'  Herrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  x.  'Poco  oro  y 
riquczas  liallaron  en  este  viage.'  IxtlilxocMtl,  Horribles  Crueldades,  70. 

40  'I  supe  de  los  Naturales  como  esta  Tierra  no  tiene  cabo.'  Alvarado, 
Rdacion,  i.  105. 

47  '  Padecieron  hartos  trabajos,  hambre  y  calamidades  los  nuestros,  y  los 
espailoles.'  Ixtlilxochitl,  Horribles  Crueldades,  70;  also  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.y 
232. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 
1524-1525. 

RETURN  OF  THE  ALLIES  TO  MEXICO — FOUNDING  OF  THE  CITY  OF  SANTIAGO — 
THE  CAKCHIQUELS  OPPRESSED  BEYOND  ENDURANCE — THEY  FLEE  FROM 
THE  CITY — DIFFICULTY  IN  AGAIN  REDUCING  THEM  TO  SUBJECTION — 
REINFORCEMENTS  FROM  MEXICO — CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  Mixco — CAPTURE 
OF  THAT  STRONGHOLD — FIGHT  WITH  THE  CHIGNAUTECS — SUPERHUMAN 
VALOR  OF  A  CAVALRYMAN — CONQUEST  OF  THE  ZACATEPEC  VALLEY — 
EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  MAMES — DEFEAT  OF  CAN  ILOCAB — ENTRY  INTO 
HUEHUETENANGO — SlEGE  OF  ZAKULEU — SURRENDER  OF  CAIBIL  BALAM. 

PEDRO  DE  ALVARADO  with  his  army  arrived  at  Pati- 
namit  from  his  southern  campaign  some  days  previous 
to  the  28th  of  July,  1524.1  The  Mexican  allies  were 
soon  dismissed  and  returned  to  their  homes,  bearing 
despatches  to  Cortes.  The  general  was  greatly  pleased 
with  the  tidings  from  his  lieutenant,  and  sent  him  two 
hundred  more  Spanish  soldiers,  to  aid  in  the  coloniza 
tion  of  those  parts. 

Almost  immediately  after  their  return  to  the  capi 
tal  of  the  Cakchiquels  the  Spaniards  proceeded  to 
appropriate  the  territory  and  make  preparations  for 
its  government.  A  Spanish  city  was  founded  at 
Patinamit  under  the  name  of  Ciudad  del  Senor  de 
Santiago.2 

1  Alvarado's  report  of  the  campaign  bears  this  date,  and  as  he  mentions 
in  it  that  on  his  return  he  founded  the  '  Ciudad  del  Senor  Santiago, '  he  must' 
have  arrived  at  least  several  days  previous  to  the  above  date.     Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  after  pointing  out  a  misconception  of  Fuentes,  exhibits  some  con 
fusion  in  his  own  mind  as  to  dates  and  time.  Ilixt.  Nat.  Civ.,  GG7. 

2  Vazquez  observes,  'Llegoa  J rulvusi/aqueoy  Hainan  Almolonga;  yauiendo 
en  la  falda  de  su  bolcan  assentado  el  Real  a  los  25  de  Jullio  de  1524,  dib  su 
primer  ser  a  la  Ciudad  de  Guatemala,  con  Nobre  de  Villa  que  le  durO  muy 
pocos  dias.'   Chronica  de  Gvat.,  7.     Remesal  also  states  that  the  city  was 

(G78) 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  CITY  OF  SANTIAGO.  C79 

The  ceremonies  were  conducted  with  great  pomp. 
According  to  Remesal,  on  the  25th  of  July,  St  James' 
day,  the  army  was  drawn  up  in  battle-array  to  the 
sound  of  fife  and  drum.  The  morning  was  unusu 
ally  fine,  and  the  sun  flashing  its  rays  upon  burnished 
armor  added  splendor  to  the  scene.  The  cavalry  were 
specially  conspicuous  for  the  brilliancy  of  their  dress 
and  ornaments.  After  repeated  volleys  by  the  arque- 
busiers  mass  was  celebrated  by  Juan  Godinez,  the 
chaplain,  and  all  joined  devoutly  in  prayer  to  their 
patron  Santiago,  to  whom  they  dedicated  the  new 
town. 

The  municipal  officers  were  then  appointed  by 
Alvarado.  The  first  alcaldes  were  Diego  de  Kojas 
and  Baltasar  de  Mendoza.  Four  regidores  were  nom 
inated,  whose  names  were  Pedro  Puertocarrero, 
Hernan  Carrillo,  Juan  Perez  Dardon,  and  Domingo 

founded  on  the  slopes  of  the  Volcan  de  Agua,  at  a  place  called  Panchoy, 
which  signifies  Great  Lagoon,  the  valley  there  being  surrounded  by  mountains. 
The  material  of  which  the  first  houses  were  built  consisted,  ho  says,  of 
forked  posts  for  the  corner  pillars,  of  canes  and  mud  for  the  walls,  while  the 
roofs  were  thatched  with  dry  grass.  By  the  aid  of  the  Mexicans  they  were 
rapidly  thrown  up.  A  sufficient  number  for  the  accommodation  of  all  the  army 
being  completed,  they  waited  for  the  day  of  the  Apostle  Santiago,  in  order  to 
found  the  city  on  that  day  and  dedicate  it  to  their  patron  saint.  It  fell  on 
Monday,  the  25th  of  July,  when  the  founding  was  consummated.  Remesal, 
JJixt.  Ckyapa,  4.  I  have  elsewhere  shown  that  Patinamit  was  the  city  which 
Alvarado  called  Guatemala.  Now  there  is  positive  evidence  from  his  own 
despatch  that  he  founded  the  city  of  Santiago  at  or  upon  that  same  city  of 
Guatemala.  '  Antes  acorde  me  bolver  a  esta  Ciudad  de  Guatemala, . .  asi  que 
Yo  soi  venido  a  esta  Ciudad .  .  .  hice,  i  edifique,  en  iiombre  de  su  Magestad,  vna 
Ciudad  de  Espaiioles,  que  se  dice  la  Ciudad  del  Senor  Santiago,'  he  writes. 
The  use  of  the  expression  '  esta  Ciudad  de  Guatemala'  in  other  portions  of  the 
despatch  proves  that  it  was  written  at  the  capital  of  the  Cakchiquel  king, 
while  at  the  conclusion  it  is  dated  thus:  '  De  estaciudad  de  Santiago,  <\  veinte 
i  ocho  de  Julio  de  mil  i  quinientos  i  veinte  i  quatro  Aiios.'  Thus  it  is  clear 
that  the  city  of  Guatemala  and  the  city  of  Santiago  were  one,  and  that  Alva 
rado  appropriated  to  himself  Siiiacam's  capital.  Alvarado,  Relation,  i.  1G1-2, 
1G5-6.  It  may  be  here  stated  that  in  direct  opposition  to  Alvarado's  appli 
cation  of  the  term  ciudad  .to  the  new  settlement,  both  Vazquez  and  Hemcsal 
assert  that  it  was  a  villa,  the  latter  adding  that  it  retained  this  title  eighteen 
days,  and  was  erected  into  a  city  on  the  12th  of  August,  fiemesal,  Hist. 
Chyana,  4,  6.  Pelaez  says  the  city  was  called  '  Ciudad  de  Santiago  de  los 
cabal ieros,' but  not  till  November  22,  1527.  Vazquez  affirms,  C/ironica  de 
Grat.,  11,  that  it  was  so  called  on  the  29th  of  July,  1524,  while  Remesal  gives 
August  12th  of  the  same  year.  Pelaez,  in  his  introduction  to  vol.  i.,  states  that 
Guatemala  took  its  name  from  the  expression  of  Guhatezmalhd,  that  is 
to  say  'the  hill  which  throws  out  water.'  From  the  acts  of  the  cabildo  we 
know  that  it  was  called  a  city  on  the  29th  of  July,  1524.  Arevalo,  Actaa 
Ayunt.  Gual.,  8. 


680  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

de  Zubiarreta,3  while  Gonzalo  de  Alvarado  was  elected 
alguacil  mayor.* 

The  municipality  having  thus  been  formed,5  the 
Spaniards  for  the  next  three  days  devoted  themselves 
to  festivities  and  rejoicing.  On  the  12th  of  August6 
there  was  an  enrolment  of  colonists,  of  whom  a  list 
of  one  hundred  has  been  preserved.7  To  the  sacred 
patron  was  also  built  and  dedicated  a  church,  of  which 

3  Fuentes  y  Guzman,  Recordacion  Florida,  MS.,  25;  Arevalo,  Adas  Ayunt. 
Ouat.,  7;  Zabarrieta,  according  to  Remesal. 

*  This  right  to  appoint  alcaldes  and  regidores  was  maintained  and  exer 
cised  by  Alvarado  whenever  he  was  present,  as  is  proved  by  the  cabildos  of 
1525  and  152G.  liemesa!,  /Ii«t.  Chyapa,  4.  Arcra!o,  Actas  Ayunt.  Gnat.,  11-18. 

5  The  cabildo,  as  an  assumption  of  its  official  prerogatives,  entered  into 
session  tho  same  day,  and  arranged  legal  prices  for  provisions.  Remesal,  Hist. 
Chyapa,  4.  On  July  '27th  we  find  that  an  act  was  passed  regulating  the  black 
smith's  rates.  Two  dollars  was  to  be  his  charge  for  making  10J  nails,  the 
iron  being  furnished  to  him.  The  charge  for  shoeing  a  horse  one  gold  dollar, 
and  the  same  for  bleeding.  It  is  curious  to  observe  that  the  price  of  horse 
shoes  in  Alvarado's  army  in  April,  1524,  was  $190  a  dozen,  at  which  rate 
they  were  bought  and  sold  in  his  camp.  Aloarwlo,  Relation,  i.  100.  Remesal 
says  that  operatives,  knowing  the  necessity  of  their  services,  charged  what 
they  liked.  The  tailor  charged  a  real  a  stitch,  and  shoemakers  worked  only 
at  such  high  wages  that  while  soling  other  people's  shoes  with  leather  they 
might  have  used  silver  for  their  own ;  and  the  blacksmith  could  have  made 
his  tools  of  gold  had  he  wished.  On  the  12th  of  December,  1524,  the  cabildo 
deemed  ifc  necessary  to  establish  fixed  rates  for  labor  of  all  kinds.  The 
measures  adopted  were  punctually  carried  out  by  those  in  power.  The  regu 
lations  were  modified  as  time  required,  and  every  two  years,  at  most, 
new  rates  were  adapted  to  the  condition  of  affairs,  with  which  even  the  lords 
of  estates  were  compelled  to  comply.  The  artisans,  however,  still  contrived 
to  cause  the  other  colonists  much  inconvenience  by  refusing  all  payment  for 
work  except  in  gold  coin,  the  tailor  otherwise  retaining  his  customer's  clothes, 
even  on  a  feast-day,  and  the  shoemaker  his  shoes.  This  state  of  things 
lasted  till  1529,  when  the  corporation  on  the  19th  of  February  made  the 
aboriginal  currency  of  the  country,  cacao,  feathers,  and  clothing,  ]  ^al  tender. 
Hist.  Chyapa,  6;  Arevalo,  Actas  Ay  tint.  Gnat.,  8-G7,  passim.  Another  of  the 
first  acts  of  this  new  corporation  was  the  appointment  of  a  town-crier,  his 
salary  being  fixed  at  $100  a  year.  Id.,  7-8.  With  regard  to  this  office  of 
crier,  Remesal  states  that  it  had  to  be  accepted  by  the  person  selected  to  fill 
it  under  pain  of  death.  Hist.  Chyapa,  4.  On  the  present  occasion  the  person 
chosen  was  Diego  Diaz,  who  strongly  objected  to  the  calling,  but  was  com 
pelled  to  accept.  Remesal,  with  his  death  penalty,  goes  beyond  the  act  of 
the  corporation,  which  says  'so  pena  de  cient  azotes.'  Arcva'o,  Actai  A t/unt. 
Guat. ,  8.  As  an  instance  of  the  dearness  of  provisions,  we  find  an  act  passed 
on  the  Gth  of  May,  1525,  limiting  the  price  of  eggs  to  one  gold  real  apiece. 
Id.,  12,  14. 

6 Arevalo,  Actas  Ayunt.  Guat.,  8.  But  Remesal,  who  is  continually  at 
variance  with  the  best  authorities,  says  on  the  29th  of  July. 

7  Vazquez  says  there  were  enrolled  as  settlers  at  the  founding  less  than  200 
Spaniards,  for,  though  very  few  had  fallen  in  battle,  detachments  had  been 
left  at  Quezaltenango  and  Patinamit.  With  regard  to  this  latter  place  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Vazquez  believed  the  city  to  have  been  founded 
on  the  Volcan  de  Agua.  Chronica  de  Gvat.,  10-11  j  see  also  Arevalo,  Actas 
Ayunt.  Guat.,  8-19. 


OUTRAGE  UPON"  OUTRAGE.  GS1 

Juan  Godinez  was  made  curate,  and  one  Reynosa 
sacristan  with  a  salary  of  sixty  dollars  a  year.  The  sur 
rounding  lands  were  then  distributed  in  encomiendas. 
In  making  these  grants  Alvarado  must  have  enter 
tained  some  misgivings  as  to  their  validity  and  as  to  his 
future  position  and  authority  in  the  conquered  prov 
inces,  for  in  a  despatch  to  Cortes  he  complains  that  ac 
cording  to  reports  meeting  him  on  his  return  from  the 
southern  campaign  the  king  had  appointed  a  governor 
other  than  himself  of  the  new  territory,  and  upbraids 
Cortes  for  not  having  duly  reported  his  services  to 
his  Majesty,  at  the  same  time  begging  him  to  do  so.8 

That  the  Cakehiquel  nobles  should  regard  with 
indignation  this  arbitrary  disposal  of  their  lands  and 
vassals  was  but  natural.  They  had  already  observed 
that  friend  and  foe  were  much  the  same  in  the  hands 
of  the  voracious  Spaniards,  whose  aggressive  and 
outrageous  action  now  convinced  them  that  the 
friendly  bearing  of  their  king  had  gained  for  their 
nation  no  more,  nay  less,  consideration  than  that 
vouchsafed  the  conquered  Quiches,  who  had  fought 
manfully  for  independence.  So  it  was,  in  truth,  with 
regard  to  all  the  conquerors  in  America,  though  not  so 
expressed  in  words :  those  who  fought  for  their  rights 
must  die  or  suffer  enslavement  because  they  offered 
opposition  to  the  spoilers;  those  who  did  not  fight 
were  contemptible  things,  unworthy  a  white  man's 
consideration.  Believing  in  their  promises,  the  Cak- 
chiquels  had  received  the  Spaniards  and  had  accepted 
their  sovereign;  but  they  were  not  prepared  to  go  so 
far  as  to  surrender  themselves,  their  wives  and  little 
ones,  their  lands  and  their  religion.  Death  might  be 
the  result  of  revolt;  judging  from  what  they  had  seen 
it  probably  would  be;  nevertheless  they  would  revolt 
and  die.  How  high  the  high  hand  of  the  taskmasters 
had  been  raised  we  know  not;  but  we  know  that  with 
in  a  few  short  months  after  Alvarado's  return  and  the 

8  '  Cortes . . .  confirmo  los  repartimientos,  y  ayudo  a  pedir  aquella  gouerna- 
cion.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  233;  see  also  JJerrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  x. 


682  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

founding  of  his  unstable  city9  the  Cakchiquels  rose  to 
a  man  against  the  tyrants.  The  crowning  grievance 
also  is  known.  Exaction  after  exaction  had  been 
made.  The  temples  and  palaces  of  Patinamit  had 
been  forced  to  contribute  their  gold  and  silver  orna 
ments  until  there  was  nothing  left.  Then  a  large 
amount  of  gold10  was  demanded  of  the  king  and  nobles 
within  a  stated  time,  which  it  was  out  of  their  power 
to  supply.  In  their  efforts  to  obtain  the  so  much 
desired  yellow  substance  from  auriferous  streams 
they  brought  in  glittering  pyrites,  mistaking  them  for 
gold.11  Alvarado,  furious  with  rage,  summoned  the 
king  and  his  courtiers  before  him.  "  Why,"  he  passion 
ately  exclaimed,  "have  you  not  brought  the  gold  and 
silver  that  I  demanded  of  you  ?  If  I  receive  not  soon 
all  the  gold  and  all  the  silver  of  your  towns,  you  shall 
have  the  choice  of  being  hanged  or  burned  alive!" 
Then  with  a  brutality  that  Caligula  might  have  gloried 
in  he  tore  with  his  own  hand  from  the  nostrils  of 
Sinacam  and  two  princes  at  his  side  the  golden  orna 
ments  they  wore  as  badges  of  their  high  rank.12  This 
indignity  cut  the  unhappy  natives  to  the  heart,  and 
bending  their  disgraced  heads,  bitter  tears  mingled 
with  the  blood  which  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  Chris 
tian.  "It  is  my  will,"  added  Alvarado,  "that  the 
gold  and  silver  be  here  within  five  days.  Woe  betide 
you  if  you  bring  it  not!"  and  with  a  coarseness  that 
equalled  his  heartlessness  he  dismissed  them  from,  his 
presence. 

9  It  will  be  seen  in  the  narrative  that  the  Spaniards  were  soon  obliged  to 
abandon  Patinamit  and  locate  elsewhere,  and  that  the  city  of  Santiago  had 
no  permanent  site  until  its  establishment  in  Panchoy  in  1527. 

10  '  Pedro  de  Alvarado  les  mando  quo  dentro  de  cierto  termino  le  diesen  mill 
hojas  de  oro  de  a  quinze  pesos  cada  hoja.'  Ramirez,  Procexo  contra  Atvarado, 
59.    Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  states  that  the  king  and  royal  family  were  com 
manded  to  bring  vases  fdled  with  the  precious  metals,  and  to  deliver  up  even 
their  crowns  and  personal  ornaments.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  673. 

11  The  Indians  appear  to  have  brought  in  pyrites  not  unfrequently.    Las 
Casas,  speaking  of  the  Cuzcatecs,  says:  'Indian!  igitur  magnum  liastarum  ex 
orichalcho  inaurato,  numerum,  quse  aureoe  esse  videbantur. .  .congregarunt. 
Capitaneus  eas  Lydio  lapide  probari  jussit,  cumque  orichalcum  esse  cerneret,' 
etc.  Eegio.  Ind.  Devastaf.,  38.     'Alvarado  no  tomava  syiio  oro  fiiio  e  lo  res- 
cebia  por  el  toque.'  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado ,  59. 

12  See  Bancroft's  Native  Races,  ii.  732. 


ABANDONMENT  OF  THE  CITY.  C83 

Nobles,  priesthood,  and  people  were  already  of  one 
mind.  The  priests  in  particular,  seeing  the  desecra 
tion  of  their  temples  and  the  threatened  suppression 
of  their  religion,  put  forth  all  their  efforts  to  rouse 
the  Cakchiquels  from  the  vile  thraldom.  And  while 
the  nobles  and  people  proceeded  as  best  they  were 
able  to  collect  treasures  to  meet  the  last  demand 
from  the  neighboring  towns,  the  priesthood  succeeded 
in  completing  plans  and  preparations  for  revolt.  They 
spread  the  report  that  their  deity,  offended  at  the  sac 
rilegious  actions  of  the  Spaniards,  had  appeared  to 
his  ministers,  announcing  the  speedy  destruction  of 
the  strangers.  A  priest  of  Chamalcan  now  presented 
himself  before  Sinacam  and  his  court.  "I  am  the 
lightning!"  he  cried,  with  subdued  vehemence,  "and  I 
will  strike  the  Castilians.  With  fire  will  I  destroy 
them!  When  I  shall  cause  the  sound  of  the  sacred 
drum  to  be  heard  in  the  city,  let  the  king  leave  it 
and  withdraw  to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  for  on 
the  seventh  day,  Ahmak,  will  I  strike  the  Spaniards !" 
These  bold  and  confident  words  had  their  effect.  In 
their  deep  affliction  the  Cakchiquels  believed  their 
god  would  help  them,  else  of  what  value  were  gods? 
and  they  secretly  made  all  ready  for  the  time  the 
signal  should  be  given.  The  Spaniards  do  not  seem 
to  have  had  any  suspicion  of  the  intentions  of  the 
Cakchiquels.  On  the  very  evening  of  the  uprising 
Alvarado,  pacified  with  the  gold  that  had  been 
brought  him,  entertained  Sinacam  and  a  large  number 
of  princes  and  nobles  at  a  banquet,  a  splendid  ban 
quet,  whereat  the  guests  feasted  on  their  own  of 
which  they  had  been  despoiled.  That  night,  while 
the  Spaniards  were  asleep,  heavy  after  their  revelry, 
the  signal  drum  was  sounded.  The  whole  population, 
men,  women,  and  children,  arose  and  silently  withdrew 
with  their  king  and  nobles  from  the  city.  It  is  not 
the  only  time  in  the  world's  history  that  a  people  have 
abandoned  home  and  fled  from  persecution,  trusting 
in  religious  faith.  Now  may  the  god  in  whom  they 


684  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

trust  help  them,  for  all  other  hope  they  have  left 
behind  I  Crossing  the  ravine  they  turned  and  awaited 
the  expected  miracle;  all  through  the  remainder  of 
the  night  they  watched  for  the  lightning  and  the  fire, 
straining  their  eyes  afar,  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
heavens,  to  catch  the  first  faint  gleam  of  that  sacred 
flame  which  should  bring  them  deliverance.  But 
alas!  there  was  no  light  save  that  of  the  morning  sun, 
which  came  to  dispel  all  hope.  God  and  priest  alike 
had  deceived  them;  or  rather  they  themselves  were 
deceived,  had  not  understood  aright,  or  were  not 
worthy  of  aid,  or  their  desire  would  come  in  some 
other  way — so  their  teacher  might  have  said.  Now 
it  remained  only  for  them  to  perish,  for  they  would 
return,  never!13 

Alvarado  well  knew  the  meaning  of  this  action 
when  he  heard  of  it.  And  as  he  walked  through 
the  city,  the  empty  houses  and  deserted  streets  told 
him  plainly  enough  that  his  atrocious  system  of  op 
pression  had  driven  to  despair  a  nation  that  had 
welcomed  him  with  all  kindness  and  hospitality.  The 
immediate  cause  and  incentive  to  revolt,  the  action 
of  the  priest,  being  explained  to  him,  he  hoped  when 
the  Cakchiquels  had  discovered  how  vain  wras  the 
hope  in  their  god  that  they  would  return  to  their 
homes  again,  and  for  ten  days  he  remained  inactive. 
But  all  attempts  at  reconciliation  were  repelled;  they 
would  rather  die  at  war  with  the  Christians  than 
live  at  peace  with  them.  Ah  well!  then  they  must 
be  slain;  and  as  a  religious  and  patriotic  duty  Alva 
rado  took  the  field  against  them.  It  was  a  long 
and  bloody  war  that  followed.  If  the  Quiches  and 
Zutugils  had  confederated  with  the  Cakchiquels, 
it  is  safe  to  surmise  the  Spaniards  would  have  been 

13  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  gives  August  27,  1524,  as  the  date  of  this  aban 
donment  of  Patinamit  by  the  Cakchiquels.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  C76.  This 
date  would  be  about  two  months  earlier  than  that  assigned  to  the  event  in 
Alvarado's  evidence  for  defence,  where  it  is  shown  to  have  occurred  six  or 
seven  months  after  his  seizure  of  Queen  Suchil.  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Al- 
varcuto,  100,  146-7,  passim. 


HATRED  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS.  685 

repelled.  With  a  scarcity  of  provisions,14  and  a  re 
duced  number  of  Mexican  auxiliaries,  hemmed  in 
and  harassed,  it  is  hardly  possible  that  they  could 
have  fought  their  way  out  of  the  country.  But  the 
rejection  by  Sinacam  of  the  earlier  proposals  of  the 
Quiches,  and  his  alliance  with  the  invaders,  still 
rankled  in  their  breasts,  and  they  now  cared  little 
which  of  their  detested  foes  ate  the  other.  As  it 
was,  the  war  proved  not  the  one-sided  affair  of  late 
so  common.  The  Cakchiquels  displayed  a  skill  and 
bravery  in  battle  such  as  the  Spaniards  had  not  ex 
perienced  in  these  parts.  In  front  of  their  lines  they 
dug  deep  holes  in  which  they  planted  pointed  stakes, 
and  concealing  them  with  coverings  of  grass  and  light 
earth,  received  behind  them  the  charging  cavalry. 
Many  a  Spaniard  and  many  a  horse  found  death  or 
frightful  wounds,  impaled  in  these  pitfalls.15 

On  the  battle-field  the  natives  displayed  a  desperate 
courage.  With  their  deep  hatred  they  would  if  possible 
envenom  their  arrows  and  darts,  and  as  they  hurled 
them  on  the  foe  they  shouted,  "Take  gold,  Tonatiuh, 
take  gold!"  Thus  the  contest  was  carried  on  with 
great  animosity  on  both  sides,  and  the  Cakchiquels, 
now  more  united  among  themselves,  and  joined  by 
many  neighboring  tribes,  long  maintained  the  struggle. 
Though  their  own  land  suffered  from  the  ravages  of 
the  Spaniards,  they  had  their  revenge  in  devastating 
the  territories  of  the  Quiches  andZutugils;  for  these 
nations  had  been  so  weakened  in  their  contests  with 
the  Spaniards  that  they  could  no  longer  meet  ihe 
Cakchiquels  in  the  field.  And,  indeed,  under  this 
widely  extended  process  of  devastation  the  Spaniards 
began  to  suffer  hunger.  Alvarado  was  obliged  to 

14  The  high  price  of  food  during  this  war  is  evident  from  an  act  of  the 
cabildo,  passed  May  6,   1525,  limiting  the  charge  for  a  hog  weighing   120 
pounds  to  twenty  pesos  de  oro,  equivalent  to  nearly  §300  of  our  day ;  while 
eggs  were  one  real  de  oro  each,  that  is  over  $1.50.  Artvalo,  Actas  Ayunt. 
Gnat.,  13-14. 

15  Las  Casas  tells  a  frightful  story  of  reprisal,  wherein  the  Spaniards  drove 
all  their  captives,  man,  woman,  or  child,  into  these  staked  pits.  Kegio.  Ind. 
Devastat.,  36. 


686  KEVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

abandon  his  new  city  at  Patinamit  during  the  latter 
part  of  this  year,  1524,  and  to  make  his  head-quarters 
for  a  time  at  Xepau,16  round  which  the  country  was 
less  desolate. 

The  Spaniards  were  indeed  sorely  pressed,  and 
many  Christians  were  killed  and  wounded.  But  about 
the  beginning  of  1525  he  received  reinforcements  from 
Mexico  which  enabled  him  to  proceed  rapidly  with 
the  reduction  of  the  revolted  provinces.  Returning 
to  Patinamit,  he  subjected  the  several  districts  one 
after  another  to  fire  and  sword,  till  the  land  was  one 
wide  scene  of  desolation 

It  was  during,  or  immediately  after,  the  suppression 
of  this  revolt  that  the  Spaniards  accomplished  perhaps 
their  greatest  achievement  during  the  whole  Guate 
malan  conquest.  This  was  the  storming  of  the  city 
of  Mixco,  deemed  impregnable.17  Mixco  was  one  of 
the  most  important  strongholds  in  the  Cakchiquel 
kingdom,  being  so  fortified  by  nature  as  to  require 
littlo  from  art.  Situated  on  an  eminence  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  precipices,  it  was  accessible  only  by  a 
steep  path,  wide  enough  for  but  a  single  person,  and 
interrupted  here  and  there  by  places  which  could  only 

16  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  imagines  this  place  to  have  been  situated  in  the 
Zutugil  territory.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ. ,  iv.  G78. 

17  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  takes  the  view  that  both  the  later  Zacatepec 
war  and  the  capture  of  Mixco  occurred  during  the  suppression  of  the  Cak 
chiquel  revolt.     But  he  seems  to  me  somewhat  inconsistent.     He  makes  the 
subjugation  of  the  Cakchiquels  last  'pendant  plusieurs  mois '  after  Alvarado's 
return  to  Patinamit,  and  yet  a  little  later  he  points  out  that  during  the 
first  months  of  the  year  1525  Salvador  was  reconquered  and  a  Spanish  town 
founded  there.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  680-1.     It  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that 
a  second  campaign  into  Salvador  could  have  been  undertaken  while  the  Cak 
chiquel  war  was  going  on.     Moreover,  according  to  his  interpretation  of  the 
Cakchiquel  manuscript,  the  town  of  Zumpango  was  one  of  many  which  sub 
mitted  to  the  Spaniards  after  the  destruction  of  Mixco ;  and,  as  will  be  seen 
later,  the  'reduction  of  Zacatepec  was  owing  to  the  hostile  incursions  from 
that  district  against  Zumpango  while  Alvarado  was  absent  on  a  campaign. 
The  Cakchiquel  manuscript  is  the  production  of  Francisco    Ernandez  Arana 
Xahila,  and  contains  a  brief  history  of  the  Cakchiquel  nation  from  the  earliest 
times.    The  author  was  the  grandson  of  King  Hunyg  of  the  Ahpotzotzil  Hue, 
and  it  is  written  in  his  hand  down  to  the  year  1502,  from  which  time  it  is 
continued  somewhat  further  by  Francisco  Gebuta  Queh,  of  the  same  family. 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Bib.  Mex.  Gnat.,  13,  says  that  it  was  translated  into 
French  in  1856  at  Eabinal  in  Guatemala. 


CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  MIXCO.  687 

with  difficulty  be  climbed.18  On  the  top  of  this 
eminence  was  a  great  plain,  capable  of  supporting  a 
population  of  eight  or  nine  thousand. 

Learning  that  the  Mixcans  had  determined  to  resist 
Spanish  rule,  and  were  encouraging  other  tribes  to 
fortify  themselves  in  similar  impregnable  positions, 
Alvarado  regarded  the  reduction  of  the  place  as  an 
absolute  necessity.  He  therefore  sent  an  advance 
force  of  two  companies  of  foot-soldiers  and  one  of 
cavalry,  under  the  command  of  his  brother  Gonzalo, 
to  invest  Mixco  until  he  should  be  able  to  assume 
command  in  person.  The  captains  commanding  under 
Gonzalo,  Alonso  de  Ojeda,  Luis  de  Vivar,  and  Her- 
nando  de  Chaves,  were  men  of  high  courage  and  ex 
perience  ;  yet  they  not  only  accomplished  nothing,  but 
suffered  so  much  from  the  stones  and  arrows  of  the 
enemy,19  provisions  likewise  beginning  to  fail,  that  Gon 
zalo  was  about  to  raise  the  siege  when  the  lieutenant- 
general  arrived  with  reinforcements.20  Although  fully 
recognizing  the  difficulty  and  danger  of  the  under 
taking  there  were  two  incentives  which  urged  Alvarado 
forward  to  its  achievement:  he  loved  what  was  diffi 
cult  and  dangerous,  and  he  well  knew  that  there  could 

O 

be  no  permanent  subjugation  of  the  country  with  this 
stronghold  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  A  council  of 
war  was  held  and  the  capture  of  Mixco  resolved  on. 
The  first  attempt  was  unsuccessful,  as  were  indeed  the 
second  and  third,  until  days  and  weeks  went  by  with 
out  any  seeming  progress.  Then  the  Spaniards  tried 
stratagem,  and  while  feigning  an  assault  by  means  of 
scaling-ladders  at  a  place  where  the  precipice  was  lower 

18  This  city  had  been  founded  by  the  Pocoman  Indians,  during  their  early 
wars  with  the  Quiches  and  the  Cakchiquels.  the  site  selected  being  on  ac 
count  of  its  natural  strength.  Native  Races,  i.  787;  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  245. 
It  was  situated  in  the  valley  of  Xilotcpec,  on  a  ridge  between  the  Pixcayatl 
and  the  Rio  Grande  de  Motagua,  the  former  river  being  a  tributary  of  the 
latter,  and  meaning  'guardian  stream.'  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  350;  Urasstur  de 
Jjourhourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  G80. 

19  Juarros  states  that  two  defenders,  by  rolling  stones  down  the  steep  path 
from  the  heights  above,  could  prevent  an  army  from  entering.  Guat. ,  ii.  284. 

20  Fucntes  says  80  cavalry,  serving  on  foot,  and  200  Tlascaltecs.  Recorda- 
cion  Florida,  MS.,  14-5. 


CSS          REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

than  elsewhere,  they  suddenly  made  a  rush  up  the 
pathway,  which  they  hoped  to  find  undefended.  The 
Mixcans  were  prepared,  however,  and  received  the 
Spaniards  with  such  heavy  discharges  of  missiles  that 
they  were  forced  to  retire  in  confusion.  While  the 
officers  were  in  consultation  shortly  after,  a  strong 
body  of  native  warriors  was  reported  near  at  hand, 
which  proved  to  be  Chignautecs,  allies  of  the  Mix- 
cans.21  Their  intentions  were  evident,  and  soon  the 
two  armies  were  engaged  in  hot  contest.  Notwith 
standing  that  great  havoc  was  made  by  the  arquebuses 
and  cross-bows,  and  still  more  by  the  cavalry,  the  Chig 
nautecs  maintained  the  fight  with  such  stubbornness 
that  after  the  loss  of  a  large  number  of  Tlascaltecs 
and  the  wounding  of  many  Spaniards  a  retrograde 
movement  was  decided  on. 

Upon  an  occasion  like  the  present,  where  the 
object  to  be  gained,  the  taking  of  a  stronghold, 
partook  more  of  the  nature  of  single  combat  than 
of  general  battle,  here  and  elsewhere  upon  a  cam 
paign  of  this  kind,  it  was  not  uncommon  to  see  feats 
of  individual  prowess  cropping  out  on  both  sides.  It 
was  the  field  of  glory  to  the  soldier,  limited  usually 
to  the  field,  as  the  world  was  the  general's  field  of 
glory.  I  will  mention  one  such  exhibition  in  connec 
tion  with  this  fight  against  the  Chignautecs.  In  the 
hazardous  retreat  one  of  the  cavalrymen,  Garcia  de 
Aguilar,  is  in  the  extreme  rear,  subject  to  the 
fiercest  assaults  of  the  pursuing  warriors.  In  truth, 
his  body  is  interposed  between  the  two  contending 
armies.  Obviously,  if  the  enemy  cannot  put  him 
out  of  the  way  they  are  unable  to  harm  the  others; 
every  effort  is  therefore  made  to  maim  his  horse,  or 
otherwise  to  capture  him;  and  he  is  at  length  cut 
off  from  his  comrades  and  quickly  surrounded  by 
over  four  hundred  of  the  dusky  foe,  each  eager  to 
inflict  the  coup  de  grace.  But  Aguilar  is  by  no- 
means  vanquished  yet.  Though  presently  unseated; 

21  Macario,  Xecul  MS.,  7;  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  285. 


FIGHT  WITH  THE  CHIGNAUTECS.  689 

he  maintains  for  some  time  a  desperate  struggle, 
striking  with  deadly  effect  upon  the  enemy.  Then 
he  loses  his  sword,  and  nothing  remains  to  him  but 
a  dagger.  It  is  not  in  this  instance  the  bravery 
of  the  man  that  astonishes  so  much  as  his  extraor 
dinary  muscular  power.  The  horse,  by  kicking  and 
plunging,  prevents  capture,  while  Aguilar,  circum 
scribed  by  threatening  death,  exhibits  almost  super 
human  strength.  No  blow  dealt  to  kill  or  stun,  no 
attempt  to  seize  him,  can  stop  the  quick  stroke  of  that 
strong  right  arm  as  it  drives  the  keen  steel  straight 
into  the  assailants'  vitals.  With  wounds  and  ever 
increasing  exertion,  however,  he  grows  weaker;  but 
capture  signifies  immolation.  To  be  gazed  at,  help 
less  on  a  heathen  altar,  an  offering  to  odious  gods — 
the  thought  is  horrible — and  the  fatal  dagger  is 
still,  by  swift  movements,  driven  to  the  hilt.  And 
now  the  battle  cry  of  Santiago  to  the  rescue!  rings 
in  his  ears  and  tells  of  succor;  he  hears  a  leaden 
sound,  as  of  crushed  bone  and  flesh,  and  the  whistle 
of  descending  blades,  and  knows  that  help  is  at  hand. 
Six  horsemen  have  plunged  into  the  unequal  contest, 
and  they  scatter  the  swarthy  foe  like  sheep.  They 
gather  round  their  countryman,  support  his  exhausted 
frame,  and  carry  him  wounded  and  faint  to  a  place  of 
safety.  The  courage,  strength,  and  skill  of  this 
single  man,  and  the  valor  displayed  in  his  rescue, 
so  impressed  the  Chignautecs  that  they  retired  dis 
heartened,  regarding  their  efforts  of  no  avail  against 
such  beings,22  and  they  returned  to  their  homes. 

The  siege  had  now  lasted  a  month.     On  the  third 
day  after  the  retrograde  movement,  which  resulted  in 

22  In  this  engagement,  for  the  Indians  were  pursued  after  Aguilar's  rescue, 
more  than  200  Chignautecs  fell,  says  Juarros.  On  the  side  of  the  Spaniards 
many  Tlascaltccs  were  slain,  among  whom  were  two  illustrious  chiefs,  Juan 
Xuchiatl  and  Geronimo  Carrillo — the  Spanish  name  of  this  Indian  chief — 
while  of  the  Spaniards  themselves  a  considerable  proportion  received  severe 
•wounds.  Git  at.,  ii.  2S5.  Besides  Aguilar  and  the  three  captains,  whose 
names  are  given  in  the  text,  Fuentes  mentions  also  Gutierre  de  Robles 
and  Pedro  dc  Olmos  as  having  greatly  signali/ed  themselves  in  this  action. 
Florida,  MS.,  16. 
HIST.  CEN.  AM.,  VOL.  I.  44 


C90  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

victory,  the  Spaniards  determined  to  make  another 
attempt  upon  the  place,  and  were  on  the  point  of 
assault  when  an  ambassador  arrived  from  the  Chig- 
nautecs  tendering  their  submission,  and  bringing 
the  customary  presents  of  gold,  green  plumes,  and 
costly  mantles.  It  was,  however,  stipulated  on  their 
part  that  this  act  of  allegiance  should  be  kept  secret 
until  the  fall  of  Mixco;  at  the  same  time  the  en 
voy  intimated  that  their  caciques  would  communi 
cate  privately  to  Alvarado  a  secret  that  would  be  of 
service  to  him.  Alvarado  received  this  message  favor 
ably,  and  sent  back  the  emissary  with  every  mark  of 
consideration,  expressing  his  willingness  to  hear  what 
the  chiefs  had  to  say. 

The  distance  from  Mixco  to  Chignauta  was  nine 
leagues;  and  in  three  days,  during  which  Alvarado 
had  refrained  from  active  operations,  the  principal 
caciques  arrived  at  his  camp.  They  were  attended 
by  a  large  retinue  and  a  number  of  natives  bearing 
presents  of  great  aboriginal  value  and  a  large  quantity 
of  provisions.  The  disclosure  made  by  the  caciques 
was  to  the  effect  that  there  existed  a  subterranean 
passage  from  the  stronghold,  having  an  outlet  in  the 
woods  near  the  river  bank.  By  this  the  Mixcans 
could  escape,  they  said,  even  if  the  Spaniards  suc 
ceeded  in  storming  the  height.  The  outlet  they  were 
willing  to  disclose,  as  they  owed  no  allegiance  to  the 
Mixcans,  who  had  incited  them  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  Spaniards.  They  moreover  suggested  that  an 
ambuscade  should  be  placed  near  the  mouth.23 

A  force  of  forty  men,  cross-bowmen  and  cavalry, 
commanded  by  Alonso  Lopez  de  Loarca,  was  accord - 

23  Fuentes,  who  wrote  between  1690  and  1700,  gives  a  partial  description 
of  a  cavern,  the  entrance  to  which  was  on  a  small  ridge  by  the  side  of  the 
ruins  of  Mixco.  The  door- way  was  of  clay,  three  feet  wide  and  three  high. 
Thirty-six  stone  steps  led  down  to  a  spacious  chamber,  having  at  its  end 
another  flight  of  stairs,  down  which  no  one  had  passed  far,  for  the  reason 
that  the  ground  began  to  tremble  as  the  explorer  proceeded.  Eighteen  steps 
had,  however,  been  descended,  and  an  arched  opening  on  the  right  side  dis 
covered,  leading  by  six  steps  into  a  long  cavern.  No  further  explorations 
had  been  made.  Ubi  sup.,  cap.  ii.;  Juarros,  Guaf,.,  ii.  350-1  Native  Races,;  iv. 
119-20. 


THE  FALL  OF  MIXCO.  691 

ingly  despatched  to  the  exit  of  the  passage,24  and 
thereupon  Alvarado  determined  once  more  to  attempt 
to  storm  the  place.  The  front  man  of  the  storming 
line  bore  a  shield,  and  behind  him  followed  a  cross- 
bowman;  then  succeeded  another  shield -bearer,  sup 
ported  by  an  arquebusier.  This  alternate  order  afforded 
protection  and  at  the  same  time  admitted  of  assault.25 
The  file  thus  formed  was  led  by  Bernardino  de  Arte- 
aga,  who  had  asked  for  the  dangerous  post  as  a  favor, 
and  succeeded  in  covering  his  name  with  honor. 
Calling  on  God  and  Santiago,  they  began  the  ascent 
of  the  narrow  ridge,  which  widened  as  it  joined  the 
cliff.  While  moving  as  rapidly  as  possible,  so  that  the 
showering  stones  and  arrows  might  have  less  effect, 
they  nevertheless  plied  cross-bow  and  arquebuse  with 
deadly  effect.  They  had  almost  reached  a  wider  place 
in  the  ridge,  where  four  men  might  walk  abreast, 
when  the  gallant  Arteaga  was  felled  with  a  heavy 
stone,  breaking  his  leg,  but  with  indomitable  will  he 
struggled  on,  supported  by  his  comrade  Diego  Lopez 
tie  Villanueva.26  Despite  the  terrible  resistance  they 
reached  the  broader  space  near  the  cliff,  which  was 
packed  with  defenders  so  eager  for  a  blow  at  the 
assailants  that  many  were  crowded  off  the  precipice 
by  those  behind.  But  the  stormers  were  by  this 
time  enabled  to  fall  partially  into  line  and  ply  their 
blades.  A  hand-to-hand  contest  followed,  and  the 
ground  soon  became  thickly  strewn  with  the  bodies 
of  slain  Mixcans,  among  which  were  heaps  of  lopped- 
off  heads  and  limbs.  More  Spaniards  and  auxiliaries 
came  rapidly  forward  to  aid  in  the  slaughter  as 
ground  could  be  cleared  for  them  to  stand  on.  The 

24  The  distance  of  the  outlet  from  the  camp  must  have  been  considerable, 
as  Fuentes  states  that  a  day  was  allowed  for  the  arrival  of  Loarca's  force  at 
the  cave.  Fuentes  y  Guzman,  Recordadon  Florida,  MS.,  17. 

a5  The  account  given  by  Fuentes  is  somewhat  confused.  From  his  version 
on  page  17  the  react er  is  led  to  suppose  that  Loarca's  party  were  to  ascend  by 
the  cavernous  passage,  and  in  the  order  given  in  the  text,  while  on  page  19  he 
states  that  those  who  fled  by  the  cave  were  attacked  by  the  party  '  stationed 
in  ambush.' 

26  Fuentes  says  that  Lopez  de  Villanueva  and  two  others  quickly  took  his 
place. 


692  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

natives  fought  with  desperation,  but  height  after 
height  was  lost  to  them,  until  their  victorious  foe 
gained  at  last  the  plain  above.  There  the  Spaniards 
found  fresh  forces  to  oppose  them.  But  the  Mixcans 
were  by  this  time  overawed  by  the  extraordinary 
achievement  of  the  Spaniards;  and  as  they  marked 
these  merciless  white  foemen,  the  first  who  had  ever 
planted  foot  within  the  precincts  of  their  famed  and 
formidable  stronghold,  as  they  saw  them  moving 
onward  and  upward,  invincible  as  fate,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  their  hearts  sank  with  despair.  Their  opposition 
was  wholly  spiritless;  they  broke  and  fled  at  the  first 
charge.  What  followed  was  frightful,  surpassing  even 
the  terrible  scenes  to  which  these  man-killers  on  both 
sides  were  accustomed.  To  escape  the  fierce  onslaught 
of  the  Spaniards  some  of  the  Mixcans  plunged  head 
long  down  the  cliffs,  the  dull  thud  of  their  bodies,  as 
they  struck  upon  the  rocks,  sounding  ghostly  echoes 
in  the  ravine  below.  Some  attempted  escape  by  the 
now  deserted  path  by  which  the  assailants  had  come, 
but  these  were  captured  by  the  camp  guard.  Some 
fled  by  the  subterranean  caverns,  but  were  pursued 
and  many  taken  prisoners  before  they  reached  the 
outlet,  while  those  who  had  previously  withdrawn 
thither  with  the  women  and  children,  under  the  care 
of  several  caciques,  on  emerging  at  the  outlet  were 
assailed  by  Loarca,  and  most  of  them  captured.27 

Thus  terminated  this  remarkable  exploit  of  the 
conquerors.  The  city  was  burned,  the  stronghold 
destroyed,  and  the  population  removed  to  the  site  of 
the  present  town  of  the  same  name,  situated  in  the 
Valle  de  las  Vacas.28 

It  was  not  long  after  the  fall  of  Mixco  that  the 

27  Tezump,  Quiche  MS.,  7;  Juarros,  Gnat.,  ii.  284-8;  Fuentes  y  Guzman, 
Recnrdacion  Florida,  MS.,  14-9. 

2S  The  Mixco  of  to-day  is  distant  from  the  present  city  of  Guatemala  about 
two  leagues,  and  nine  or  ten  leagues  from  the  ruins  of  the  Mixco  destroyed 
by  Alvarado.  Its  destruction  was  followed  by  the  submission  of  various 
towns,  among  which,  according  to  the  Cakchiquel  MS.,  were  Xilotepec,  Yam- 
puk,  Papuluka,  and  Zumpango. 


THE  ZACATEPEC  WAR.  G93 

conquest  of  the  Zacatepec  Valley  was  accomplished. 
The  towns  of  this  district  were  subject  to  the  king 
of  the  Cakehiquels,  but  many  of  them,  especially 
Zacatepec,  had  thrown  off  their  allegiance  and  de 
clared  themselves  independent,  indignant  at  Sinacam's 
alliance  with  the  Spaniards.29  They  had,  moreover, 
repeatedly  shown  their  hostility  to  those  towns  which 
had  submitted  to  Spanish  rule,  by  making  incursions 
into  their  lands,  and  carrying  off  their  women  and 
children  to  the  sacrifice.30 

After  the  suppression  of  the  revolt  and  the  re- 
establishment  of  Spanish  power  in  the  Patinamit 
district,31  the  caciques  of  Xinaco  and  Zumpango  re 
monstrated  with  the  Zacatepecs,  saying  that  they 
were  now  under  the  protection  of  the  children  of  the 
sun,  and  should  appeal  to  them  if  the  depredations 
on  their  lands  did  not  cease.  The  unfortunate  men 
who  carried  this  message  were  summarily  sacrificed 
on  the  altar  stone,  all  save  one,  whose  life  was  spared 
that  he  might  carry  back  the  reply  of  the  Zacatepecs : 
"  Let  the  children  of  the  sun  bring  to  life  again  the 
dead  envoys.  As  for  ourselves,  we  will  not  submit 
to  an  unknown  people,  but  will  destroy  all  the  vil 
lages  of  the  caciques  before  their  allies  can  render 
assistance."  Nor  were  they  slow  to  carry  out  their 
threat. 

A  large  force  invaded  the  territory  of  Xinaco  and 
Zumpango,  and  began  to  slay  and  lay  waste.  The 
natives  sent  to  Guatemala  to  implore  assistance.  Al- 
varado  was  at  this  time  absent  on  his  second  campaign 

29 CakcTiiquel  MS.,  5;  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  281;  Fuentes  y  Guzman,  Rccorda- 
cion  Florida,  MS.,  12.  Jimenez  makes  a  marginal  note  in  the  manuscript  of 
Fuentes,  stating  that  '  this  is  false,  because  they  had  rebelled  previous  to 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  and  made  their  capital  at  Yampuk.'  Fuentes  y 
Guzman,  Rec.ordacion  Florida,  MS.,  12-3. 

30  Fuentes  asserts  that  they  were  wont  to  celebrate  their  feasts,  during 
which  these  victims  were  immolated,  on  hills  in  full  view  of  the  Indians  who 
were  friendly  to  the  Spaniards,  in  order  to  provoke  them. 

31  Juarros  assigns  too  early  a  date,  January  152.3,  for  the  events  which 
follow,  but  he  appears  to  be  quite  unconscious  of  this  first  Cakchiqucl  re 
volt.  Guat.,  ii.  281.     Jimenez  has  made  a  marginal  note  in  the  manuscript 
of  Fuentes  as  follows:   '  This  town,'  meaning  Xinaco,  'was  founded  some  timo 
afterward — therefore  this  is  false.' 


C94  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

to  Salvador,32  carrying  out  his  former  intention  to  re 
turn  and  bring  the  stubborn  natives  to  a  recognition 
of  Spaniards'  rights.  Nevertheless,  one  thousand 
Cakchiquels  and  ten  arquebusiers,  under  the  command 
of  Antonio  de  Salazar,  a  most  competent  captain, 
were  at  once  despatched  to  the  scene  of  action,  while 
Alvarado  was  advised  of  what  had  occurred.  Hos 
tilities  had  already  begun  before  these  troops  arrived. 
For  three  days  the  Zacatepecs  maintained  the  con 
flict  with  great  bravery,  though  with  considerable 
loss.  But  now  the  Spaniards  received  a  reinforce 
ment  of  ten  arquebusiers,  twenty  horsemen,  and  two 
hundred  Tlascaltecs  and  Mexicans,  commanded  by 
Pedro  Gonzalez  Najera.  The  contest  thereafter  was 
not  so  evenly  balanced,  and  the  Zacatepecs  sustained 
several  defeats.  On  the  fifth  day,  however,  they 
adopted  the  plan  of  attacking  in  columns  one  thousand 
strong,  successively  relieving  each  other,  so  that  fresh 
men  continually  kept  up  the  battle,  each  column  when 
relieved  retiring  to  the  rear.33  These  tactics  enabled 
them  to  maintain  the  fight  during  the  whole  of  that 
day,  and  they  inflicted  no  little  loss  on  the  Spanish 
forces.  Early  in  the  morning  the  Spaniards  took  the 
field,  apparently  in  disorder  and  much  reduced  in  num 
bers.  Encouraged  by  the  success  of  their  new  ma 
noeuvres,  the  Zacatepecs  attacked  with  contemptuous 
confidence.  The  Spaniards  gave  way  and  retreated 

32  Fuentes  states  that  the  Spaniards  at  this  time  were  engaged  in  the 
Atitlan  war.  Recordacion  Florida,  MS.,  13.  This  is  a  mistake.  Atitlan  was 
subdued  in  1524,  and  Alvarado,  who  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  affair, 
would  have  mentioned  this  war  with  the  Zacatepecs  had  it  occurred  at  that 
time.  Juarros  says  Alvarado  was  engaged  in  the  Atitlan  war  or  that  of  the 
Pipiles.  Gnat.,  ii.  282.  This  latter  conjecture  is  doubtless  right.  There 
is  evidence  that  Alvarado  undertook  his  second  campaign  along  the  coast 
against  Salvador  during  the  early  part  of  1523,  conquered  the  country,  and 
founded  the  city  of  San  Salvador.  No  records  of  the  events  remain,  but  from 
an  act  of  the  cabildo  of  Guatemala,  dated  the  6th  of  May,  1525,  we  learn  that 
one  Diego  Holguiii  had  previously  left  the  city  to  '  reside  in  the  villa  de  San 
Salvador,  of  which  he  was  alcalde.'  Arevalo,  Actas  Ayunt.  Gnat.,  13. 

rf3  Fuentes,  followed  by  Juarros,  states  that  this  was  done  by  the  advice  of 
an  aged  Indian  named  Choboloc.  He  had  observed  that  the  Spaniards  did 
not  engage  with  all  their  forces  at  once,  but  always  kept  a  body  of  men  in 
reserve,  and  suggested  to  the  chiefs  of  his  nation  the  adoption  of  similar 
tactics. 


CONQUEST  OF  THE  MAMES.  C93 

toward  a  thickly  wooded  ravine.  The  Zacatepecs  now 
felt  sure  of  victory,  and  in  their  impetuous  pursuit 
allowed  themselves  to  be  drawn  into  the  defile,  where 
a  large  body  of  their  enemies  were  lying  in  ambush. 
Suddenly  assailed  on  both  sides,  their  disorderly  ranks 
were  routed  with  great  slaughter.  Numbers  were 
also  taken  prisoners,  among  whom  were  many  caciques. 
This  battle  terminated  the  war.  The  whole  Zacatepec 
valley  submitted  to  the  authority  of  the  Spaniards; 
and  in  order  to  insure  future  obedience  a  garrison  of 
ten  Spaniards  and  one  hundred  and  forty  Tlascaltecs 
was  stationed  at  Zacatepec,  under  the  command  of 
Diego  de  Alvarado,  the  caciques  being  detained  as 
hostages.34 

About  the  middle  of  the  year  1525  Sequechul, 
king  of  Utatlan,  represented  to  Alvarado  that  his 
father  Oxib  Quieh  had  not  been  so  guilty  as  he  had 
supposed  of  the  treacherous  plot  to  destroy  the  Span 
iards  the  year  previous,  but  that  Caibil  Balam,35  king 
of  the  Mames,36  was  more  to  blame,  as  the  instigator 
of  the  attempt.  At  the  same  time  he  offered  to  pro 
vide  the  invading  forces  with  guides  if  Alvarado  would 
undertake  the  conquest  of  that  kingdom  and  punish 
Caibil  Balam.  Whether  Sequechul's  object  was  re 
venge  for  his  father's  cruel  death  or  favor  with  Alva 
rado  is  of  little  consequence;  the  mention  he  made  of 
the  broad  lands  and  great  wealth  of  the  province  fell 
pleasantly  on  the  lieutenant-general's  ear,  and  he  will 
ingly  acceded  to  the  king's  proposal. 

The  expedition  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
Gonzalo  de  Alvarado,  and  consisted  of  eighty  Spanish 

3iFuentes  y  Guzman,  Recordacion  Florida,  MS.,  12-14;  Juarros,  Guat., 
ii.  281-3. 

33  This  ruler,  says  Gonzalo  de  Alvarado,  displayed  in  his  person  the 
nobility  of  his  blood  and  was  about  40  years  of  age.  Alvarado,  Gonzalo  de, 
Mcmoria,  MS.;  Jwirros,  Guat.,  ii.  319. 

36  The  Cakchiquels  are  said  to  have  applied  the  word  Mem  to  the  Maya- 
speaking  tribes.  This  word,  meaning  '  stutterers,'  was  corrupted  by  the  Span 
iards  into  Mames.  They  occupied  that  portion  of  the  country  which  lay 
between  the  Quiche"  territory  and  Chiapas,  now  the  province  of  Totonicapan, 
See  Native  Races,  ii.  128,  v.,  passim. 


696  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

infantry,  the  captains  being  Antonio  de  Salazar  and 
Francisco  de  Arevalo,  together  with  forty  cavalry 
men  and  two  thousand  native  auxiliaries,  drawn  from 
various  districts,  whose  commanders  were  Jorge  de 
Acufia,  Pedro  de  Aragon,  Bernardino  de  Oviedo,  and 
Juan  de  Verastigui.  These  forces  were,  moreover, 
accompanied  by  three  hundred  pioneers,  with  axes 
and  picks,  while  a  large  number  of  Indian  carriers 
bore  with  them  an  ample  supply  of  provisions  besides 
the  baggage.  Early  in  July  the  army  marched  to 
Totonicapan,  a  town  on  the  confines  of  the  Mame 
territory,  which  was  made  the  base  of  operations. 
The  usual  difficulties  of  such  undertakings  here  began. 
It  took  the  invaders  no  less  than  eight  days  to  cross 
the  mountain  range  between  that  place  and  the  Rio 
Hondo.  The  season  rendered  their  labors  the  greater, 
for  the  rain,  day  after  day,  poured  down  in  torrents. 
Up  steep  ascents,  down  dangerous  gullies,  they  toiled, 
now  winding  in  single  file  along  the  edge  of  a  preci 
pice,  now  plunging  over  soft  treacherous  ground  up 
to  the  knee  in  mud.  On  reaching  the  Hondo37  they 
bivouacked  for  two  days  in  the  dripping  sunless  woods 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  which,  swollen  by  the  cease 
less  rains,  for  a  time  defied  their  passage.  At  length 
they  succeeded  in  crossing,  and  presently  emerged 
from  the  forests  upon  an  open  plain,  and  descried  on 
an  eminence  the  Mame  town  of  Mazatenango.  It  was 
a  well  fortified  place,  surrounded  by  a  barricade  of 
heavy  timber,  behind  which,  on  a  terre-plein  of  mud 
and  straw,  a  great  multitude  of  warriors  were  drawn 
up.  A  wide  stretch  of  swampy  ground,  not  differing 
in  appearance  from  the  rest  of  the  plain,  debarred  ap 
proach  to  this  side  of  the  town.  As  the  invading 
army  drew  near,  the  Mames  with  hisses  and  shouts 
of  defiance  challenged  attack,  in  the  hope  of  inducing 
them  to  charge  into  the  swamp.  Gonzalo  de  Alvarado 

37  The  Hondo,  during  the  dry  season,  is  but  a  small  shallow  stream.  In 
the  wet  season,  however,  it  becomes  a  deep  and  dangerous  river,  hence  its 
name,  El  Rio  Hondo,  '  the  deep  river. ' 


PRINCE  CAN  ILOCAB.  697 

was,  however,  timely  advised  of  the  danger  by  his 
guides,  and  making  a  detour  he  assaulted  the  barri 
cade  on  the  other  side,  where  the  ground  was  firm. 
The  assailants  were  received  with  a  blinding  storm 
of  missiles,  which  for  a  long  time  kept  them  in  check. 
Their  repeated  efforts  to  burst  through  the  defences 
were  baffled,  and  the  auxiliaries  were  becoming  discour 
aged,  when  Gomez  de  Loarca  with  the  cavalry  plunged 
through    the    palisade.     The    besiegers,   pouring    in 
through  the  breach,  could  now  fight  after  their  own 
fashion ;  and  though  the  Mames  offered  a  brave  resist 
ance,  they  were  routed  with  great  slaughter,  and  their 
town  taken  possession  of  by  the  conquerors,  who  placed 
in  it  a  sufficient  garrison  as  a  protection  in  their  rear. 
Continuing  their  march,  they  encounter  at  no  great 
distance  from  Mazatenango  an  army  of  five  thousand 
warriors  from  Malacatan,  whereupon  Gonzalo  takes  up 
a  favorable  position  on  the  plain.38     The  vanguard  of 
the  enemy  is  composed  of  slingers  and  archers,  and 
the  main  body  of  spearmen,  commanded  by  the  re 
nowned  prince  Can  Ilocab.     In  perfect  order,  and  with 
deafening  sound  of  drums  and  conchs,  they  approach 
the    Spanish   army.     As  soon  as  the  vanguard  has 
reached  a  suitable  point  Gonzalo  charges  upon  them 
with  the  cavalry.     The  arrows  strike  thick  as  hail 
on  the  mailed  breasts  of  the  horsemen,  drawing  fire 
therefrom;   but  the  chargers  dash  through  the  ranks 
of  the  archers,  who  with  stubborn  courage  disdain 
to  fly,  while  to  avoid  the  fatal  lance  thrusts  they  throw 
themselves  under  the  horses,  only  to  be  crushed  and 
mangled  by  the  iron-shod  hoofs.     And  now  the  main 
body  of  the  Mames  come  up,  and  the  Spanish  cavalry 
have  more  difficult  work.     The  charge  against  those 
solid  columns  bristling  with  long  spears  is  only  par 
tially    successful.     The    shock   is    sustained    by  the 
Mames  with  a  firmness  the  Spaniards  are  little  accus 
tomed  to.    The  discomfited  vanguard  has  time  to  rally, 
and  again  the   swift   stone  bruises,  and  arrows  hiss 

38 Macario,  Xecul  MS.,  16;  Juarros,  Gnat.,  ii.  311.    The  town  still  exists. 


698  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

and  shiver  on  helmet  and  coat  of  mail.  All  the  forces 
on  both  sides  are  now  in  action,  and  the  slaughter 
of  the  Maines  is  dreadful,  yet  not  one  inch  will  they 
yield.  Rushing  to  close  quarters,  within  their  oppo 
nents'  breastwork  of  sword-points,  and  gliding  along 
their  lances,  they  so  hamper  the  Spaniards  that  they 
can  hardly  wield  their  arms.  Bruised  and  stunned, 
embarrassed  in  their  movements,  the  blows  of  the 
Spaniards  fall  more  feebly,  and  they  already  begin 
to  relax  their  efforts  when  Salazar,  one  of  the  cap 
tains  of  infantry,  seeing  the  imminent  danger,  strives 
to  rouse  his  men  with  spirit-stirring  words.  "Where 
is  your  valor,  Castilians?"  he  cries.  "Does  that 
courage  sink  which  won  the  blood-stained  fields  of 
Mexico  and  Utatlan?  There  you  achieved  renown; 
lose  it  not  here,  nor  suffer  yourselves  to  be  carried 
off  to  die  on  the  altars  of  these  idolaters!"  The 
appeal  has  its  effect.  With  renewed  efforts  the  in 
fantry  mow  their  way  through  and  through  the  Mame 
columns,  causing  frightful  carnage,  but  the  warriors 
recede  not  one  foot  in  flight.  For  still  waves  in  air 
their  prince's  banner ;  his  plume  nods  high  above  them 
all,  and  his  voice  still  cheers  them  on.  As  long  as 
he  remains  they  will  fight,  knowing  no  defeat.  The 
Spanish  captain  is  not  blind  to  this,  for  under  the  great 
Cortes  he  has  learned  that  in  their  leader  lies  the 
strength  of  the  warriors,  and  he  recognizes  only  too 
clearly  that  Can  Ilocab's  death  is  their  one  chance  of 
victory.  For  some  time  the  execution  of  Gonzalo's 
purpose  has  been  delayed,  but  at  length  by  the  surging 
ranks  he  is  thrown  near  to  the  magic  banner,  and  then 
with  desperate  charge  he  urges  his  steed  through  the 
resisting  guard  up  to  the  Mame  chieftain,  and  plunges 
the  lance  through  his  body.  This  ends  the  battle, 
and  the  Mames,  unconquered  by  sword  and  lance,  on 
the  fall  of  their  prince  flee  from  the  field  and  are 
pursued  as  far  as  their  town.  The  chiefs  of  the  place 
at  once  send  an  embassy  to  sue  for  peace,  bringing 
with  them  a  present  of  gold  ornaments,  and  offering 


ZAKULEU  INVESTED.  699 

allegiance,  which  is  accepted.  Leaving  a  garrison  in 
the  town,  the  Spaniards  continue  their  march  in  the 
direction  of  Huehuetenango.39 

This  was  an  important  city  of  the  Mames,  where 
Gonzalo  de  Alvarado  expected  warm  work,  judging 
from  the  late  formidable  resistance.  On  arrival,  how 
ever,  he  found  the  place  abandoned,  and  such  of  the 
houses  as  had  not  been  destroyed  stripped  of  furni 
ture  and  utensils,  without  a  handful  of  provisions. 
Cavalry  troops  were  sent  out  in  different  directions, 
and  one  under  the  command  of  Gaspar  Aleman  fell  in 
with  three  hundred  Indian  archers,  who  without  hesi 
tation  attacked  the  horsemen,  among  others  wounding 
Aleman  in  the  face.  But  they  were  soon  routed,  and 
in  the  pursuit  three  prisoners  were  .taken,  one  of 
whom  was  a  chief  named  Sahquiab,  a  captain  in  Caibil 
Balam's  army.  When  brought  into  the  presence  of 
Gonzalo  de  Alvarado,  he  informed  him  that  his  sover- 
reign  had  retired  to  the  almost  impregnable  city  of 
Zakuleu,40  where,  provided  with  provisions  and  stores, 
he  deemed  himself  secure.  The  captive  was  thereupon 
sent  by  Gonzalo  to  Caibil  Balam  with  offers  of  peace 
and  a  charitable  proposal  to  teach  him  the  doctrines 
of  the  Christian  religion.  But  Sahquiab  did  not 
return,  nor  came  any  answer  to  Gonzalo.  A  second 
embassy,  composed  of  Indians  from  Utatlan,  was 
rudely  refused  audience  with  a  shower  of  arrows.  This 
exhausted  the  patience  of  Gonzalo  and  he  marched  on 
Zakuleu.  As  soon  as  his  approach  was  observed  by 
the  Mames  an  army  six  thousand  strong  sallied  forth 
to  give  him  battle.  The  engagement  which  followed 
was  maintained  by  the  Mames  with  the  same  stub- 

39QiticM  AfS.,  10;  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  311-13.  A  city  which  remains  to 
the  present  day  under  the  same  name. 

40  Like  Utatlan  and  Mixco,  this  city  was  situated  on  a  plateau  surrounded 
by  ravines.  The  plateau  was  twelve  miles  in  circumference,  and  on  it  are  still 
to  be  seen  the  ruins  of  Zakuleu,  known  by  the  name  of  Las  Cuevas,  the  caves, 
about  half  a  league  from  Huehuetenango.  They  are  only  a  confused  heap  of 
rubbish,  overgrown  with  brushwood.  Two  pyramidal  structures  of  stone  and 
mortar  can,  however,  be  made  out.  Juarros  calls  the  place  Socoleo,  which  is 
the  present  name  of  a  village  and  stream  in  the  locality.  Guat.,  ii.  313-14; 
Native  Races,  iv.  128-30. 


700  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

born  valor  exhibited  in  previous  fights,  and  marked  by 
similar  carnage.  A  reserve  of  two  thousand,  which 
sallied  during  the  battle  from  Zakuleu  to  the  support 
of  their  countrymen,  made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to 
turn  the  tide  of  victory,  only  adding  to  the  victims; 
and  routed  in  all  directions  the  Mames  fled  to  their 
stronghold  in  the  mountains.41 

Owing  to  the  impossibility  of  storming  so  impreg 
nable  a  place  as  Zakuleu,  Gonzalo  closely  invested  it 
by  stationing  troops  at  the  few  points  where  egress 
seemed  possible.  On  the  third  day  of  the  siege  Diego 
Lopez  de  Yillanueva,  while  reconnoitring  with  a  body 
of  cavalry,  observed  smoke  issuing  from  the  woods  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river.42  Having  crossed  with 
much  difficulty,  he  fell  in  with  three  hundred  Indians 
in  charge  of  a  large  supply  of  provisions,  which  they 
intended  to  introduce  into  the  beleaguered  city,  and 
which  Villanueva  promptly  appropriated. 

The  inactive  warfare  soon  wore  out  the  patience 
of  the  Spaniards,  and  Gonzalo  began  to  cut  a  road 
suitable  for  cavalry  up  the  most  practicable  part  of 
the  steep.  Day  by  day,  from  morning  to  night,  the 
sound  of  the  pick  was  heard,  and  the  work  continued 
uninterrupted  with  but  little  loss  to  the  besiegers, 
though  the  heights  were  thronged  with  Mames,  who 
used  every  effort  to  impede  its  progress.  The  cross 
bow  and  arquebuse  were  far  more  deadly  than  the 
sling  and  arm-drawn  bow,  and  the  Mames  suffered 
heavily. 

In  the  midst  of  these  operations  an  army  of  eight 
thousand  mountaineers  appeared  on  the  plain,  pre 
senting  a  most  unusual  spectacle — naked,  and  hideous 
with  war-paint,  unrelieved  by  plume  or  ornament  of 
any  kind,  only  by  the  glitter  of  their  weapons.  The 
Spanish  captain  immediately  made  preparation  for 

41  The   Spaniards  lost  in  this  engagement  40  Indians  and  three  horses, 
while  eight  soldiers  were  severely  wounded,  among  them  Gonzalo  de  Alva- 
rado.     They  collected  from  the  bodies  of  the  slain  a  great  quantity  of  gold 
medals.  Alvarado,  Gonzalo  de,  Memoria,  MS.;  Juarros,  Gnat.  ii.  315-16. 

42  The  present  Socoleo,  a  tributary  of  the  river  Selegua. 


PREPARING  TO  STOPvM  ZAKULEU.  701 

battle.  Leaving  a  sufficient  number  to  protect  the 
work  and  guard  the  camp,43  he  advanced  against  them 
with  the  remainder  of  his  forces,  and  was  soon  engaged 
in  a  desperate  struggle.  Three  several  times  the 
ranks  of  the  mountaineers  were  broken,  and  as  often 
did  they  rally  and  attack  with  ever  increasing  fury. 
Only  the  steel  and  cotton  armor  of  the  Spanish  forces 
saved  them  from  destruction.  As  it  was,  lance  and 
sword,  bullet  and  bolt,  reaped  the  usual  harvest,  and 
on  the  plain,  saturated  with  blood  and  bespotted 
with  mangled  bodies,  the  Spaniards  at  last  stood  tri 
umphant.*4 

Thenceforth  the  siege  continued  uninterrupted. 
The  work  of  cutting .  the  road  dragged  slowly  on, 
and  by  the  middle  of  October  both  besiegers  and 
besieged  were  undergoing  intense  suffering.  Within 
the  city  famine  was  daily  gathering  its  victims ;  every 
eatable  substance,  to  the  leather  of  their  shields, 
had  been  consumed,  and  the  survivors  were  feeding 
on  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  Scarcity  of  provisions, 
too,  was  felt  in  the  Spanish  camp.  But  this  was  not 
the  worst.  The  weather  was  unusually  severe;  icy 
hailstorms  and  keen  frosts  caused  much  suffering  to 
the  invaders,  unaccustomed  to  the  cold  of  that  al 
titude.  Fever  and  ague  also  attacked  them.  From 
the  rain  and  hail  that  fell  the  plain  had  become  a 
swamp,  and  day  by  day  Gonzalo  saw  the  number  of 
his  haggard  troops  grow  smaller.  A  more  speedy 
method  of  reducing  the  place  must  be  adopted  or  the 
attempt  abandoned.  Accordingly  he  sent  off  his  sick 
to  Huehuetenango,  and  stopping  work  on  the  road, 
prepared  to  make  the  desperate  attempt  to  storm 
the  place  with  scaling  ladders.45  He  had  already  con 
structed  a  number  of  these  ladders,  huge  in  size  and 

43  This  guard  consisted  of  400  Indians  and  ten  picked  Spaniards,  under 
command  01  Antonio  de  Salazar.  Juarros,  Gnat.,  ii.  317. 

44  During  the  battle,  which  was  fought  in  full  view  of  Zakuldu,  the  Mamea 
attempted  a  sally  in  support  of  the  mountaineers  but  were  repelled  by  Salazar. 
Juarros,  Guat.^  ii.  317. 

43  Juarros  adds  that  Gonzalo  did  not  adopt  this  plan  at  first  for  the  reason 
that  he  wanted  to  avail  himself  of  his  cavalry  in  the  assault.  Guat.,  ii.  318. 


702  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

wide  enough  to  allow  three  men  to  ascend  abreast, 
and  was  on  the  point  of  making  the  attack  when  there 
appeared  an  envoy  from  Caibil  Balam  suing  for  peace. 
This  unfortunate  ruler  had  previously  attempted  to 
escape  by  night  with  his  family  and  an  escort  of  the 
principal  chiefs ;  but  having  fallen  in  with  a  patrolling 
party,  he  was  wounded  in  the  arm  with  a  cross-bow 
bolt  and  compelled  to  return.  And  now  he  had  taken 
counsel  with  his  chiefs  on  the  subject  of  surrender. 
He  had  represented  to  them  that  all  hope  of  relief 
was  gone,  while  his  famished  subjects  were  dying 
around  him.  Submission  alone  could  save  the  few 
survivors.  The  chiefs  had  eagerly  approved  his 
words,  and  the  tender  of  submission  was  made. 
Gonzalo's  satisfaction  at  this  unexpected  termination 
of  the  siege  was  indeed  great.  A  spot  midway 
between  the  gate  of  Zakuleu  and  the  quarters  of  the 
cavalry  was  appointed  as  the  place  of  meeting  for  the 
settlement  of  terms,  and  Gonzalo,  accompanied  by 
Loarca,  Salazar,  Arevalo,  and  twelve  others,  there 
met  the  humbled  Caibil  Balam.  The  Spaniard's  recep 
tion  of  the  native  ruler  was  friendly  in  the  extreme, 
and  with  an  embrace,  Gonzalo  assured  him  of  his  love 
and  friendship.  Under  such  kindly  treatment,  so  little 
expected,  the  stoical  self-command  of  the  weakened 
warrior  gave  way,  and  he  wept  as  he  returned  the 
victor's  greeting. 

The  Spaniards  then  took  formal  possession  of  the 
city  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Spain.46  They  de 
stroyed  the  fortification  at  the  entrance,47  and  made 
more  practicable  the  road  across  the  ravine.  The 
surrounding  country  was  afterward  explored  and  the 
towns  subjected  to  Spanish  rule.  In  Huehuetenango 
Gonzalo  de  Alvarado  stationed  a  strong  garrison,  with 
Gonzalo  de  Solis  as  captain,  and  having  taken  all  the 
necessary  measures  for  the  permanent  tranquillity  of 

^Alvarado,  Gonzalo  de,  Memoria,  MS.;  Juarros,  Guat.,  ii.  319.  Gonzalo 
de  Alvarado  affirms  that  1800  Mames  perished  in  the  defence  of  Zakuleu.  Id. 

*7  Juarros  states  that  a  stone  slab  formed  the  door  of  the  fort,  and  that  this 
was  broken  up. 


THE  COUNTRY  PACIFIED.  703 

his  newly  conquered  territory,  he  returned  to  Guate 
mala  City  toward  the  end  of  the  year. 

Henceforth  conquest,  oppression,  and  destruction 
marched  hand-in-hand  over  the  country,  and  the  re 
sult  was  a  national  and  social  eclipse  of  the  fallen 
races.  Their  arts  and  sciences  were  soon  forgotten; 
their  architectural  skill  was  lost;  and  from  a  state  of 
happy  development  their  life  as  a  nation  was  blotted 
out.  To  what  extent  the  progress  of  the  world  would 
have  been  benefited  or  retarded,  had  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  the  American  table -lands  survived  as 
integral  nations,  it  is  impossible  to  say;  but  we  may 
question  how  much  the  occupation  of  the  country  by 
the  Spaniards  contributed  toward  general  advance 
ment.  It  is  thought  by  some  that  the  great  Indian 
nations  had  reached  the  limit  of  their  present  line  of 
progress  when  the  Spaniards  arrived.  In  Guatemala 
the  individual  kings  had  by  long  lines  of  succession 
arrived  at  that  stage  of  monarchy  when  power  begets 
luxury  and  decay.  Without  European  interference 
there  might  have  been  a  relapse  and  a  dark  age;  and 
a  later  view,  had  discovery  been  dela^yed  to  our  own 
time  for  instance,  miff  lit  have  found  Mexico  and  Cen- 

'  O 

tral  America  overrun  by  savage  hordes  from  the  north 
and  ruined  cities  scattered  over  the  land.  To  this 
fancy  I  am  not  prepared  wholly  to  subscribe.48 

48  The  authorities  that  have  been  consulted  for  the  history  of  the  conquest 
of  Guatemala  are  the  following :  Cortes,  Cartas  [ed.  Paris,  18G6],  289-90,  304-5, 
containing  information  down  to  the  departure  of  Alvarado  for  Guatemala; 
Alvarado,  Relation,  in  Darcia,  Hist.  Prim.,  157—66,  and  in  Ternaux-(  tompans, 
Voy.,  s6rie  i.,  torn,  x.,  107-50,  taken  as  bases  of  that  portion  of  the  history 
which  includes  the  entrance  into  Guatemala  territory  and  succeeding  events 
down  to  the  founding  of  the  city  of  Santiago;  Oviedo,  iii.  448,  459-00,  475-87, 
wherein  Cortes  and  Alvarado  are  closely  followed;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  viii. 
cap.  v.,  relating  mainly  to  the  narrative  of  the  messengers  sent  to  Guate 
mala,  merely  mentioning  Alvarado's  departure;  Gomara,  hist.  Mcx.,  229-33; 
Id.,  Hint.  Ind.,  266-8,  which  affords  but  little  additional  information  to 
that  supplied  by  Oviedo;  Chhnalpain,  Hist.  Conq.,  ii.  100-5,  181-2;  Denial 
Diaz,  Hi*t.  Vcrdad.,  77,  174-6;  Las  Casas,  Rcgio.  Ind.  Devastat.,  35-40,  and 
Ixtlilxochitl,  Horribles  Crueldades,  66-71.  The  former  of  these  two  last  au 
thorities  is  exceptionally  severe  against  Alvarado,  and  enumerates  numbers  of 
atrocities  committed  by  him  and  his  followers,  while  the  latter  prominently 
brings  forward  the  services  of  the  Mexican  auxiliaries,  and  mentions  the  ex 
cessive  hardships  and  cruelties  they  suffered.  Id.,  /fe&xcfone0,431~3.  Herrera, 
dec.  iii.  lib.  v.  cap.  viii.-xi.,  occasionally  differs  from  Alvarado's  statements, 


704  REVOLT  OF  THE  CAKCHIQUELS. 

but  is  generally  reliable.  See  also  Lorenzana,  Viarje,  in  Cortts,  Hist.  2T. 
Etpaiia,  335-6,  369-70;  Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc.,  viii.  17;  Arcvalo, 
Actas  Af/unt.  Gnat.,  7-15;  Ramirez,  Proceso  contra  Alvarado,  passim — which 
work  throws  much  light  upon  the  .doings  of  the  conqueror,  though  contradic 
tory  evidence  renders  it  of ttimes  difficult  to  dejide  on  the  merits  of  a  charge; 
Ramm'tOj  Viagyi,  iii.  29O-S;  Atitlan,  Requcte  le  plusieurs  chefs,  in  Ternaux- 
Compans,  se"riei.,  torn,  x.,  415-25;  Sucliimilco,  Carta  de  sus  caciques,  in  Pacheco 
and  Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc.,  xii.,  293-4;  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  2-7,  an  author 
unreliable  so  far  as  the  conquest  of  Guatemala  goes  when  not  supported  by 
other  authorities;  Galvano's  Discov.,  156-7;  Voyages,  Selection  of  Curious, 
Rare,  and  Early,  31;  Fuentes  y  Guzman,  Recordaclon  Florida,  MS.,  1-4, 
12-19,  25-7,  has  many  errors  and  is  far  from  reliable;  Vazquez,  Chronica 
de  Gvat.,  1-17,  68,  522-6;  Gonzalez  Ddvila,  Teatro  Ecles.,  i.  139;  Junrros, 
Guat.,  i.  60,  64,  66-7,  79,  253;  ii.  240-60,  277-88,  309-20;  Id.  [ed.  London, 
1823],  10,  29-30,  124-6,  234-6,  378-404,  419-32,  456-69;  Pelaez,  Mem. 
Guat.,  i.  44-7,  64-5,  compiled  from  various  authors,  and  is  inaccurate.  Bras- 
seur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  iv.  612-719;  Prescotfs  Mex.,  iii.  273-4; 
Help's  Span.  Conq.,  iii.  242-74;  Calle,  Mem.  y  Not.  113-5;  Salazar  y  Olarte, 
Conq.  Mex.,  124-33;  Niebla,  Mem.  de  Zapotitlan,  MS.,  7-8;  Larrainzar,  Hist. 
Soconusco,  1-14,  17-8;  Zamacois,  Hist.  Mej.,  iv.  167-74,  182;  Squier's MSS., 
xvi.;  Squkr'a  States  Cent.  Am.y32&4Q;  Ogi  by'sAm.,  236;  Dunn's  Gnat.,  261-4; 
Laet,  Nov.  Orb.,  317-46;  Astaburuaga,  Cent.  Am.,  9;  Larenaudiere,  Mex. 
and  Guat.  [ed.  Paris,  1843],  135,  277-85.  Minor  authorities  also  consulted 
KCQ  RiwlV*  Hist.  Am.,\.  389-91;  Robert's  Narr.  Voy.,  xxi.;  Montanus,  De 
Nieuwe  Weereld,  273;  Crowe's  Cent.  Am.,  28-114;  Conder's  Mec.  and  Guat., 
ii.  178,  183-9,  193,  237;  Drie  Verschey  de  Toyten,  18-19,  25-34;  Haefkrn*, 
Cent.  Am.,  5-19;  Holmes'*  Annals  Am.,  i.  54;  North  Am.  Rev.,  xxvi.  132-4; 
Wagner,  Go*ta  Rica,  518-22;  Lardner's  Hist.  Discov.,  ii.  61;  Salvador,  Diar. 
Ofic.,  April,  1876;  Santos,  Chronolorfia  Hospitalaria, ii. 478;  Findlaifs  Directory, 
i.  222;  Modern  Traveller,  Mex.  and  Guat.,  ii.  178-90;  Gac.  Nic.,  June,  1865, 
217;  Garcia,  ResenaGeorj.,  6-7;  Bussiere,  U Empire,  Mex.,  336-7;  Montufar, 
Mem.  Hist.  Rev.,  pp.  viii.-x. ;  Pineda,  Description  Geog.,  10;  Gordon's  Anc. 
Mex.,  ii.  244;  Kerfs  Col.  Voy.,  221-34;  Vocabulario  Geog.,  in  Cartas  de 
Indias,  674 


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LIBRARIES 


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